Don't Choose This Program Past Review

By (Northwestern University) - abroad from 01/27/2019 to 05/12/2019 with

SIT Study Abroad: Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned that growth happens during difficult times.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were really disorganized. One of our professors was fired before the end of the semester and they did not give a good justification- it honestly seemed like a personal issue between that particular professor and the academic directors. The independent study/internship period was a disaster- it was incredibly disorganized and many students ended up starting their projects late due to the incompetence of the academic directors.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The academic directors are husband and wife, which creates ethical issues from the start. Many people who are associated with the program (e.g. "translators", for instance) seem to be friends of people who work there. Dr. Thiam, one of the academic advisors, seems to think he's the glue that holds the whole entire organization together. He was working on like 5 other study abroad programs during our semester, which made it seem like he didn't have enough time to actually devote to our program. I don't have much to say about Dr. Brodnicka, the other academic advisor- she was kind, but the fact that she is married to Dr. Thiam made it difficult to talk to her about many issues because it seemed like she had to choose between siding with students or siding with her husband.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was okay for me, but there were a number of students with housing issues that were ignored.

* Food:

Food was fine.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was pretty difficult. There were Senegalese students who took part in our program, and some of the male Senegalese students sexually harassed many of the American female students at some point during the semester. Even though all of the students were told that "no means no" during our orientation, the students who harassed the others seemed to think that "no" meant "try harder". It was difficult to call them out without seeming like we, as American students, were criticizing Senegalese culture as a whole.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues.

* Safety:

Dakar wasn't too bad- just use common sense, like you would anywhere.

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

I don't regret doing the program, but I most definitely would NOT do it again.

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)

It's affordable if you don't eat outside often.

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

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

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

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • I got to experience a new country
  • I met some really cool people
  • I tried amazing food
* What could be improved?
  • The program's administration was terrible
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I knew how terrible the program's administration was- they were really the downfall of the program. The academic directors are incredibly smart people, but they absolutely don't know how to run the program. My semester was the second one they led, if I remember correctly, so they were still working out the kinks. It's just unfortunate that my classmates and I had to experience the mistakes they made.