Life Changing Past Review
By Liz H (Early Childhood, New Mexico State University) - abroad from 02/25/2012 to 07/07/2012 with
Korea University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I learned to be more open to other cultures
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I took 4 classes and they were in all English. I took a public administration,art history, Korean and Korean culture. All of the classes were fairly easy compared to the classes that I have taken in the states. It was mainly just memorizing and not a lot of critical thinking was done.Overall easy semester. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The adminstration, in my opinion was rarely there for us. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorms were great. Spacious enough for three students. My dislikes were: No coed dorm curfew only one laundry room for 6 floors |
| * Food: |
Cafeteria was nice |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Koreans were very social, but I had to branch out to actually be social and get to hang out with other Koreans. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The school health center was amazing. I got a cold and the doctors in the center were amazing and very caring. |
| * Safety: |
Korea overall was 100% safe. Since this University had curfew there was nothing really going on after midnight |
| 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 economical. Even to eat out of school, it was very cheap. |
| * 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? | $50 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Walking to the train station instead of taking the train |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I only used Korean in class and with cit walkers. I rarely used it with students from the program. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Explore the area, don't just stay on campus. Travel alone, without other native students. This way you force yourself to actually use the language |
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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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| 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? |
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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? | Cities that were near by to go out. |
