Salzburg, Austria: A Balanced Experience. Past Review
By Coral K (Psychology and Sociology, Austin College) for
AIFS: Salzburg - University of Salzburg
I gained a new perspective and appreciation for American culture, which I had previously snubbed, and I matured a lot over the course of the semester. I started the program feeling like an out-of-place teenager, but I left feeling like a responsible adult who can live on her own and be taken seriously in society.
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. |
What is expected from you is much less clearly defined than in American universities. Also, grading is less often calculated in percentages, often on a scale of 1-5 or in an arbitrary number of points (for example, many of my exams were graded out of 37 points). |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff in Salzburg is very nice, knowledgeable, and helpful, as well as responding to calls and emails in a very timely manner. The overarching organization can be less organized and helpful, but the local staff does the best they can to deal with them. My main complaint about the program overall is that it clumps together a group of Americans and keeps them somewhat isolated from the locals. AIFS students dorm together, take classes together, and go out together. It's very tough to make friends with non-Americans. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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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? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent somewhere around 40 euros a week, on food, souvenirs and other little items. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Set yourself a budget from the start of the semester - know how much money you expect to spend over the course of your whole trip. Also, don't spend frivilously just because you're abroad, and try not to forget about the conversion between the local currency and the one you're more used to. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 101 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I chose to use German as much as I could, particularly in shops and restaurants around town. All of the students on my program were American, though, and most of my classes were taught in English, so German never became my primary form of communication. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This program is good for students who expect a very high standard of living and who value the comfort of having an American support system while living abroad in Austria. |
