A learning experience Past Review
By Kamryn Mason (Berea College) - abroad from 09/08/2016 to 12/21/2016 with
AIFS: Athens - American College of Greece
I became more outgoing and more willing to meet new people which is something that I had always struggles with before.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I liked my classes i just felt like i essentially taught myself and that the professors weren't super involved. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The only on-site person that i dealt with while in Greece was Alice and I absolutely loved her. She was super sweet and put a lot of work into making sure that we enjoyed ourselves, experienced the culture, and got out monies worth. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I liked that the housing was apartment style. We still had room mates so it was like a dorm in that sense, but it was nice to have our own individual space and actually be treated like adults versus being treated like children. |
| * Food: |
The food was great. We got a stipend that we could spend in grocery stores, restaurants, and the school cafeteria so I was always very well fed and the food was always good quality. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The RA's within our dorm made some attempts to get us involved with the culture but there weren't that many of those. For the most part we were expected to find ways to immerse ourselves in the culture by ourselves which was difficult because a lot of the locals didn't really want a whole lot to do with us. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
There was a nurse on campus that we were welcome to go to if we had any medical issues that was always there. |
| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe the entire time that I was there. There were a few situations where I experienced racism but nothing to extreme to where I would advise against other students going there. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I feel like they did a good job at giving us things to do and opportunites too explore other places so that we weren't stuck in Athens and floundering trying to find ways to be involved. |
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) |
I feel like I did ok with expenses and thats mainly because of the stipend that we received of $260 every month. Most of my personal money went towards the trips that I took and the souvenirs that I bought for my family. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $50 a week on food |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would say set aside a specific budget for food and how often you want to eat out as well as a budget for other countries that you visit or activities that you want to participate in. Also try to plan for potential expenses that you may have when you return to the U.S. so that you don't come back with no money and aren't able to handle your responsibilities here. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | I wish I would have packed a lot lighter, and I would have probably tried to plan all other trips that I wanted to take super early so that the tickets would not have been as expensive. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
