Past Review

By Allison K (PSYCHOLOGY., Tufts University) for

SIT Study Abroad: Australia - Sustainability and Environmental Action

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

My study abroad experience was absolutely worthwhile. I gained a love of travel, and an appreciation for new experiences, and a new way of looking at learning. No matter what program you decide to do, or where you decide to go, you should definitely study abroad - it is an experience you'll never forget!

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Spring 2007

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The experiential learning component contributed greatly to my educational experience with SIT. Being almost completely on my own for five weeks to complete a research project was an experience that I never would have had at my home university. I learned a lot about the qualitative research process, and also a ton about Australian culture by being able to experience it firsthand through classes, lectures, travel, and my internship.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Our program director was rather wishy washy - he was changing our schedule a lot and did not grade our papers in a timely manner. He actually ended up getting fired from SIT before our program was even over. Besides these issues, he was very passionate about the topics he was teaching us, and always had amazing connections with local people, who he connected us with to give lectures and lessons. It was a very small program (10 people), so we were always able to reach him if we had questions, and we saw him almost every day.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived with a family outside of Melbourne. I was placed with them through SIT. <br /><br /> The family I stayed with was wonderful, but it would have been nice if the location were a bit closer to the city. I had a 30 minute commute every day, and if I ever went out at night, the trains stopped running after 12 or 1 (the bars were open much later!) and I would have to take a cab.
* Food:	My host family always fed me well. SIT provided us with a lunch stipend whenever we were in the city. Restaurants in Melbourne were also affordable enough to be able to go out to eat when I wanted to.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Our schedule was always pretty busy - we had class 9-4 Monday-Friday, and we had excursions almost every weekend, so it was hard to do things outside of class, especially since I lived 30+ minutes outside the city. However, the program did include various excursions that greatly enhanced the experience - for example, we went on a 2-week trip through the outback and to Sydney as a group, and we also had a few weekend trips that were a part of the program.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I always felt safe on the program.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	It depended how much I went out to eat and went out to bars. Prices for entertainment were relatively similar to the US.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I would definitely recommend budgeting for travel either before or after the program. The best part about studying abroad in Australia was the ability to travel within the continent.