I Can't Believe I Just Did That Past Review
By A student (Political Science and Government., Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/14/2015 to 01/03/2015 with
Bogazici University: Istanbul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Absolutely. It was incredibly challenging and I was in over my head. I went to the largest city in Europe, where I speak zero of the language entirely alone without any sort of program. In retrospect, it was arrogant and stupid to do it that way and paralyzed me in the beginning. I had done the same in Argentina a few years back, but I underestimated the role that language plays in the feasibility of that route. But I learned so much about Turkey, myself and how to thrive in a state of total panic. In the end, I had a great group of international friends, a few turks, enough Turkish to get by, and I knew Istanbul like the back of my hand. It was a long journey, and one that was not fun for much of the time, but entirely worth it. I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. The only real disappointment of my time was the school itself, which was a lame academic experience. But that in and of itself was a major cultural experience.
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. |
I give Bogazici a 3/5 on a scale adapted for abroad programs and what I know about other programs. That is to say that I would rank it far less rigorous in comparison to a place like Middlebury, but I was actually doing a lot more work than most of my friends abroad. Bogazici is considered to be the best school in Turkey, so I had higher expectations going in. My classes were mostly disappointing. The teaching style is very impersonal, academic integrity is not typically honored by the students, and the workload was generally quite easy. My biggest issue, however, is that the work is all memorization and regurgitation: there was zero room for independent intellectual thought and analysis. I was chastised for the times I attempted questioning anything the teacher had said. Much of this is cultural--Turkey is not a place where contrarian thought is generally welcomed--which was ultimately an important classroom takeaway, but resulted in a total lack of stimulating intellectual environment. I came to Turkey for serious academic work and was not met with any opportunity for it. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I was not on a program. But if I count the abroad student offices as my program administration, in that they looked after all international students, then I rank them very low. They were laughably unhelpful whenever I approached them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I found housing myself, which was quite a process. I moved in with two turkish girls and agreed to the arrangement prior to arriving in Turkey and seeing the apartment (only photos, which were misleading) and it ended up being a fairly bad situation. So, after a long process of apartment hunting and learning the ins and outs of Turkish real estate, I moved in with a friend in our own apartment. This arrangement was great but atypical for international students. |
| * Food: |
Best part about Turkey! Campus had great cheap options for students, and the neighborhood around Bogazici has a lot of quality food as well. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
In the beginning when I had Turkish roommates, I felt very integrated and had lots of Turkish friends. As the semester rolled on, I gravitated towards the myriad of international students around, as we were all on the same page with traveling and the sorts of things we wanted to do around Istanbul. I still maintained a few Turkish friendships, but this is a big regret of my semester. Not being on a program, however, was a huge advantage in being more integrated. My friends on programs knew almost no Turkish people. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no issues with health care. |
| * Safety: |
I generally felt safe, but I was careful not to go anywhere alone at night. There was an incident when I was there involving a girl I know being attacked at night in the neighborhood surrounding school. Bogazici's neighborhood is relatively safe, but even there things are known to happen. Crime is not a huge concern in Istanbul but it's always good to be smart--especially as a girl--and not travel around or take cabs alone after dark. Quite honestly, the biggest safety issue is traffic, hence my 3 stars. This sounds dramatic but there are no crosswalks anywhere in the city and avenues can be multiple lanes wide. Getting from one side of the street to another is always a dangerous endeavor, and one that I was very careful about. Also, from inside the car there are also issues. Cab drivers are typically reckless, particularly at night, and often drunk. Something to be mindful of. |
| 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) |
Turkey has a very high quality of life on the dollar. Really good food is incredibly cheap, as is public transportation. Bogazici has a cafeteria where you can eat a big, decent meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) for less than a dollar. Cabs are comparatively more expensive but also fairly cheap. Housing is very affordable, but landlords and Turkish students are known to cheat international students and make them pay significantly more than what is normal. The only major expense is alcohol, which is taxed heavily in Istanbul. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Depends on the week, but probably $50 a week total. And I could have been much more frugal. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The cafeteria is a great option if you want to be able to eat out more over the weekends or save up to travel. It's not glamorous but it's not terrible either. The cafes on campus are also pretty cheap (more like $4 a meal) and very good. It's actually typically cheaper to eat out than it is to cook-- the local Hisarustu mezze places are amazing and incredibly inexpensive. Drinking in rather than at bars is also a huge money saver. Take public transportation when going out and then cab home, rather than cabbing both ways. Take public transportation generally whenever you can-- cabs are deadly in the traffic. Don't pay more than 800 turkish lira a month for housing unless it's incredibly nice, that means you're being cheated. |
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 |
Once again, I wasn't on a program, but I had to use Turkish frequently. Since I wasn't isolated by an American program, I was often by myself or with a friend in an all-Turkish environment. Not many people outside of touristy areas speak English, so you really have to employ your minimal Turkish. |
| 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? | Zero |
| 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? | Take Turkish before you get there. Classes or Rosetta Stone, just to have a basic understanding on Day 1 so you aren't terrified like I was on arrival when I couldn't even order dinner. This will make a huge difference in your learning curve. The best ways to practice are daily life-- you'll have to use it whether you like it or not. |
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? | That abroad is really hard, and that's ok. It doesn't have to be this monumental life experience where you have the most fun you will ever have and reminisce on it forever. If it's always fun that means it's not challenging and you aren't learning. My experience was full of struggles and near mental breakdowns, which made the last month all the more satisfying. I came, I saw, and I conquered. I wish I had been more prepared for just how hard it was going to be. I also wish I understood more than it's OK to ask for help in those situations. I was really lost in the beginning and didn't know where to turn, so I didn't. In retrospect I would have tried a bit harder to reach out to people in the beginning. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Turkish Foreign Policy |
| Course Department: | Political Science |
| Instructor: | Gun Kut |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was by far my least favorite class while at Bogazici, which is ironic given that Foreign Policy is the focus of my major. The professor was entirely uninvested in the class and I did not learn a single thing from his teaching. He often went on long tangents of questionable relevance. The entire class structure was based around group presentations, which were all terrible. They were likely all terrible because the professor, in his "example" presentation, gave a very weird account of the Syria crisis that focused almost entirely on the country's geography and then told us not to do what he did. So there was no guidance and no helpful feedback for future groups. He did not take a single note in these presentations, and didn't know our names, yet we were graded on them. I wrote 5 editorial articles for this class which were the basis of my course grade and never received a single one back with comments throughout the semester, so there was no opportunity to improve or better understand what he was looking for. When I received a B in this course I was shocked (never received a B in my college career) because I have no earthly idea what that grade could possibly be based on. This class was all around ridiculous. |
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