Costa Rica was amazing Past Review
By Devon B (Global Studies, University of the Pacific) for
Universidad Internacional de las Americas: San José - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
extremely worthwhile. My language acquisition and cultural understanding I feel have sky rocketed my ability to apply my education after I graduate
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
the strength is that the people are easy to get in touch with. the weakness is that I got lucky with my homestay. there were students who arrived without anywhere to stay. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
there are tons of places around the city to dine in and there good foo all over San Jose. If you have a good cook in your homestay, eat there and try Costa Rican cuisine. There's one place called Cafe Mundo which has really good food !! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The school does not have very many activities in which you can get invovled, but they do have a tourism department, so there are trips that a lot of people go on. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | this varied week to week because of excursions and the fact that I got all meals at my homestay. Make sure to budget for it if you want to travel around Costa Rica and to other countries from Costa Rica. A bus ticket to Panama City if about $45 one way but buses within Costa Rica are a lot cheaper. I spent $2 a day on bus to get to and from the University |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I was not anticipating traveling so much. Costa Rica is amazing if you get the chance to travel around, so you should make sure to budget a lot of money and maybe some time after classes end to travel |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I was taking Spanish electives before I left |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
A lot of people spoke English, but they prefer to speak Spanish with foreigners. I practiced with everyone I encountered. This is a language intensive component, because there are no classes in Spanish. You are thrown right into the school and people assume you are fluent in the language if you look Costa Rican |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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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