Pretty good Past Review
By A student (Chinese and Business Administration, Trinity University) - abroad from 02/05/2012 to 06/15/2012 with
Boston University: Shanghai - Internship Program
It was worthwhile, in my opinion. I learned a lot about how to get by in Shanghai and China in general.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Fudan University Boston University |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The stars are entirely for the Chinese part of the program and the internship they arranged. The other classes I took were honestly stupid and pointless, including the required class part of the internship. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The -2.5 stars is mostly because the Boston side of program administration is honestly crap. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was quite good overall. I generally liked Tonghe, the International Student Dorm they set us up in. There will be issues for people who do not speak Chinese however, as none of the staff can speak English. There is someone in the office 24/7, which is nice, and it's very close to both Fudan and several food outlets. However, it's about a 20 minute walk to the subway, and definitely on the outskirts of town, so you'll spend a lot of time walking. Also, my apartment got broken into once and some of my stuff got stolen, so that sucked. |
| * Food: |
GOOD. Only -.5 stars because you'll probably get food poisoning. Often. Worth it. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't really have any issues, but I was glad I didn't. |
| * Safety: |
I felt pretty safe. I could walk around in the middle of the night and feel completely safe, which I can't do anywhere in America. However, sometimes Chinese people will make you feel uncomfortable if you are visibly non-Asian by trying to touch you. |
| 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) |
I could have saved more money if I wanted to, but lots places in Shanghai probably aren't as cheap as you'd expect China to be. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $90 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't go out to clubs, bars, or eat at nice places (stands are fine). But you probably will so... |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 4000 |
| 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? | Talk to everyone! Many of them are very interested in talking to and making friends with foreigners. A lot of them will want to speak English though. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | Bring a huge range of types of clothing; it changes from freezing to sweltering before you even know what's happening. |
