New Second Home Past Review
By A student (Marketing, University of Maine - Orono) - abroad from 09/13/2017 to 12/15/2017 with
Bangor University: Wales - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I gained a lot of newfound self confidence in multiple areas of my life. One large thing I learned is if people do not make effort into spending time with you, its pointless to waste time hoping they will when you can go find people who will appreciate you.
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 |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Because there are no dining halls you have to provide food for yourself, which is not bad its just something to be prepared for. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had to go to hospital at one point and get an X-Ray and it was very easy and they were very helpful. Make sure as soon as you get there you register with a local doctor, even if you think you never get sick, things happen. |
| * Safety: |
Bangor is an very safe city, with the students making up the majority of the population. I always felt safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved every minute of my experience in Bangor and some of the surrounding cities. |
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) |
The cost of living in Wales is much cheaper than when you travel to major cities. Everything is in walking distance so you really do not have to spend any money on public transport, and there are cheap grocery options. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $70-$100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Try not to use your card all the time, its much better if you take money out of the ATMs and leave your card in your room for the most part. |
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 |
Most of the students do not speak Welsh, but we were given opportunities to learn everyday conversational Welsh. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
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?
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? | 10+ |
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? | I wish I new how to cook more before I went to a program where I had to provide for myself. I ordered deliveroo far too many times, and lived off of ham and cheese toasties. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
