Definitely pros and cons, but a experience worth having. January 14, 2022
By A student (Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/01/2021 to 12/17/2021 with
Seoul National University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
While I definitely enjoyed the experience, there were limiting factors caused by the pandemic.
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. |
Academic rigor was decent, not as rigorous in comparison to the Wellesley standards. However, the exams were designed in such way that the students were bound to fail in some of the courses: i.e. the average for the midterm and final would be less than 50. Despite the grade inflation, I'm not sure if this is a fine way to test the students, because there wouldn't be anything that they would get out of the course. While the resources were definitely available, it was less accessible to the exchange students, because we wouldn't know about it until later on until a full-time student at the institute lets us know. Additionally, it was hard to get hold of the professors, and was forced to interact only with TAs, which also felt unfair. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Relatively nice, but they were very slow, so it was frustrating. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorm was not guaranteed, which is highly disappointing. However, I managed to find a sharehouse in a close location, and lived with very compatible housemates. |
| * Food: |
Needless to say, the food was excellent. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I got to connect back with my roots, which was really nice. People were generally nice and friendly, which was also warming. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Excellent healthcare. Got the booster shot in Korea too. |
| * Safety: |
Probably one of THE most safe country out there. I did not feel any safety concerns at any point. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
It's inexpensive to eat out, but the vegetables and fruits were extremely expensive to buy, not to mention the meat. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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? | Sign up for courses that aren't rigorous! Leave time to travel around! |
