Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Chinese Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/21/2018 to 06/08/2018 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Hangzhou

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
My Chinese got better and I gained a lot of confidence both in my Chinese ability and overall

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.

I thought the course difficulty was about right to allow for enough time to engage with the host country as well as meet Middlebury's academic standards.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Our administrators were amazing, during the program there were multiple students who had to go to the hospital and it was all handled very well.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

All the roommates were amazing

* Food:

I thought the food was great and fairly reasonably priced, however if a student had any sort of dietary restraint it could be difficult to near impossible to find food that was safe for them.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It's hard to integrate in China just because everyone can tell you're not Chinese right away. Also our program kept us very separate from the rest of the university.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The program handled health care related incidents as well as could be expected, but some of the facilities weren't clean or well staffed, at least by American standards.

* Safety:

Hangzhou is a very safe city, I always felt comfortable walking alone after dark. However, students, especially female students, need to be aware when out at bars or clubs because there can be a lot of creepy guys.

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

It was a great program and I had amazing classmates

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)

Food is super cheap in China, so expenses weren't a huge problem

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $70
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? don't buy snacks like I did, you can buy a full meal for the same price.

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

Language Pledge

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Advanced
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? fourth year
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? find a way to make the language your own, don't just use it in the classroom or in classroom contexts, learn to apply vocab to different parts of your life

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • 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?
  • Travel
  • Food
* What could be improved?
  • better handicap accessibility
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Bring over the counter medicine, you can't buy it in China

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 Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Hangzhou Studies
Course Department: Chinese
Instructor: Professor Zhang and Professor Tao
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: I felt that I didn't get as much time out in Hangzhou in this class as other students did, but I also learned a lot in both my sections and got out on my own. I feel like the GPS section of the class had a lot of issues.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Independent Study
Course Department: Chinese
Instructor: Tao
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: I learned a lot from this class, however I have difficulty translating what I learned into English, so I wish we had covered that more. I also wish we had gotten feedback on our final thesis papers.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Chinese Film and Literature
Course Department: Chinese
Instructor: Zhang
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: This class was great, we learned a lot about Chinese cinema and through that, Chinese culture.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Contemporary Chinese Issues
Course Department: Chinese
Instructor: Lian
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: I felt like we didn't have the chance to engage with the material in a meaningful way, the instructor was more interested in hearing his own opinion than he was in listening to the students. Even more irritatingly, he was not eager to let us form our own sentences using the new vocab and grammar, instead preferring for us to memorize and recite back the text. I feel this style of language instruction really hindered my ability to retain the vocabulary and grammar concepts we studied.
Credit Transfer Issues: