I love Cape Town, but wish UCT enhanced my experience & not taken away from it. Past Review
By A student (Economics., Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/01/2013 to 11/08/2013 with
CIEE: Cape Town - Arts and Sciences
I learned to be independent in a way I never knew I needed or wanted to be.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
My educational experience abroad negatively impacted my study abroad experience. Knowing that my grades would transfer back to impact my GPA made me incredibly frustrated when I learned about CIEE's arbitrary conversion scale. The truth is that many of the professors at UCT are there primarily for research purposes and simply do not care about the students learning the material. In my experience, this was made clear when my professors allowed students to leave 15 minutes early from 45 minute classes, disrupting the entire class, without saying anything to gain control of the room. It was also made clear when my professors made a point of making themselves unavailable for help outside of the classroom. In light of these and more problems that I (and others) encountered during my educational experience in Cape Town, I think it is absolutely ridiculous that CIEE's conversion scale does not account for the differences between UCT and American Universities. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved where I lived for its location and proximity to other people, but there was a big maintenance issue for the entire semester. People put in easy requests within the first week of getting to Cape Town, and these were not answered until the last week of the program. For how much we paid for this program, I think that is something CIEE needs to be more on top of. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I enjoyed the CAPs that my house was required to go on together, but I know that many people had a problem with the fact that CIEE does not inform you about these beforehand. It would have been helpful to know that we would be required to go on (and pay for) 4 trips for budgeting both money and time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I really valued that there was a security guard at my home, and I think CIEE was quick to send out warnings and safety advice after incidents, which is important. Otherwise, I feel like there is not much the program could have done to prevent the crime that exists in Cape Town from impacting the students at least a little bit. |
| 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? | $50 - $75/week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Put aside money for miscellaneous things beforehand... this includes CAPs, spring break, and anything else you might want to do (like rent a car or sky dive). |
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 |
Only in my Xhosa class. |
| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
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? | 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? | CIEE's conversion scale.. |
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 Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Development Economics |
| Course Department: | Economics |
| Instructor: | There were 10 altering professors |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The professor for this class would change after a week of telling the students what they had been doing research on related to development economics. It was impossible to get into any topic, and the disjointed nature of the class made it incredibly frustrating. I was graded based on one of my 10 professor's subjective opinions, and was given no negative feedback (only checks and well done's) but received a failing grade. That sort of disconnect between teacher and student would never happen at my home university, and it made me really dislike the class, which is a shame because I love economics and the topic of development really interests me. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Don't go to UCT unless you are pass/fail. If you are a serious student, it is almost not worth it because you spend so much of your time in Cape Town stressing over schoolwork. |
