Trip of a Lifetime Past Review
By A student (Brandeis University) - abroad from 05/29/2018 to 07/20/2018 with
IES Abroad: Freiburg - European Union
I learned more about my specific interests in politics and what I believe I can contribute to international relations and law.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program was altered to include a trip to Russia for the first time, and overall adapted very well. It was clear that the professors were not used to teaching on this schedule for this subject, but still overall I learned a lot. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Communication was not administration's strength, and so there was some confusion about checkout dates, travel plans, etc. However, they attempted to accommodate wherever possible and I imagine they will in the future be better prepared. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very little time spent in the host city and few opportunities presented by IES to integrate with the local university culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook your own meals, buy drinks from the supermarket and not at bars |
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 learned German for our host city and Russian for our field study trip. Both were taught in exclusively survival contexts. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | 0 |
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? | The we learn Russian on the program, that the assignments go WAY faster than you expect |
