low quality disorganized education but good alone time! Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/28/2019 to 12/15/2019 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Moscow
I got valuable alone time
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Most of the professors did not care at all about us- it felt like our class was an easy extra thing they did to make a little money instead of an opportunity to teach foreign students about Russia |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
It was incredibly disorganized- we almost didn't get our visas in time! Everything was scheduled very last minute and created a ton of stress for us |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a dorm and it was fine! |
| * Food: |
I made all my own food |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Living in a dorm of international students made it really hard to practice Russian and integrate |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
n/a |
| * Safety: |
I never felt unssafe |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I would direct enroll |
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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 40 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | saving on going out to eat |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | russian 202 |
| 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? | live with a host family to practice |
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? |
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? | that grades were so arbitrary- i stressed out too much at the beginning |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
History of Post Soviet Russia |
| Course Department: | RGU |
| Instructor: | Sergey |
| Instruction Language: | Russian |
| Comments: | I liked this class! It was interesting lecture! We didn't have any work and final grades felt very arbitrary, but I learned a lot from sitting in class |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Soviet Literature |
| Course Department: | RGU |
| Instructor: | Bit-Yunan |
| Instruction Language: | Russian |
| Comments: | This class was really difficult to talk in and the professor did not do a good job of allowing less advanced students to speak without pressure. There was also a weird flirtatious energy with one of the students which felt very inappropriate. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Russian Painting of the Late 18th to Early 19th Centuries |
| Course Department: | HSE |
| Instructor: | Anna Lvovna |
| Instruction Language: | Russian |
| Comments: | This was a direct enrolment class and I loved it! I learned so much from these lectures and the professor was very acommodating. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Grammar Level 2 |
| Course Department: | HSE |
| Instructor: | Igray Uchi |
| Instruction Language: | Russian |
| Comments: | It was really boring and we were assigned way too much work, but it was all incredibly tedious and easy |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | no |
