Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Eyes Opened. Horizons Expanded. Check. Past Review

By (Journalism., Brigham Young University) - abroad from 04/24/2012 to 06/04/2012 with

Brigham Young University: Traveling - Europe and Latin America Business Study Abroad

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Learned so much about other cultures, but also about myself, how I react in different situations, etc. Definitely worthwhile!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

4 Stars only because it was a short program, we didn't have many classes.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Cynthia last minute had to end up doing everything herself, and she was so great!! I was so impressed with how smoothly everything ran and how calm she was when things didn't go as planned, she always had something else planned!

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Even though we weren't with host families, I felt we had enough cultural experiences. Cynthia really tried to get us involved in local things and make sure we saw all of the sites, I definitely feel like I experienced much more than just an average "tourist".

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

We were in some pretty unsafe countries (Brazil, Argentina) and I never once felt threatened! However, advice for future students, don't get too comfortable! We felt like we were "home free" once we made it to Europe, coming from South America, and one time in Spain I started getting too comfortable with the city and decided I would walk home from shopping by myself when it was getting dark. I tried to take a "short cut" and ended up having an interesting looking man follow me for a few blocks. It was a little scary not knowing the language and who to talk to if I needed help, but luckily I took a wrong turn and ended up right in front of a cafe a bunch of kids from the group were eating at, so I ducked in with them. Moral: even though they pound it into your head a million times and you think you're safe in your familiar area, always travel in groups!

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

* 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? $200
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Save as much as you can, you usually only get an experience like this once and you don't want to be stressed about money the whole time.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
  • Hostel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Other
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Other
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?
  • Doing things as a group (staying with/living with Program
  • Sight Seeing and not only studying.
  • Connections/Networking made that never would have if I didn't go.
* What could be improved?
  • Some of the places we stayed were a little bit sketchy, but understand we were on budget from traveling so much.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? That people in Brazil really don't understand English, learn at least BASIC Portuguese.