My 4 month long vacation Past Review
By A student (University of Hartford) - abroad from 01/03/2012 to 04/24/2012 with
ISA Study Abroad in Gold Coast, Australia
It was definitely worthwhile. I learned so many things including how to travel by myself and live on my own.
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. |
Classes were extremely difficult. All of the students from other study abroad programs were pass/no pass but my grades transferred which made it almost impossible to pass. I spent more time in the library than I ever have in my life and I got straight C's. I definitely wasn't prepared for the toll that study abroad would have on my GPA. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program was very helpful and I would 100% recommend Australearn. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in the Accommodation Centre on campus. It was the perfect location because it was right on campus and included a meal plan. The only downside was that they placed all of the study abroad students together making it very difficult to meet Australians. |
| * Food: |
Food was pretty expensive and the choices were not great. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local 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) |
It was very difficult to budget in Australia. Everything was so much more expensive and it was very difficult to find a job. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 250 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would definitely advise future students to save up a lot of money beforehand and look for a part time job when you get there. Jobs are a great way to meet locals too! Try to live on campus and have a meal plan to save money. The last thing you should be spending your money on is food. Spend it on traveling! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | Go as many places as you can for stopovers because you will probably never be on that side of the world again! |
