Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

The Danes are lovely people. Past Review

By (Neurobiology and Neurosciences., Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/18/2013 to 12/13/2013 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was great to get to really become a part of a new family, and learn a different method of living.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The DIS administration is extremely helpful for anything that you need.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I absolutely loved my host family, it really made my experience abroad and allowed me to get immersed in Danish culture.

* Food:

Again, living with a host family was wonderful. They were excellent cooks, and I ate like a king. However, friends who lived in dorms were given a budget to spend on food, and Copenhagen is extremely expensive, so their experience was more difficult.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I went to all the local events that my host family did, and got to experience a lot of local culture that way. I went swimming in the ocean, ran in local 5ks, rode the train in the mornings, rode my bike everywhere...

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

We all had danish healthcare and plenty of instruction from DIS for what to do should a problem arise. Also, both my host parents were doctors.

* Safety:

Copenhagen is extremely safe, although my bike did get stolen at one point.

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

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)

Copenhagen is SUPER expensive, but since I had a host family for food, it wasn't so hard. That said, had I been on my own for food I would have been in Trouble. Also, thankfully DIS bought be a transportation pass, because taking the train every day is expensive as well.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $20?
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Live with a host family! You don't want to be eating Ramen for a semester

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • My host family
  • Bikes
  • Danes are REALLY active
* What could be improved?
  • field trips to labs are boring
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Copenhagen gets WINDY.

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 Networker
An active student leader, it was important for you to network abroad as well. Once overseas, you sought out student clubs, volunteered with local organizations, or attended community events. You encouraged your friends join you, and often considered how you could reflect your international experiences in a resume.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Nordic Mythology
Course Department: DIS
Instructor: Morten Warmind
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I was extremely excited for this course, and wasn't disappointed. Morten Warmind is incredibly knowledgable about Vikings - their religion, culture, history - and he's a wonderful and hilarious lecturer. There are that many sources for any sort of VIking information, so as a result you essentially read all of them. There's a decent amount of reading, but it's really interesting, and you get a lot out of the class if you do all the work. Because several of the stores are set in Denmark, the class goes on field trips to some of the places that we read about, which is really cool.
Credit Transfer Issues: Transcript has not been sent yet.
Course Name/Rating:

Environmental Microbiology
Course Department: DTU
Instructor: Barth Smets
Instruction Language: English
Comments: For several reasons, I would not take this class again, nor would I recommend that any other american student take it. The class meets once a week, for four hours every monday afternoon. This is a long time, and is as brutal as you'd expect. Because of the nature of DIS's schedule though, DIS students automatically miss several of the classes due to DIS events and breaks. The class time isn't used very well. Students are expected to have done the reading before class (naturally), and are also expected to have looked at Barth's powerpoint before class, meaning that he doesn't actually have to go over it, or even really teach at all. Class time proceeds as follows: 5-10 minutes of instruction, then questions are handed out for students to work on in groups. They aren't graded. So unless group learning is your thing, class time is useless, and there's no reason to go. So most people don't, ever. The labs are good, although pretty easy, and lab instructors are good. The final exam is twenty questions, 70% of your grade, which would be incredibly intimidating, except that the exam is ALL AIDS. you can't use the internet, but anything else goes. I had a pdf of the text book (which you were not only allowed to use but expected to), so the entire exam consisted of just searching keywords in a pdf. The result is that I learned absolutely nothing about microbiology in this class AT ALL, but could have quite possibly gotten a 100% on the exam.
Credit Transfer Issues: Transcript has not been sent yet.
Course Name/Rating:

The Ethical Brain
Course Department: Copenhagen University
Instructor: Rene Rosfort
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This was the hardest class I have taken in my life. Philosophy is HARD, and required me to think in extremely abstract ways like nothing I've ever done before. My final 10 page paper on naturalizing theories of emotion and their ethical implications took DAYS, but is also something I'm extremely proud of. Philosophy definitely isn't for everyone, but if you're willing to really put in the effort and PUSH, this class is incredible.
Credit Transfer Issues: Transcript has not been sent yet.
Course Name/Rating:

Danish
Course Department: DIS
Instructor: Ivan Hauser
Instruction Language: English/Danish
Comments: Middlebury requires that all students take a language while abroad if it's offered, so Danish class was mandatory. I didn't really learn much danish. Granted I didn't try especially hard, but with much harder classes demanding more of my attention, something had to give. It's a pretty easy A. And while I didn't learn much Danish, I learned quite a bit about the culture, and our teacher, Ivan, was always fascinating - classes were never boring
Credit Transfer Issues: Transcript has not been sent yet.
Course Name/Rating:

Psychopharmacology
Course Department: DIS
Instructor: Jesper Andreasen
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This was like the quintessential neuroscience class. You learn about a disease and it's symptoms, then you learn about the neural pathways that are causing those symptoms - too much dopamine here, not enough dopamine there, etc. Then once you understand the disease, you learn about drugs that are used to treat it, how they work, and why they work. Classes are always fascinating. The included field trips to labs were often pretty boring, but the learning that took place in the classroom was great. Tests were very fair.
Credit Transfer Issues: Transcript has not been sent yet.