Best semester of my life Past Review
By A student (Communication and Media Studies., Villanova University) - abroad from 01/15/2012 to 05/21/2012 with
CIEE: Brussels - Business, Communications and Culture
The knowledge that if I can survive going to Europe for a semester without knowing anyone and thrive than I can survive anything. It was definitely worthwhile
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Vesalius College |
| 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. |
School was not too demanding which allowed for a lot of travelling which was good |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The CIEE staff was top notch |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Really enjoyed my housing arrangements and roommates |
| * Food: |
LOVED the food |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Struggled with the language but did not feel unwelcome |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Never really got sick over there |
| * Safety: |
I never really felt like I was in danger |
| 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) |
The exchange rate was tough but Brussels was cheaper than some other cities I went to |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 120 euro |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Shop at grocery stores rather than going out to eat |
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 |
The program encouraged us to use the language, but my French professor was not very good |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Intermediate Latin 1 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | You need to have a better language professor than I did |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | How awesome it was going to be |
