A great travel and cultural experience Past Review
By Katie Ryan (Case Western Reserve University) - abroad from 09/16/2016 to 12/09/2016 with
American College of Thessaloniki (ACT): Thessaloniki - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I gained independence and the chance to see a lot of amazing things. It was worthwhile because I got to travel almost every weekend and I got to enjoy Greek culture every day as well.
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. |
The classes are interesting, but not very rigorous compared to my home institution. This isn't a bad thing if you're mainly looking to travel/enjoy the abroad experience, however. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our RA's were great, but the administration was often disorganized. For example, we didn't get our student IDs until November, and we had some issues with getting adequate busing to and from the housing to school. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I enjoyed living in apartments instead of dorms. |
| * Food: |
The program doesn't provide dinners or anything like that, but the lunch available for purchase at the school was pretty good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Housing is in a residential area, so it's easy to get a feel for the community. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
There is a school nurse available at certain hours, and your RAs can help you when she's not available. |
| * Safety: |
Thessaloniki is super safe, I walked around at 4 am with one or two other people a bunch of times and never once felt unsafe. A couple people did get pick-pocketed however, so theft precautions are wise, but violent crime doesn't seem to be a serious threat. |
| 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) |
Greece is very cheap due to the recession, so if you don't indulge all the time it's very reasonable. I travelled a lot so I spent a lot, but still came in under budget. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Food was no more than 25 euros per week if you bought groceries and cooked your own meals. Food is super cheap in Greece. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget! |
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 |
It's an American college so everything was in English, but there are Greek students and Greek classes so if you want to learn you can. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I took four years of French |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Take the Greek class |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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? | Finals were done a week earlier than they told us initially. If I'd known I could have left earlier and avoided getting my residence permit, which you need to get after 90 days, and which costs like 150 euro. |
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. |
