A Review Title. Past Review
By AnonymousIowa (Loras College) - abroad from 01/25/2016 to 05/05/2016 with
Loras College: Cuernavaca - Intensive Spanish
I enjoyed my experience abroad and learning more Spanish. It was worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Some of the classes were at our level of education while others were more so for middle schoolers than college students. |
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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? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Since we were in a class just for Loras students, we didn't get much interaction with other students which would have been nice to experiencing more of the culture. The culture I did experience was lovely, but I think with other student interactions it would have been a lot better. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Our program we didn't have a lot of freedom in what we wanted to do. We couldn't do a lot of traveling, we couldn't choose classes we were interested in taking, we couldn't be in classes with other students. Our days were planned out for us and we had very little free time. |
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) |
Didn't cost anything other than the expenses to the school since the host family fed me. I only bought what I wanted to, not what I needed to. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 10 dollars |
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 |
In class, in your host family. There wasn't really any English spoken expect between US students. |
| 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? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 300 level |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | I listened to a lot of Latin music. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | 0 |
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? | I wish I had gone into my program knowing more about the area, especially since the teachers were so surprised when we knew nothing about Galicia or Santiago when we got there. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
