Best semester of college so far! Past Review
By Jennifer Hilsdon (University of Florida) - abroad from 09/09/2019 to 12/15/2018 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Dublin, Ireland
I learned so many things about Irish culture, as well as what it means to be culturally competent. It was incredibly worthwhile to participate in both the study abroad and internship components.
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. |
A wonderful experience that challenged me but did not consume my time abroad. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Susanne, Hayley, and Darren are all amazing and care deeply about the well-being of students. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Great apartment style dorms on Griffith College campus - better than any dorms I've lived in state-side. |
| * Food: |
I did not get a meal plan with Griffith College, but instead, grocery shopped at local stores like Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very integrated! Tons of local pubs to visit and fun things in Dublin to explore. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not run into any health problem while studying abroad, however, the CAPA Dublin program advisors made sure we were aware of several options available to us. There was a pharmacy and on-call doctor down the street. |
| * Safety: |
Dublin itself is a very safe city, and Griffith College has 24/7 security, so I felt very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Choosing to study and intern abroad with CAPA in Dublin was one of the best decisions I have made. The entire CAPA Dublin staff are incredible people who helped make my experience what it was. They truly care about the professional and personal development of students, as well as ensuring that each student gets the most of their time abroad. |
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) |
Going abroad, students must be aware of the financial burden it can be sometimes. I definitely had to budget myself, but CAPA covers your transportation costs in the program fee, so this helped me a lot. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | N/A |
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? |
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 known just how fast time would fly while I was there. It went by way to quickly, and I wish I could have stayed forever. Don't take a single moment for granted, and enjoy every part of the experience! |
