Germany Past Review
By Mandy E (International/Global Studies., Maryville College) for
ISEP Exchange: Dortmund - Exchange Program at Technische Universität Dortmund
I learned how to adapt to a completely foreign culture that I had no prior experience with, even through studying the language.
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. |
They had a very different system of classes and workload than I was used to. They had every class just once a week, with very little actual homework assigned, but there was the expectation from the teachers that the students did a lot more work outside of the class to work towards understanding the material. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
This program is really good, they were willing to help and advise incoming exchange students so that they would be able to get the most out of their exchanges as well. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Make sure that you keep food in the apartment, because the on-campus dining areas all close except for one at night. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
None that I went on. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Dortmund really feels like a safe place. Even when I had to walk back to the apartment after missing the last train of the night there was no trouble at all. |
| 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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Could practice the language, if you had previous study in it, with anybody, but most people did speak English, which is what I had to use because of no prior study in German before going. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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