Belgium: The best decision I have ever made Past Review
By Ashlyn T (psychology, Abroad101 University) for
AFS: High School Year and Semester Study Abroad
You learn who you are and strengthen all the good qualities you had at the beginning.
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. |
There is no homework only exams, so you must be in 100% control and in charge of whether or not you pass the year or not. It is hard to know what the teachers are expecting and no matter what, only 10% of the students pass at the end of the year. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I love AFS because they have been doing this so sucessfully for so long. Even my mom was an AFS exchange student |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Right next to the school but with my own freedom of choosing my own apartment |
| * Food: |
Obviously I was the one cooking haha |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
only with locals but not with other students on the program which I found to be the best |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
you are on your own but it is a safe place to live |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Only speak the foreign language and have a little contact with your home country as possible. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Any one open and independent that isn't afraid of anything, jump right in. |
