Amazing Experience, Can't wait to go back! Past Review
By Harrison Lacy (University of Notre Dame) - abroad from 01/21/2019 to 05/24/2019 with
CYA (College Year in Athens) - Semester/Academic Year Program
Learned how to be independent, how to adapt, how to quickly observe other cultures, how to communicate without language, and so much more. It may be one of the most valuable experiences in my educational career
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Apartments were very nice, and we got plenty of space to use as our own |
| * Food: |
Food was awesome, the cafeteria ladies were so nice and fed us well |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Didn't personally have any issues but everyone who did seemed ot be taken care of well |
| * Safety: |
Never felt endangered for a second during this program |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Helped me grow, learned a lot, and I really fell in love with Greece |
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) |
Can spend as much or as little as you want, food is not expensive so it is easy to stick on a budget |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy all your trips early, so your big investments are out of the way early |
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 |
Took a boot camp on important phrases which was very helpful |
| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | chinese 1 |
| 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? | Everyone in Athens was very understanding that we weren't good at the language, but really seemed to appreciate our effort. Greeting and exchanging pleasantries in Greek showed results |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? |
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 not scary Greece and the Greek people will make my experience, not to feel trepidation |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
