IES Beijing: good, or maybe excellent if you work at it Past Review
By Brian F (COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AND SUPPORT SERVICES., Cornell University) for
Beijing Foreign Studies University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
This program was great about pushing us to think outside our own perspective, which is really necessary for understanding China. I feel like I've broadened my horizons quite a lot.
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. |
The education is good on the whole, especially if you're willing to put in the effort to get something from the program. The instructors (language and area studies both) are a mixed bag. The best are the ones who are either closely tied to IES or work in an academic environment. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration and RA team were excellent. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I'm quite pleased with the living arrangements, though you'll have to accommodate yourself somewhat to the Chinese way of living. Internet access is intermittent and painfully slow. |
| * Food: |
Lots of good food in the neighborhood. Alley Pizza is a favorite hangout, and the Uighur place on the other side of campus is good and unlike most other Chinese cuisine. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
IES arranges two-week mobile learning units, from which the students can pick. I finished off my semester studying the environment in Yunnan; others chose to study minorities in Tibet. In addition, there are long weekends throughout the semester, during which students are encouraged to travel. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
China is very safe, and though most students experience illness at some point, it's rarely serious, and the staff are good at taking care of us. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
The class was good, though I felt that the pedagogy was not as good as it was at my home school. There are lots of chances to practice, since the language pledge and living with a Chinese family or roommate will force you to converse a lot, but you will (as always) learn more if you work at it. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live 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? | If you want to have an easy semester, where you coast on through doing the minimum work and still get a decent grade, you can do that here. But if you want to put in effort and work hard, you'll find the program has a lot to offer. |
