An amazing experience that allowed for me to study, work, and travel all in one! Past Review

By (BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES., Villanova) - abroad from 01/09/2013 to 05/03/2013 with

Villanova University: London or Singapore - Global Citizens Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Yes it was worthwhile! I loved my internship and it might be something I am interested in the future!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Macro teacher wasn't very good (Karin). Combining classes isn't a good idea (Macro and Chinese classes). Chinese teacher was ok, but since she was teaching both beginners and intermediate at the same time, I didn't learn as much as I would have if I were back at Villanova. Business Dynamics teacher went too slow and didn't cover all the material. ACS teacher (Dr. Gwee) was very good and organized. And technically our semester was squished into 6 weeks so we felt like we were being slammed with work with such little time. It also seemed like some of the professors didn't understand the syllabus Villanova gave them. The class portion really needs to be worked more closely with.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

AIC was great--Shannah and Jonathan were both great! Although some of their plans didn't work out went they took us touring, I appreciate their effort. They were easy to communicate with and we could come to them with any problems. They were very helpful. We also got to know Jonathan and his friend Erin pretty well and it was fun sharing differences in cultures

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Our housing had a great location, right near the MRT and close to the main part of the city. Global Residences was good: cleaning services twice a week, front desk was very helpful, laundry, TV, wifi. However, our group had 3 apartments which were all spread out between 3 buildings. It would have been nice to be closer together or at least all in the same building. However I understand housing isn't that available in Singapore.

* Food:

The food is amazing in Singapore, and it's cheap so even better!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

During the first 8 weeks were it was just classes, I didn't feel integrated at all because we were living and taking classes with everyone else from Villanova. We weren't really meeting locals. Then the 8 weeks where we were interning, I felt more integrated because of my coworkers. They took me out for chili crab and durian and a few local treats. I also got to know Jonathan and Erin better too.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues while in Singapore so I wouldn't know

* Safety:

Singapore is super safe but you still shouldn't do anything stupid. But I had no problems with this.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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)

I was typically able to get by with $100 a week during school because I would make my own lunch and bring it to school. But when the internship started, we would eat out for lunch and dinner I was spending more than $100 a week. Plus we took trips to other countries. Then all the places of attraction have entry fees, anywhere from $5-30 so depending on how many places we would go on the weekend, things could get very expensive. Luckily transportation is pretty cheap, but it is still something you have to add in as a cost.

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? It's expensive to study abroad so when there are deals at attraction places, try and take them up as much as you can.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • Internship
* What could be improved?
  • Teachers
  • Classes
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Pack lighter because you're going to want to bring home a lot more than you can actually take. Don't be afraid to go out and do things alone. Make friends with the locals early on.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Chinese

Course Department: Chinese
Instructor: Chen Lao Shi
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Teacher was very knowledgeable since she is from China. However, I feel as if my Chinese got worse over there. Partly because our Chinese class was split between 3 beginners and then me who is in intermediate. Therefore she had to split her time between us. This means I was learning at a much slower rate.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Moderns

Course Department:
Instructor: Gwee
Instruction Language:
Comments: Gwee was great. The discussion we had on all the books were very in depth. He was very well organized and well-prepared. He even planned his projects and essays around the other classes, which helped distribute the workload. I enjoyed his class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Macro

Course Department:
Instructor: Karin
Instruction Language:
Comments: Karin was not a very good teacher. She wouldn't allow us to email her if we had questions. Then this class was split between Macro and GE (I think), so once again combining classes wasn't a very good idea. She also didn't teach any graphs (she said they don't teach it that way anymore) which is basically all I learned in Micro the first semester...
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Business Dynamics

Course Department:
Instructor: Aaron
Instruction Language:
Comments: We moved very slowly and didn't get through all the material we were supposed to get through. He was nice, but he spent too much time in class going over and over one chapter which is why we didn't finish.
Credit Transfer Issues: