Absolutely Amazing, you'll never want to come home! Past Review
By Kate H (Communication and Media Studies., University of Iowa) - abroad from 02/10/2009 to 06/25/2009 with
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Melbourne - Deakin University
I gained a valuable learning experience not just academically but personally and The Education Abroad Network was instrumental in making my experience exceptional! I pushed myself out of my comfort zone the whole time I was abroad. I learned things about the way other people in the world live and how they view America/ns. I was able to experience an absolutely amazing country, meet new and interesting people who I have remained close to, and do things I never thought would be possible! It was absolutely worthwhile and I would have loved to been able to stay another semester or do my full degree in Australia. Melbourne is the most beautiful, multicultural, sporting city in Australia! I loved it so much I went back and worked for a year after graduation!! Studying abroad in Australia changed my life and I strongly recommend spending a semester in Melbourne through The Education Abroad Network!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The courses were so interesting! I took everything from Australian cinema to American foreign politics and everything in between! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing that The Education Abroad Network provided was absolutely stunning! It was in such a trendy neighborhood, super close to shopping, cafes, bars, Melbourne's CBD and it was an easy commute out to Deakin! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Since we were living in a beautiful neighborhood and were super close to cafes and bars we were able to become locals at some eating/drinking establishments and became quite close with a lot of people from the area! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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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) |
I was all about going out and experiencing everything the city had to offer including restaurants, shopping, bars, music festivals, the footy, shows, museums, joining recreational teams etc. so while I spent a lot of my money, I didn't find it unreasonable and still had money left over when I got home! I also traveled a bit! |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | It really varied from week to week...anywhere from 100/wk to 500/wk depending on what events I was going to, how much I went out, how much shopping I did etc. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It's definitely much cheaper to buy your groceries or even look for a market type store. We also had a farmers market right down the street from us most Saturdays while we were abroad so we could buy produce and other goods for much cheaper! Though you can find super cheap take away places around the city as well. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew how much I was going to love it so I could have gone earlier and stayed longer. |
