Amman is great, the program not as much January 24, 2023
By A student (Political Science, Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/06/2022 to 12/15/2022 with
CET Jordan
I now feel a lot more prepared to be able to learn Arabic on my own, which is good.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program was intensely rigorous, which is saying something coming from a Wellesley student. I am used to such intensity, but the courses were intense to the point that all I was doing was studying, and did not get much chance for out-of-classroom learning experience, a high priority for me which I was not able to obtain through this program. I would also suggest to future students taking this program to not take classes in English -- I was thoroughly unimpressed by the professors which taught these classes. Furthermore, one of these professors was incredibly racist. I did enjoy my Arabic language classes, although intensely difficult, and wish I had had more time to focus on these. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
For the most part okay, but very disorganized. I was further disappointed by the way problems were addressed (or rather, not addressed). We were often told that problems would be solved and handled, only to find out that no progress or attempt to correct had ever been made. There was furthermore a huge lack of communication between various administrators and the professors. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
To state again, due to the rigor of the program all I ever did was study, and was not able to integrate or get to know the local community. Most other students shared this problem. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Street harassment is a problem, but the admin and staff handled everything very well. The guard on the girls' building was lovely. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I loved my Arabic language teachers, but the rest was not so good. It was incredibly rigorous to the point that I spent all of my time indoors studying. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Amman is very expensive! |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably 100 - 150 per week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat a lot of veggies! Very cheap. Ubers are necessary as Amman is huge, and unfortunatly those add up. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | ARAB 202 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | I would recommend the full language pledge. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | How intense the program would be |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
