A Successful Shanghai Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I was satisfied with the academic courses I was a part of, which included one Mandarin language class and three business classes. The required Mandarin class meets four days a week, which helped me to keep improving my language skills and made it easier to get around on a day to day basis. My three business courses were not as rigorous as the courses offered at my home college, but the teachers were easy to understand and seemed to put a lot of effort into their courses.

On-site administration of your program

The on-site administration were very helpful and set up a number of trips and cultural activities which I really enjoyed. They were almost always available and really seemed to care about making each one of us have the best experience possible.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We got to stay in an extended living hotel, which was a lot nicer than any college living arrangement I'd experienced. The apartments are spacious, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a common room. Our bathrooms were cleaned twice a week and the entire room once a week, which was much more generous than I was expecting. The apartment is in a great location just outside of the center of Shanghai with many restaurants nearby and a subway stop less than five minutes away. My only complaint was the internet, which was often very slow and sometimes unable to connect.

Food is on your own, but if you like Chinese food, you are in luck. A lot of the local options are very cheap, however, Western food will cost about the same as it would in the United States. Shanghai is a very international city and you can find pretty much any kind of food there. Your cheapest option is street food, which is easy to find (especially at night), convenient, and often very delicious.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Our on-site staff set up a few cultural exchange activities for us to talk to Shanghai locals (such as a volunteer event with middle school students and a Chinese yo-yo lesson from local experts), but cultural integration was mostly on our own. At the beginning, we were set up with language partners, but most of the students didn't click very well with theirs. Homestays and internships were not an option when I was a part of the program, which would be two great ways to increase cultural integration.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I personally did not have any experiences with healthcare, but our on-site staff did a good job of alerting us to any health problems we might have abroad. Shanghai's air quality is a lot worse than anywhere in the United States and staff members alerted us on particularly bad days and gave us masks that we could wear outside. I did not need any vaccines for this program, but there are several optional vaccines that might help you out. The typhoid fever vaccine is recommended if you will be eating street food, and since I would recommend trying the street food in Shanghai, I would also recommend this vaccine.

Shanghai is a very safe city: I wasn't afraid to walk alone at night and I never felt myself to be personally in danger. The only problem is pickpocketing, which is especially prevalent in the crowded subway stations. If you have a backpack that is easy to unzip, I would recommend carrying it in front of you to prevent anything from getting stolen.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Although Shanghai is the most expensive city in China, it is much cheaper than the United States. Food can be very affordable, as well as any basic necessities. Foreign products and luxury items, however, are very expensive here.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

An intensive Mandarin class is a required part of this program, but outside of the class, we were not strongly encouraged to use the language. Since all of the participants lived with each other in a hotel with many foreigners, it felt like an English language bubble. However, many people in Shanghai cannot speak English at all, so basic Mandarin was a must when buying food, taking a taxi, or interacting with anyone outside the program.

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