A balance between cultural adventure and computer science development September 26, 2024
By A student (Computer Science, Brandeis University) - abroad from 05/27/2024 to 07/24/2024 with
Arcadia: Dublin - University College Dublin
I learned not only the context around computer science when it comes to research but also the place of Ireland within the world of computer science. I personally thought it was worth it because I got to see if I enjoyed computer science research and I also got to explore a country whose culture I've never been exposed to before (prior, I only had experience with Thai culture).
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The lab work was fairly approachable and was a good balance between academically fulfilling and not too demanding where we did not have any time to explore the country. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was very supportive and responded quickly. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing itself was great and used modern facilities, but there were some problems with the housemates situation due to stealing. The bathrooms were also prone to flooding |
| * Food: |
We mostly had to cook our own food but food provided on campus was good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt integrated when going beyond campus, but on campus there were not really a lot of opportunities to socialize with locals as a lot of students during the summer there were international. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not really have any health issues during the program. |
| * Safety: |
The campus itself was pretty safe as were some parts of Dublin. There were other parts of Dublin though, particularly the North side, where it felt unsafe as a female, Asian-American tourist (witnessing physical assaults on the street at night, homeless/beggars coming up to me, Asian-targeted comments, etc). |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I was pretty content with my experience there as I got to travel all around the country and got to see parts of Ireland I never knew I would have wanted to see had I not had the opportunity to go there. |
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) |
You could definitely try to budget everything more efficiently, but living in Dublin, the cost of living is already pretty high, and if you really want to experience the culture, you'll have to splurge more in some areas. |
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 had known the depth of public transportation around the country as well as beyond Dublin, it's a lot harder to get around. |
