CET Beijing Past Review
By Taylor H (Economics., Tulane University) for
CET Beijing
It was very worthwhile and I'm abroad again on CET/Middlebury Kunming. It's going to be different for everybody, but it's 4 months in China. The only way it's not going to be incredible is if you spend all your time with Americans at western bars.
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. |
It was overall a very well taught program, although we did the exact same thing every day and it became very tedious by the end. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Extremely accessible, everything was very well thought out and well done. Program was a little bit big but they managed it well. I was very impressed with CET. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Location wasn't very good. there were nearby restaurants but they were bad. although it was close to the subway which was key because you could get out into the city easily. and there was good shopping. it was safe but it was boring near campus. |
| * Food: |
the food was pretty bad. if you want good food go out to sanlitun. tree in sanlitun has awesome pizza. one good restaurant near campus - the jiaozi restaurant on the corner. |
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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? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe. |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About $75/week. The program reimbursed any cultural outings. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It's cheap as hell! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 305 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
There was a Chinese language pledge 100% of the time. We spoke English only when far away from campus, and that was our own fault. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It's challenging but a lot of fun - just make sure to get out into the city and make the most of it. |
