AWFUL Past Review
By Ariel Jaffe (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 03/03/2017 to 06/22/2017 with
Korea University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
II'm glad I did it, but I will never do it again.
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. |
awful experience. I had the worst time getting into classes that I applied for. Classes that are taught in english are advertised as so, but I was told on more than one occasion that I HAD to speak korean to be in this class even though it was advertised in english. That to me was ridiculous. I ended up taking a bio class that I basically failed because I had no other option. trust me.. I looked. Also the professors also went back and forth from english to korean for the korean students (which I understand) but sometimes the professors would not translate what they said back into english, leaving us english speaking students confused. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
they were the most USELESS human beings. i basically had to do everything myself with no help from them. our KUBA buddies tried, but a lot of them didn't have the english skills to help me. Also I got really sick abroad and had to go to the nurse, she was so rude and also didn't speak any english. I had to use Google translate with her. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
housing was strict and the floors are separated by gender. I lived on the biggest hill and it was tough going up and down the hill numerous times a day. I had no issues with my room and they did clean the bathroom which was nice. The application to apply for on campus housing was all in korean and was super confusing and unclear. One of my friends didn't get housing because she didn't fill out the application correctly. The other option is to live in a Goshi. |
| * Food: |
food was fine and cheap on campus. I mostly ate there. Good options. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I now know how it feels to be treated as a minority and looked down upon. No korean wanted to talk to me and I felt very unwelcomed. I am white and have blonde hair and I was asked numerous times outside of campus if I was a prostitute. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
easily accessible but if you had a large issue I woudn't even know how to go about it. I needed a TB shot before I went but that was easy to get at UT. |
| * Safety: |
Pretty bad. Korean universities are known for having sexual assault cases happen and no one seems to care or report it. One of my friends was sexually assaulted by the student and when she went to report it to the campus police, they said there wasn't anything they could do. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
living in Korea was very cheap so thats easy. Although they don't have any discounts for students |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I probably spent about 50 dollars a week eating out for all my meals. some weeks were more depending on what I was eating/doing |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | keep track of what you spend and keep receipts. I was ripped off numerous times in the subway and if you keep a receipt they will give you your money back. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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? | how they treat Americans |
