Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

A complex experience that can't really be summarized in one line Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/21/2018 to 12/15/2018 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Santiago

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was definitely worthwhile. I felt more self-sufficient and independent by the end of it, learned a lot about Chile, and improved my Spanish. I think it is incredible to be able to spend 5 months in a foreign country.

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 felt somewhat frustrated with all of my courses, in part due to the lack of academic rigor compared to my classes at Middlebury. I also did not love the format of my classes, as they were all fairly big (30-40 students) lectures, where the professors did not put very much weight on student input. I did like the writing and culture course that the program offered though, and they gave us a lot of flexibility with how we structured our courseload, such as by doing an internship or independent research project for a credit instead of a class.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The program staff did a good job of helping me as much as they could whenever I had a problem. Oftentimes our meetings were scheduled at the last minute, but the staff always addressed my concerns.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I really liked that the program is a bit longer than a typical study abroad program (~4.5 months) because I had more time to integrate into the local culture without sacrificing another full semester at Middlebury. I found it hard to integrate into social life at my university, in part because I wasn't there very often due to the format of the Human Rights Track. However, I felt immersed in Chilean culture through my host family and extracurriculars I found outside of the University.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any health issues during the program, but GeoBlue (our insurance company) had a lot of good information on its website. The program staff did a good job of covering health care information during our orientation.

* Safety:

Overall, I felt fairly safe in Santiago. I did not feel much less safe than I do in large cities in the US.

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

I really liked the Middlebury Program in Santiago, but I wouldn't do the Human Rights Track again because I didn't feel like a gained much by doing the track (instead of not doing any track), and in a few ways it was limiting.

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)

I had to spend $150 on food and rent (both were provided by my host family). Otherwise, I had very few expenses (mostly just the metro).

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $30 (not including food and rent).
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? If you're studying in Santiago, start your application for a student metro card as soon as you can, because that will save you ~70% of the cost of a trip.

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

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? Fluent
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? 300
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? Watching TV or movies in Spanish (especially things set in Chile) is a great way to practice hearing the accent and to learn about the culture.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • The independence they gave us
  • The focus on cultural immersion
  • The staff were very nice and wanted to work with students
* What could be improved?
  • The tutoring sessions for the Human Rights Track did not help with our independent projects, and took a lot of time so either making those individual or getting rid of them
  • The language/writing tutoring sessions felt pretty unfocused and I don't think helped my language skills very much
  • At times I felt over scheduled, between classes at my university, my internship, and meetings/classes for the program.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I'd known that all of the components of the Human Rights Track are things that you can do even if you are not on a track.

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:

Historia Social y Politica de Chile
Course Department: Sociology
Instructor: Camila Silva Salinas
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I don't think this class is a very good one if you're looking for an introduction into Chilean history. The course focused on historiography of Chile (in other words, discussing how academics have analyzed Chilean history) and telling the people's history of Chile. For someone who is not familiar with the more mainstream history of Chile, these focuses made the course difficult and less satisfying than a more typical course would have been. The readings and exams were challenging, mostly because I felt I did not have enough context to understand them. With that said, Profesora Silva Salinas was very knowledgeable and she was very kind of the exchange students in the class, always making sure we understood what was going on and making accommodations for us on essays because we were not native Spanish speakers.
Credit Transfer Issues: