Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

OTS Costa Rica was a hands-on adventure Past Review

By (Conservation Biology., Middlebury College) for

Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS): San Jose - Tropical Biology on a Changing Planet

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I'm happy I went, but I'm not sure I would choose this program again. I loved the field experience and hands-on learning that I gained from it, but I had a tough group, that I got pretty sick of by the end of the experience, so I was pretty ready to come home. I think it was a challenge, and it was important to learn to handle working with some difficult peers, so in that sense I'm glad I did it. I think it could have been better though, if I had been with other students that I enjoyed more. I think it was great experience for me and it helped me recognize aspects of my major that I'm especially interested in, which was great and will help in the future.

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.

It was a Duke program, so the grading and everything else was the American educational system.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The administration was good. They were helpful and knew what they were doing. My expectations were met.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

I ate enough rice and beans for the rest of my life. Some biological stations had better food than others, my host mom made great food. Overall the food was good.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I didn't love my group, so I think this contributed negatively to my social experience. But I had a great host family for the 3 weeks in San Jose, and that was a positive cultural experience.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Our program was very concerned and took a lot of precautions regarding our safety (for good reason considering sometimes how far away we were from medical access). But they also gave us good information and safety tips about being in the city. I didn't have any experiences with healthcare, but some kids had minor things, and they were well-taken care of.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

I was a beginner, so I practiced the most in my spanish class and with my host family. BUt this program's purpose wasn't really focused on spanish.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hostel
  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Hands-on learning
  • Research experience
  • Costa Rica is beautiful!
* What could be improved?
  • Peers
  • Independent time for travel etc.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Students interested in Biology and Environmental studies would most benefit from this program. The program is a lot of together time with a very small group of students, so make sure you are ready for that. It also felt a little like a summer camp, because we were always on a schedule. In some ways it was nice always having something to do, but this is not a very typical abroad experience.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Foundations of Tropical Biology
Course Department: BIO134
Instructor: OTS professors (Erika Deinert, Mauricio Garcia, Alex Gilman)
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This was definitely a challenging class, and being in Costa Rica made it extremely relevant and we took some very cool field trips. The teachers were generally good.. some were better than others. We had some interesting guests come and speak and take us on field trips which was great. I participated a ton, probably more than I would have at Middlebury.
Credit Transfer Issues: Not as far as I know of
Course Name/Rating:

Culture and Language in Costa Rica
Course Department: SP 62
Instructor: Costa Rica Language Academy
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I was a beginner in spanish, so I took a beginner level course. It was definitely a challenge, especially to try to communicate with my host family at first, but this class helped tremendously. In 3 weeks I learned a ton, and by the end, I could speak in full sentences and get my point across. The teacher was great and it was a fun class.
Credit Transfer Issues: I will get a credit for it, but I don't think it fulfills the language requirement for Midd.
Course Name/Rating:

Field Research in Tropical Biology
Course Department: BIO 135L
Instructor: OTS professors (Erika Deinert, Mauricio Garcia, Alex Gilman)
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was great. It was very relevant, and we were able to do independent research projects in Costa Rica which was a challenge academically, but a great experience. This class was a lot of work and I had to work pretty hard.
Credit Transfer Issues: Not as far as I know of
Course Name/Rating:

Environmental Science and Policy in the Tropics
Course Department: ENV-129
Instructor: OTS professors (Erika Deinert, Mauricio Garcia, Alex Gilman)
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Again, pretty good class. Very relevant for being in Costa Rica. We took some great field trips and really got to experience the problems (for conservation in Costa Rica) that we learned about in this class. The class was a challenge, but it was interesting.
Credit Transfer Issues: Again, not that I know of.