Best 4 Months Of My Life in Freiburg Past Review
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/10/2017 to 05/10/2017 with
IES Abroad: Freiburg - European Union: Politics, Law & Economics
VERY worthwhile. I got a very good understanding of what it means to be "European" and how different each country is despite the location. Classes revolve around history/ politics of Europe.
Review Photos
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. |
Courses were very interesting. Some courses had some paper and a lot of reading but not a lot of homework. Most of the courses rely of class participation and expressing your opinions on matters. |
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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? |
Lived in an apartment with 7 flatmates. Each person had own room with shared kitchen and bathroom. They make an effort to place other students in your program close by so it was nice to have friends living with you. |
| * Food: |
You have to purchase your own food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It depends how integrated you want to be. I stuck to Americans. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe small city. I walked home alone at 3am and felt completely safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Freiburg is the perfect place to study abroad. Very central to every European city. There are multiple airports you can use or travel by bus. This is a good program if you want to explore all of Europe during the weekend but come back to a cozy town during the class/weekdays. |
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) |
Depends how you want to live. There was cheap food ($1.80 pasta bolognese) or you can go to the grocery store and buy food. I'd spend ~$100 a week but this was because I'd go to coffee shops and indulge. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~$300 but this included independent travel |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I spent a total of about $6,000 out of pocket. However, this included eating at the best places and going to a different city every weekend. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| 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? | Ger 101 |
| 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? | When you order food try to speak the local language. In Freiburg, they are used to having international students so they are very understanding. |
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? | Be prepared to spend money. Have the best experience by experiencing the best and don't limit yourseld. When else will you be able to book a flight for 14 Euros?! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Brexit |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Iannis Caras |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Iannis is by far the best instructor I've ever had. He kept the class interesting and very relevant. We discussed current events and history that led up to it. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
