Ireland: Old Men Like Horse Racing and Smithwicks, and You Should Too. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was very even, allowing us to have plenty of free time. However, the professors, often expressing their worries about grading us too harshly (because the American system is sadly more forgiving), often graded us like we were 3rd graders who scribbled out a blue easter bunny even though it was supposed to be pink and in the lines. In other words, my gpa went from a 3.4 to a 3.8 because of time there, and I really don't think I did the work to deserve that huge raise, not that I'm really complaining.

On-site administration of your program

The only real weakness has to do entirely with the home school. The email system at champlain is set up in such a way that communicating via email to the US might take an hour between each message. The infrastructure in Ireland also made internet spotty about 50% of the time, so skyping was difficult, which made it hard to communicate with my adviser at home about the number of things I needed to be thinking about as an Education major. Finally, there is the 5 hour time difference, so there was only a brief window in which to communicate with the US

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Our neighbourhood was nice and safe (though surrounded by not so good neighbourhoods, luckily we never had to go through those areas.) It was quiet, their was some good food and markets very close by, nice parks and sites just a block to the side, and the staff of the hotel were very nice. Just about every thing necessary was provided save for food and toiletries.

All cooking was done in the dorms, and while I and one of my roommates cooked occasionally, most of the cooking was done by a third roommate who made fantastic stuff. There were plenty of good eateries and cafes nearby as well. Only 4 stars, however, because I am a sorry excuse for a cook and there were times when our chef was not around.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Irish Ruins! Cool geological sites! Youth boxing matches in Northern Ireland! My roommate and I were the only two students to go out of our way to meet some international (from China, Brazil, Columbia, Germany, and Italy) students and spend time with them. I also went with some friends to go surfing in a tiny town, and we stayed at a tiny hostle with some Irish surfer bums. One of the hostel's workers (an American studying in Ireland) had a birthday that weekend, so the lot of us hung out, went surfing, and partied together. People just need to go out and see the countryside and they will have plenty of good cultural fun in Ireland.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The best safety advice I can give is find out which areas are not so great and avoid them when you are by yourself. That said, I often went on long (1.5- 2 hour) walks late at night/ early in the morning, and never had any trouble. In fact, I met a lot of cool people this way. Be aware that because the health system is socialized, you might not be top priority at a hospital, should an accident occur.

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

Select all that apply

• Dorm
• Hotel

Select all that apply

• Americans

• The autonomy
• Many classes had excellent field trips

• nothing, really.