This experience gave me international perspective, I did not have before. Past Review
By Donovan Allen (Trinity University) - abroad from 02/13/2016 to 06/04/2016 with
IFSA/Alliance: Shanghai - Intensive Chinese Language
Worthwhile. I gained chinese language skills, international perspective and learned more about how China's economy fits in the World economy.
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 enjoyed this program as it was well structured, and included a week long international business trip to Shenzhen(home of tencent), Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Great administration. Chris, the residential director, acted as a mentor to all the students in the program along with Charlotte, who has now left the program. Ying yi was another key player. If ever any problems you could always go to anyone of these three and most likely have your problem solved. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Decent. I choose to live with a smoker. Did not know this entitled me to living with a rude individual who took 5 showers a day and smoked a cig every time he showered. Leaving the whole apartment smelling awful for 10min after every shower. |
| * Food: |
Love the food opportunities everywhere. If you are a foody, this is the place to be. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very, because if I needed anything I had to use my chinese to go and find and buy it. Going out to eat forced me to only use chinese. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Never used it but heard it was good from friends. |
| * Safety: |
Shanghai is a supper safe place. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Great program, possibly would have looked at other options just to see other opportunities, because this program was not at the school I really wanted to go to. Fudan or Jiaotong would be a preferable choice over the Finance and Economics university. |
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) |
Very easy to live cheap here. Food is cheap, necessities are relatively cheap. Traveling and going out is what kills the bank account. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I could live on $5 a day unless I went out, then could spend $15-$30 in one day. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat cheap during the week and enjoy the weekends, and budget for travel. |
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 |
Everyone encouraged to speak chinese. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 3301 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Repetition. Get a language speaking partner. |
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? | Wish I saved more for travel. As everything was close, such as singapore, taiwan, japan, thailand. Also, that I should have saved $120 to rent a scooter for my time being there. Would have made getting around, such as going to a bar, the subway, exploring, a little more convenient and fun. |
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. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Int'l Finance |
| Course Department: | Finance or IB |
| Instructor: | Chen |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This instructor was the worst instructor I have ever had. Would not recommend taking this class through this program. Did not learn much from the class. I always sat front row and kept up with his lessons. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese Language |
| Course Department: | Language |
| Instructor: | Lee |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | Loved the teacher. Repetition teaching style. Emphasis on speaking rather than writing. I felt this was an excellent class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
