A Trip back to the Homeland June 17, 2025
By A student (History, Brandeis University) - abroad from 02/12/2025 to 05/31/2025 with
CET Shanghai
I learned more about the culture firsthand and got to experience China as it has grown in the past few years.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Really enjoyed their Chinese classes, some professors less helpful than others in terms of teaching style but overall enjoyed the rigor. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Some issues related to individual administration of students but overall good. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing had some issues: mold, broken ceiling but overall fine. |
| * Food: |
Good! Nothing special. |
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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? |
Healthcare accessible, claim was easy through GeoBlue |
| * Safety: |
Very safe no comments. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved the program and it was so engaging and really felt like a family towards the end. |
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) |
Easy to not spend too much, but many students traveled and so if you are on a smaller budget you can feel left out. CET only reimburses for day trips and museum (similar type) travel. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 250 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save money on food and use the money to travel to get the most of your experience in China |
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? | Advanced |
| 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? | None - Heritage Speaker |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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 knew how much more money I should have budgeted. Would have improved my traveling experience. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
