The Highest Highs and the Lowest Lows Past Review
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/16/2018 to 12/21/2018 with
ISEP: Amsterdam - VU University Amsterdam
I learned a great deal about myself and how I relate to the world. However, my study abroad experience was unlike most students at Wellesley because of several tragedies that happened while in Amsterdam and at home involving my family. I am still processing and personally don't feel ready to reflect on what I have learned. I am still a little in survival mode, still traumatized, and slowly slowly healing. It will be a while before I'm ready to talk fully about what I learned. (Although I am well connected to a psychologist, so I feel supported nonetheless)
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Too expensive and wasn't helpful. They lost an important package and were too focused on being relevant and providing social opportunities. I felt that some basic services were missing. I would have liked more of an actual choice in where to live because the accommodation was extremely far from school and took all of my aid money, leaving me little for food and other activities. |
| * Food: |
Everything is inordinately expensive. Not enough aid money with the expensive accommodations. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The Netherlands is a great starting place for someone with not a lot of international experience. Everyone speaks English well and is very friendly because of how international Amsterdam has become. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I loved the free primary healthcare and felt taken care of. STD testing is also largely free from stigma and is easy to get in comparison to the United States. |
| * Safety: |
Amsterdam is not for the faint of heart. I would recommend being comfortable on a bike and being very aware of traffic. Additionally, the student should be prepared with common sense about the party scene in Amsterdam, something I don't think we were taught about at all. This is largely the responsibility of the American side, as party culture in Europe is so different and our advisors in the Semester in Amsterdam program are unaware of this. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I did not like the program mostly because I chose the wrong classes to take, which is partially my fault and partially could not be avoided. |
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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 200+ easily. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you are able, save up the summer or year before. I was planning to do so, but lost a lot of money on an internship that had previously paid more. I went into study abroad with about half of the money I thought I would have. So, make sure you financially plan, and in the event that you can't (like my situation) exhaust your resources and be very transparent to people who might be able to help. |
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? | That I would have been happier in a rural place, focusing on creative writing or sustainable agriculture or neuroscience rather than studying global health in a big city. This is invaluable information to me, but without this experience I would not know it. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
