3rd Times a Charm May 12, 2023
By A student (Korean Language, Literature, Wellesley College) - abroad from 03/02/2023 to 06/22/2023 with
Seoul National University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
This was my 3rd time in Korea and my longest time and I learned a lot about myself. I definitely gained a deeper sense of independence and learned how to better handle my mental and emotional health. I also learned that I am able to keep up in classes with local students, even though participating in class discussions was a bit hard initially. I met so many lovely people in this program that I plan to see when I come back for Graduate school. Oh! That's another thing. I solidified that I want to come to Graduate school in Korea. I've come to realize that I can truly see myself living and working in Korea (for a while at least) and attending the top university in Korea and NOT failing any classes definitely gave me the final push I needed to pursue my higher education here. It was absolutely worthwhile and even though it was difficult sometimes, I was always able to find my way and make everything work out in the end. I would 100% do the program again, especially knowing what I know now.
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. |
The classes were much less rigorous than I expected. This may be due to the type of classes I was taking but in general, I was surprisingly stress-free academically speaking. But my Korean speaking skills have definitely improved. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I never contacted them for anything but if I had, I'm sure they would've been helpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I didn't live on campus. I lived off campus in an apartment and I enjoyed it but it was kinda lonely. |
| * Food: |
The food was amazing. No complaints. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This was my third time in Korea so I had no problem integrating into the country and lifestyle since I was here pretty recently. An org on campus was also very helpful with integrating into the school life. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $50-60 USD |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save, Save, Save before you come. Korea is very inexpensive food wise but if you want to try a variety of good food then you'll need to have money set aside for that. There are also lots of tourist attractions and festivals to go to, especially in the summer. So those also have to be budgeted for. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| 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? | 231- Advanced Korean |
| 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? | It may seem daunting, but I would take at least 1 class in the target language. I took 4 and it was manageable but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it just because it can get tiring. But I would recommend at least 1, as it helps immensely with learning the language faster. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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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? | 10+ |
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? | I now know how many classes I'm supposed to take and I know what can and cannot be transferred. I also now know that living alone and cooking for myself and stuff like that is more expensive than I originally thought but the money can easily be managed once I had an idea of the costs of things. |
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 LinguistYou 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! |
