Easy, Fun, and Excellent Experience Abroad Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were hard because they involved a lot of work for a study abroad program. Most students want to focus on traveling, exploring, and enjoying their time in their global city. I liked that courses only met once a week, but they were very long and some professors weren't good at splitting up the time. I had a 3 1/2 hour class that was incredibly difficult to get through. The topics were interesting though, and I enjoyed the subject material.

On-site administration of your program

The Sydney CAPA staff are great. They were always accessible and helpful and interested in getting to know every student. They tried their best to plan fun activities and get us involved as a group, which I really appreciated.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The apartments were new and nice, and in a perfect location. However, I didn't like the employees at this apartment complex. They were very unhelpful in many situations, the trash room was never cleaned out and therefore had rats in it, and the apartments eventually got fruit flies regardless of cleanliness (a problem they admitted to me but obviously weren't trying to fix). And there is only limited wifi allowed per month, which is used up extremely quickly from basic browsing on a phone. They do have public computers to use, but many websites are blocked and there's only 4 computers for the entire complex. I was very upset with the way the complex was run, although this has nothing to do with CAPA. I do wish CAPA would choose a different apartment complex to use, but I understand this is such a great location and made for international students, which is why CAPA chooses to house students here.

I didn't find that I had to venture too far out of my comfort zone for good food, which is great for picky eaters like myself. There is an abundance of authentic Asian food options. There's plenty of fast food and American-style restaurants if you're missing home. Coffee is very good in Sydney, although quite expensive. Gelato is really popular, which was wonderful in the hot summer weather.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Because you live with people in your program, and take classes with them, it's hard to integrate with Australians. At your internship you'll definitely be working with Australians, and most are your age. However, I do wish that I was able to live and study with Australians. Most of the time I felt like my experience was too Americanized because of the people I was constantly surrounded by.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

During my time abroad, I did have to visit the hospital. There was one a 10 minute drive away from my apartment, but the visit was a bit slow and took up a lot of time (but that's probably because healthcare in Australia is single-payer and receives less funding than American healthcare). There was a general practitioner's office in the mall a block away from our apartment, as well as a full pharmacy. Access to healthcare needs was great. CAPA covers you up to $100,000 on any medical care. You do have to pay upfront for any services, but upon returning to America, you have 30 days to submit all of your receipts for reimbursement. I got fully reimbursed, which was extremely helpful. My insurance company (and many others) also covers medical emergencies abroad, which was helpful when I had to pay my medical bills before leaving Australia.

Sydney is extremely safe, more so than many other cities like it. Even walking home at night, whether I was alone or not, the city was well-lit, there were always many people walking the streets, and plenty of law enforcement. I never worried about theft. Even when I lost my wallet on a bus, I got it back within 24 hours and nothing had been stolen out of it. I've heard that the largest threat of violence is the fighting and violence that comes from intoxication at bars. This is a problem Sydney is trying hard to fix. But even then, I never felt at risk of that.

The program was great, and really easy. You show up to Sydney and everything (housing, transportation, classes, work, activities) are handled for you. The on-site CAPA staff do their best to show you around and get you acclimated to Sydney. Public transportation is incredibly easy to use, and there's so much to do in Sydney.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Luckily housing and public transport is completely covered, which saves thousands of dollars in a semester. Eating out is easy and fun but can add up easily. Going out to bars and buying alcohol is also extremely expensive. Even if you don't drink, most bars charge ridiculous cover charges on weekends. If you plan on traveling outside of Sydney, flights can be expensive as well. Luckily, the exchange rate at the time I went was great for Americans, and I was able to find a bank that didn't charge me international fees.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Internship placement
• Price

• Length, I wish the program was longer
• Classes

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