Past Review

By (Mba, SUNY - Binghamton) for

SUNY Binghamton: New Delhi - Technology, Economy, and Society in India

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
The experience was definitely worth it. I was so glad to get to know a large chunk of my classmates on a level that no one will forget. I learned a lot about the auto market, rural retail, and education through our company visits.

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place: Winter 2010

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This trip was a terrific learning experience. We learned a lot about the cultural of India as well as the business side of this emerging market.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Professor Gupta was an excellent program director. He tried to cater the trip to everyone's needs and desires. He crammed a lot of experiences into the trip. This was great because the trip was so short and there was so much to see and do. The blend of fun, tourism, and business lesson was perfect.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Hotel <br /><br /> We stayed in a hotel the entire trip. The hotel was better once they figured out how to make sure everyone could get a hot shower everyday. The wireless internet was poor. The service was good and the meals they provided were good to very good.

* Food:

I loved all the food we were served. The native food was excellent everywhere we went. I was only slightly annoyed about the number of times we had to eat at McDonalds but I understand this was necessary for other students to get a familiar taste from home.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Everyone we met on the trip was very warm and welcoming to us. No one seemed to mind our asking questions or curiosities about India.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

The pre-trip health orientation was great to help me to prepare for what might lie ahead in India and how to prevent illness. I always felt safe on the trip.

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? I changed $400 into Rs. at the start of the trip and that was just enough to cover my expenses for the two weeks.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? I ended up getting a really good exchange rate on the few credit card purchases I made so it would have been better to charge purchases as much as possible because I made out better on the exchange even considering the 1% fee my card charged.

Language

Language acquisition improvement?

I was able to get around fine because English is so prevalent and I could rely on the professor to translate when I really needed to communicate in Hindi so I didn't improve much at all during the trip.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

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  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

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  • Americans