SFS- Kenya and Tanzania Program Past Review
By Whitney7 (Wellesley College) for
The School for Field Studies / SFS: Tanzania - Wildlife Management Studies
I learned scientific field research skills and a greater understanding of global environmental programs. I think the skills I learned at SFS will help me in all of my feature academic endeavors
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Over the academics were not challenging in a technical aspect or high comprehension level of understanding but the extremely high volume of work was challenging.Assignments were given out on almost a daily basis. The volume of work took away from the overall experience because students were so busy with assignments there was no time to enjoy the one off day and enjoy being in East Africa. Also there was absolutely NO feedback in this program, which is a failure of the program as a whole. It is vital that students receive feedback from professors so they can grow as intellectuals. In the program, assignments and tests were not given back until the day that final grades were due. Thus students had no idea about their academic progress through out the semester. This was ridiculous and did not give students an opportunity to improve any of their skills over the semester. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
|
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing was very nice and comfortable. It was arranged by and on SFS's campus. There was not access to night light because of SFS regulations. Bedding material was not provided and should be bought before leaving the US. |
| * Food: |
The school provided accommodations for vegetarian students, but I know vegan students had a very difficult time eating. Overall there never seemed to be enough food. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
|
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
|
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
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) |
|
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Students practiced with staff mainly, their was little community involvement but when students did get the opportunity to practice with community members they did. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
