Stop Hesitating and Go to Ewha! Past Review
By Anita C (Social Development Studies, Ewha Womans University) - abroad from 06/25/2015 to 08/20/2015 with
Ewha Womans University: Seoul - International Co-ed Summer College
I learned that I will come back to Korea. Whether for study, work or travel, I will be back without question. My experience at Ewha has become a highlight in my life I will never forget.
Review Photos
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. |
Attendance is extremely important! You will fail if you are late or miss a certain amount of lectures. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Office of International Affairs (OIA) is comprised of very helpful and welcoming individuals! Special shout out to Mimi Ahn, and the lovely Jung Jiwon~ This program also allows students to be paired with a Professional Ewhaian At Cultural Exchange (PEACE) buddy. These PEACE buddies are volunteers who speaks in English, Mandarin, Japanese and are your companions during your stay at Ewha. They are seriously the best! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Although I resided outside of the dorms, I visited the dorms many times~ The only and biggest complaint is that the WiFi cannot be accessed within your room and you have to go to the lounge area. However, the rooms are equipped with a very comfortable bed, refrigerator, desk, closet, air-conditioning, washroom, and roomate. What else do you need? Laundry machines are available for 500won (50 cents). And I believe that cooking is not encouraged (may even be prohibited?) in the dorms. |
| * Food: |
Within and outside the school, there are any options for food. If you want something cheap, you can go to the POSCO building to buy some Kimbap! If you don't want to move, you can order food to be delivered right to the front door of your dorm/residence. Ask your PEACE buddy for the best recommendations! Also, there are many 24/hour cafes near the school! You can go there for studying, or dates, whatever suits you! You can also find a 24/hour Seolleongtang restaurant 10 minutes walk away from the school when you're turnt and hungry! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The great thing about PEACE buddies is that they are locals, and they bring you and show you all the best tourist sites and all the places only locals would know! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Near my residence (5 minute walk from the University) there were more than 3 pharmacy shops. My friend who had a cold was able to find her medicine with our limited Korean. The pharmacist even recommended some medicine for her after a quick diagnosis. I also visited Korea a little bit after the MERS crisis. The University provided information about the respiratory syndrome, and even gave us a mask and hand sanitizer. |
| * Safety: |
I've walked home alone in the middle of the night several times from 1AM-5AM and was safe and sound. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
It is quite easy to be frivolous amongst all the shaved ice stores, underground shopping malls, cosmetics shops, and pubs. But if you really need to, you can use your money sparingly with ease too. The main costs is the application fee, tuition fee, housing fee, and field trip fee (if it applies). You can find cheap food, and you can find expensive food. It's a matter of finding it. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Food: $140> (approximately 10$ a meal) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Itaewon is very expensive. Celebrity opened restaurants are also really expensive. |
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 |
Korean language classes are taught in Korean. Most of the teachers don't seem to know English. They do a placement test to determine which level you are in. You can go into this with zero knowledge. Textbooks are offered in other languages such as English, Chinese, and Japanese. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | 2-2 |
| 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? | Your PEACE buddy is the best person you can practice Korean with~ |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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? | You can pay your fees when you have arrived in Korea. I did a wire payment and had to pay extra wire fees.... |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Social Probelms in Contemporary Global World |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Sophia Seung-yoon Lee |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | I was able to pass the course with an A without much difficulty. There were many small 300-word discussion questions assigned, in addition to a movie reflection essay, group presentation, and a final exam. There was an assignment that required you to go and observe social problems in Seoul. It was a good opportunity to observe and explore Seoul with a more in depth perspective. The professor was great. Her English was definitely comprehensible, she is very knowledgeable in this subject, and was great at her delivery. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | At my home university (University of Waterloo) it transferred as a SOC1XX credit according to Dr. Barry McClinchey. |
