Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Best Summer Ever. Past Review

By (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) - abroad from 06/23/2018 to 08/05/2018 with

Korea University: Seoul - International Summer Campus

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was definitely worthwhile. I learned a lot about Korean culture and how different things are in South Korea compared to the US. It was crazy to me that restaurants in South Korea could only have a single item on the menu and still be doing well.

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

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The facilities were great! They're smaller than I'm used to, but it was clean. The only problem was that hill...

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I could walk around at 3am and still feel safe! Stores and restaurants were still open. There were other people around and it was a very fun environment to be in.

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

I loved KU ISC. I made many new friends and a few close friends that I still keep in touch with. I'm going to meet up with a few of them in the US very soon. I left South Korea very sad because I didn't want to leave.

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)

The food was cheap! There was an incident where my friends and I accidentally paid 40,000 KRW for a meal because of a misunderstanding... Otherwise, meals are cheap and it's very easy to find new restaurants to try out! Toiletries are also cheap. Daiso is heaven.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Beginner
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Beginner

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • Lotte World
* What could be improved?
  • Cooking class was not what I thought it would be. I understand the risks of actual cooking, but I feel like students could've at least made bibimbap or something else that they would eat daily instead of traditional rice cakes.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Exchange USD to KRW in the US before going because the exchange rate is better!!!