An unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime, what-dreams-are-made-of opportunity! Past Review
By shelleymason13 (Finance and Financial Management Services., Brigham Young University) - abroad from 05/17/2013 to 06/16/2013 with
Brigham Young University: Traveling - Global Marketing Study Abroad
This trip was SO worthwhile. I learned so much about myself, about other people, about other cultures from this trip. I still have a hard time being able to fathom all the amazing places we went. This trip is so unique that it cannot even be compared to any other study abroad. You get a tiny taste for each country and you fall absolutely in love with it. I'm so excited and blessed that I was able to see so many amazing countries in such a short period of time. I crossed all the countries off my "must-see" list, I don't even know what to do now. Being away from normal society helped me learn a lot about myself. I gained a greater perspective on life, just being able to see the world. It made me excited to start my career and be able to return to these places one day.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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. |
I learned a lot academically about businesses abroad. The only critique I have was for the courses the week before we left. I understand we had to fit 6 credits in that week, so maybe that's just how it had to be, but it was intensely time consuming and stressful. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The hotels were stupendous. I absolutely loved our hotels in Beijing and Bangkok. The only place I did not like was the hostel in London, but I understand that everywhere is expensive there. My expectations for living arrangements were vastly exceeded, given that I expected hostels the entire time. |
| * Food: |
I loved all of the food. However, I wish more meals were included in the trip, such as lunches. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved the Asian culture we got to experience. We spent more time in each location in Asia so I felt like we had the time to really experience the culture there. In Europe, it was hard to experience the culture because we were primarily sightseeing. It would have been nice to have been more involved with it in Europe. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
No one had any major health issues on our trip thankfully. The only problem we had was everyone getting food poisoning the day we flew home, and there really wasn't anything anyone could do about it/to help it. |
| * Safety: |
I never felt unsafe during this trip. It was really nice having an ample amount of men to come places with 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) |
I wasn't planning on being extremely frugal on the trip given the once in a lifetime opportunity (plus my love of shopping). So I set my own personal budget and gave myself leeway in my budget, so I ended up spending about the maximum that I alotted myself. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $300 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Personally, I don't think a study abroad is a time to be cheap. Not that you should go crazy or anything and you should still be frugal, but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you are not going to want to stress over money. That being said, do whatever you can and work as much as you can beforehand so you can give yourself decent spending money. You shouldn't splurge on meals or shopping trips all the time on the trip, but you definitely should every now and then. You won't regret it. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 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? | I wish I had been more prepared to be social 24/7, literally. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
