Light in the Darkness December 29, 2023
By A student (Economics, Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/19/2023 to 12/15/2023 with
DIS Stockholm Semester
It was definitely worthwhile. I learnt so much about public health and the history of sex education in Europe.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I thought the program wasn't super rigorous but I knew that going in so it wasn't a surprise. I do wish the faculty were more available outside of class but I understand that they are bust as they work in the industry. I thought there were a lot of great resources though. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was wonderful. Their support was amazing and they were always on top of everything and made the whole thing really easy. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was very satisfied with the living arrangements. I could tell that they had put care into the host family matching process. |
| * Food: |
I think they pay the host families a really good amount and the gift card they gave us for the meal plan had an adequate amount of money. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
As I was in a host family, I was able to feel quite integrated with local culture. If I lived in the dorms I don't think I would have felt integrated at all as all of my peers were from US universities. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I thought the healthcare was extremely accessible and really easy to navigate. Dr. Daria and her clinic were absolutely phenomenal and took wonderful care of me when I needed them. |
| * Safety: |
I felt incredibly safe in Stockholm. The program would also send helpful emails if there was anything we needed to look out for. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The classes offered were really interesting to me and I really liked the inbuilt travel component of the program. |
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) |
I was able to live on a budget really easily. All of my food was covered because of the money my host parents received from the program and the gift card I was given for the school restaurant. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 30 usd |
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 |
We were encouraged to try to use Swedish phrases here and there but basically everyone in Stockholm speaks fluent Swedish so it was hard to incentivize us to use it a lot. |
| 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 |
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? | I wish I knew that it would pass so quickly and to make more of an effort to explore Stockholm while the weather was nice enough to do so. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
