Learned a lot of Chinese and met some cool folks Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This is a tricky question because in terms of purely-language focused academics, the program meets and exceeds my expectations of language learning. I learned more Chinese there than I ever could have at Wellesley. But in terms of critical thinking, analysis or creativity, the program has almost nothing to offer. Its single-minded focus on language learning curbs any kind of critical discourse in or out of class, especially with a language pledge, that, though invaluable for gaining confidence in Chinese, stifles any real conversation among classmates.

On-site administration of your program

The residential director on CET's side and the administrative assistant who oversees program outings and logistics soar above all expectations. But the academic director's obvious and constant favoritism towards white men (who get praise for breathing) and her contrasting harsh treatment of women of color, leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and soured my experience.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I didn't really get along with my roommate, but most people did with theirs and the housing accommodations are solid. Absolutely inaccessible though - if you have a physical disability, I wouldn't recommend this program's housing facilities. I'd also urge you to reconsider going to China in general.

It's China. It was amazing. There's boba milk tea around the corner and even the cafeteria food is good.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I mostly feel like I stayed within the confines of the program, unless I pushed myself to get out there, but the program itself does little encouraging you to do that. That said, the Chinese roommates can and do help.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

8 people in my program had to go to the hospital for one reason or another. Insurance can be a bitch to deal with, but the residential director is practically on call to help you with whatever you need. It wasn't a problem for me to go to the emergency room at 5am. I had to front that because we couldn't get a hold of the insurance on such short notice, but China is much cheaper than the United States, so 8 hours of IV drips and a CT scan ended up costing me under USD$100. That said, a classmate who fell off a cliff had a more difficult experience at first, because that incident happened during spring break when he was in a different province, so it does get trickier when you're not physically in Hangzhou to be helped. But the administrators did everything they could to get him flown back and accommodated in Hangzhou.

I felt safe and never had an issue. But, China is pretty heavily policed and has video cameras everywhere. If that's not your scene, reconsider the country.

I met some incredibly cool people and learned a lot. I would add some stuff to the program (would love to have a monthly meeting with the other MiC students to debrief our experience in English), but even if nothing changed I feel like it was an insanely valuable experience for my language skills and my confidence in living in a country where I'm not fluent in the language. I also got to see cool sights and travel to interesting places on Fridays when we had excursions.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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

We were on a 24/7 language pledge and we were living with Chinese roommates.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans

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• Americans

• Intense language
• Amazing people
• Great excursions

• Critical thinking, analytical skills
• Accomodation for lower Chinese levels at the beginning of the semester
• The academic director's blatant favoritism of white men

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