amazing Past Review

By (PSYCHOLOGY., Wellesley College) - abroad from 02/22/2012 to 06/30/2012 with

IFSA: Sydney - Macquarie University

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
i learned how to live on my own and budget my money

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

my program advisor from IFSA Butler was not very helpful and sometimes would not respond to emails. many activities that were scheduled and prepaid for were not carried out.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

clean and comfortable

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

i felt very integrated with the local culture because i had been traveling for a month and a half before our program started. i feel that had i not traveled beforehand i would not have felt very integrated in the culture because the university is out in the suburbs and there werent very many australians living in our housing complex.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

i had a couple of health issues while abroad. it was very easy to make appointments, everything was resolved, and our healthcare covered everything.

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

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)

sydney is a very expensive city to live in unless you are working

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $200
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? save receipts, only use ATM machines that don't charge fees for withdrawing money (it adds up), learn the bus system early (rather than the train every time) while going into the city, purchase 10 ride bus tickets rather than singles evey time

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Other
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

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

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 10+

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • the orientation week
* What could be improved?
  • have better, more helpful advisors
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? that direct enrollment probably would have been better for me, rather than going through a study abroad program