Ireland: Personal Growth Past Review
By Frances M (HISTORY., Trinity University) for
Arcadia: Galway - National University of Ireland, Galway
Yes! I realized how the United States is viewed by other countries. Also it made me want to travel a lot more.
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. |
There was a lot of work, but most of the students never did it. They would only study a few weeks before their exams. Also their grading scale was different, but most of my professors used letter grades as opposed to assigning a number. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our director was not available very often and was often missing from her office hours. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing situation worked fine |
| * Food: |
Fresh food does not last long because they don't use as many preservatives as the U.S. does. So be sure to eat your food within the first two days of buying it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We had a trip that went to the Aran Islands which was a lot of fun |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The town was pretty safe, however I wished there were more police officers and street lamps to light the roads at night. There were patches that had lots of trees and no lights which felt unsafe to walk by at night. |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 75 euro |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't spend a ton of money when you first get there. It is tempting, but try and spread out your spending. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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 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 would say this was an excellent program. I feel like if you would rather have a very small program use this program. |
