Past Review

By (Plan Ii, The University of Texas at Austin) for

IFSA: Galway - National University Ireland

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I loved the experience. It was great getting to live in Ireland and become a part of that culture and get to make so many new friends. Every experience was a bonding one and while the cold was something hard to adjust to, now it's just one more story to tell everyone. I would recommend this program to anyone.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: National University of Ireland Galway
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I had great professors and a wonderful learning experience. It was very different than I was used to and the workload was lighter, but that was a relief after a couple of tough semesters back home. The professors were available for discussion and to answer any questions about the work assigned and the classes were interesting.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The providers were always available through email or cellphone and were truly interested in knowing how we were doing. I never had any trouble contacting them and they were very proactive. When we first arrived in our apartments we had no pillows or comforters, which we had been told would be provided by the housing, and after one phonecall the administrators sorted everything out.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was in Gort na Coirbe and I loved it. It was the closest housing to campus and was where a lot of Irish students lived so it was easy to meet them and make friends. The apartments were furnished nicely and the rooms were actually bigger than I expected. <br /><br /> The neighborhood seemed very safe and I never heard of any security problems. It was great to be able to live with Irish students and be around them because it made transitioning in that much easier. The apartments were only a 10-15 minute walk from campus and the same distance from the town. The rooms were bigger than I thought and had everything necessary for living, except for cleaning supplies. The apartments were also very close to grocery stores and a laundromat which was fantastic.

* Food:

It was different having to constantly cook for myself but there were several grocery stores right across the street from the apartments and there was no trouble getting food. It was more expensive to eat out of course so I didn't usually do that but there were a lot of good restaurants around.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved everything and was so sad to have to leave the country and especially Galway. I was only able to do one of the trips planned by the program but it was great. We were taken to Belfast for a long weekend and I probably never would have gone there on my own. It was great to get to see that and the orientation in Dublin was also very nice.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I never had any safety related incidents. I also was not stupid and I never traveled alone at night and my friends would not have let me if I had tried. I would go out with friends and at the clubs I never felt unsafe but again, I used commonsense. I did get sick while I was abroad but it was a general flu type thing that a lot of people got and had nothing to do with where I was staying.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? I don't know how the cost of the program was broken down, but it was much more expensive than a semester at UT. I was not planning on having to spend as much on laundry but that was something I had to work in to my budget that was unavoidable.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Ireland is a fantastic country and Galway was perfect. I think that anyone who is looking for fun and is willing to try different things and is outgoing would enjoy this program. I think that whenever someone is deciding to study abroad they need to really focus on who they are because that is going to decide how they react to their program. I don't think someone should study somewhere where they have to speak a foreign language if they aren't comfortable with that because it will ruin the experience. I went to an English speaking country so there was no language barrier, usually, but I don't feel that I missed out on anything. I loved my experience.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

The History of the Roman Empire

Course Department: CC228
Instructor: Stansbury
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was very interesting and I liked the lecture style of the professor. I thought there was a good mix between local and foreign students
Credit Transfer Issues: I did not but a lot of the courses don't pass out traditional syllabi and that can be a hindrance to evaluators back home so be prepared to gather as much information about the classes as possible to make the process easy on everyone.
Course Name/Rating:

A Field of Gods and Men: Celtic Myths

Course Department: SG 217
Instructor: Isaac and Ingridsdotter
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was interesting. I didn't know any Celtic myths and was excited to learn some, but I'm not sure it was a good course for visiting students. Isaac only taught 2 or 3 classes and Ingridsdotter the rest and she had a very easy going teaching method. Many of the myths and backstories had been taught and discussed in a previous class so several of the students knew them, and it meant that a lot was glossed over because there wasn't time to discuss it. I still learned some interesting things but it might be better for visiting students to take the first year course and not this one.
Credit Transfer Issues: no
Course Name/Rating:

The Tudors: Religion, State, and Society

Course Department: HI459
Instructor: Ellis
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Another good course. Prof Ellis is the head of the history department and loves Tudors so he loved teaching the course. It was the first semester it was offered but there was nothing awkward about the course or figuring it out. There were a few classes taught by a graduate student and he led some of the discussion sections and he too was engaged and interesting.
Credit Transfer Issues: no
Course Name/Rating:

Ireland in the 19th Century

Course Department: HI251
Instructor: Gerard Moran
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was great because I got to learn a lot about Irish history that I had not known before, and it made the experience more interesting overall. There was a lot of information to cover so note taking was a challenge but not impossible. The professor seemed strict, and he was, but he was also easy to talk to and interesting in making sure everyone was doing fine in the class
Credit Transfer Issues: no
Course Name/Rating:

Nineteenth Century Gothic Literature

Course Department: EN288
Instructor: Dr Tilley and Dr Calson
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I really liked this course. It was fun to have two such different topics and it was fun hearing about American Literature from a different perspective. Both professors were great lecturers and helpful with slides and choices for essays.
Credit Transfer Issues: no
Course Name/Rating:

The Literature of London

Course Department: EN472
Instructor: Tilley
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was grand. It was structured more like some of my Plan II courses at home and while the students didn't discuss as much as I was used to, they were fun to discuss the readings with and the course was a really interesting, different look at some classic pieces of literature.
Credit Transfer Issues: no