A real life experience! Past Review
By A student (University of Haifa) - abroad from 08/03/2015 to 08/12/2016 with
University of Haifa: Study Abroad at Haifa International School
A real knowledge about what the modern Israel is all about. A very complex, religious and secular, controversial, mixed, multicultural, high-tech (and so on...) society...
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The course is really great! But, as most things in life, it can be improved even more... |
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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? |
I cannot comment much about this item, since I used to live off-campus... |
| * Food: |
Food at the University seems to be good. But, as I lived off-campus I used to feed myself elsewhere... |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Seems to be good for students living on University Campus. But, even so, because it is an international program, they feel more integrated with the international students rather than to the local culture... |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Seems to be very good. But you have to pay separately for dental care... |
| * Safety: |
Very good. Nearly every trip we took part there was a body guard accompanying students. The University Campus is also very careful about security matters... |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The program is really wonderful! It, of course, can be improved more. The unpleasant experiences I had was more related to the Israeli bureaucracy in my country and in Israel itself, especially related to solving visa matters... |
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) |
For me it was not very easy, since I went there without any home-country scholarship, could not live on Campus because the costs were high for me and my wife. But, we managed to survive... |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Not very easy. More than $250 per week, including bus fares... |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save as much as you can, especially if your currency is weak related to the USD, because Israel is an expensive country to live... |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
The International Program Courses are held in English... |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Avanced English |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | If you have the opportunity, spend some time in a English native speaking country, study it, improve it, specially the written skills, because you will have lots of papers to write and then apply for the International program at Haifa University... |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | The deadlines to apply for the master thesis track... |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
