Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Best Six Months Of My Life Past Review

By (Washington State University) - abroad from 02/10/2016 to 06/08/2016 with

CIEE: Uppsala - Arts and Sciences

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was amazing. I learned about different beliefs, and I learned that I am a strong independent woman. Plus that travel is just as great as people say it is.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I loved the classes I was taking. It was hard getting use to how they run over there, but once I got the hang of it, I felt like I learned a lot!

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I didn't really meet the university administration. But through CIEE, we had our program director that did everything for us! So easy and no stress! Also, you get really close to them and it makes transition easy.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We stayed in student housing. I honestly loved it!

* Food:

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

complete integration! Except learning the language.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Swedish health care is one of the best. I didn't have any health problems, but my friend got injured and was very well taken care of!

* Safety:

SWEDEN IS EXTREMELY SAFE. Never felt unsafe in Sweden.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

CIEE IS AMAZING! They really care about your concerns and want you to be comfortable.

Finances

* 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)

I like to cook so it was pretty easy and when we traveled we ate at places that were cheap/local hangouts.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 150-200
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Keep track and honestly, if you can, don't worry about money.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

quite often i'm just really bad at learning.

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
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? I have never taken Swedish before
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? don't be scared to try it out!

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Other
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • The director and her assistant
  • the people in my program
  • how they set up our classes
* What could be improved?
  • nothing
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? How I would miss Sweden so much...

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 Avid Adventurer
The wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Swedish Culture and Every Day Life
Course Department: Psychology?
Instructor: Paul
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Not very challenging. That doesn't mean it wasn't interesting! IT was a lot of talking to the teacher and figuring things out for ourself.
Credit Transfer Issues: They transferred perfectly
Course Name/Rating:

Swedish Lang
Course Department: Language
Instructor: Tula
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Tula was extremely nice. However, her teaching style and my learning style didn't match up.
Credit Transfer Issues: We made it work
Course Name/Rating:

Brain and Behavior
Course Department: Psychology
Instructor: don't remember his name
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I don't recommend online classes. We never met in person and we only had an exam at the end of the year. The exam was the same as past exams though so that did make it easy. But it was a lot of stress.
Credit Transfer Issues: No problem transferring credits