Great Classes but Disorganized Administration & Dirty Dorms Past Review
By Manato Jansen (Calvin College) - abroad from 07/03/2017 to 07/27/2017 with
University of Haifa: Study Abroad at Haifa International School
I learned a lot from my class and it was an eye opening and worthwhile experience. I just don't think it was the right university to do it at.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Professor Yuval was amazing. Very passionate about what he teaches and unbiased. Friendly and welcoming classroom atmosphere. |
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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? |
Very disappointing. They said they cleaned the dorms before we came, but my walls had sticky residue, the shower was full of hair, and the toilet was definitely not cleaned. Floor was dirty and definitely was not cleaned thoroughly. The sheets and pillow we got from the uni was also damp and did not feel super clean. The dorm kitchen was a mess. Overall thoroughly disappointed by the dorm situation because it was not cleaned at all before I came. In addition they said they would charge a cleaning fee if we left the dorm without cleaning, which seemed really hypocritical. Housing was the worst part of the program. |
| * Food: |
No meal plans and didn't receive a lot of good info on where to eat. Lack of info. Food on campus was good, though. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Hardly. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
It was alright, but we never received our health insurance card that they told us we would receive. |
| * Safety: |
Very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Getting to the university from Ben Gurion was very difficult. No information provided by the university on how to get there. When I got to the university, there were no signs directing me to the international school registration spot. So I was completely lost in how to even find the international school. We didn't receive info on how to navigate things that well, and the administration just seemed relatively messy. Dorms were a mess, they were not clean. |
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) |
Food and commuting was expensive, but not terrible. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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?
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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? | That it was not a very organized program. There were a lot of class conflicts with group trips, and they kick you out of the dorms before your last class is even over. Luckily we got an extension but I feel like we shouldn't have to ask for one. The online application for the program was very messy. |
