Wish there were programs like DIS in every country! Past Review
By Niamh O (undecided, Harvard University) for
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
If you pick a core program related to your career interests, you will gain a great deal of practical knowledge and experience in that field.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academic aspect was much less challenging, but field study and study tour components of courses more than made up for that. I wish my home university had more experiential learning opportunities like these. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Incredibly efficient and responsive to student concerns, in my experience. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family fully embraced me as another family member. This was the most worthwhile aspect of my study abroad experience. My commute to school each day was about 1.5 hrs door to door. Denmark is much safer than America, safety was not really a concern. |
| * Food: |
The Danes eat a lot of meat (relative to Americans and other Europeans). I expect vegetarians and vegans would have a more difficult time in Denmark than in America. Food is very expensive, and staying with a host family was an unintentional way to save money. In general, the foods available to you in Copenhagen (both in the grocery store and at restaurants) are less varied than in an American city. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The trip up to Louisiana Art Museum was worth it. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Copenhagen and Denmark are much, much safer than most places in America. When I was sick, my host family just took me to their family doctor. I had much better health coverage in Denmark than I did in the United States. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
|
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent around $50 each week, but I'm a pretty atypical case as I spent most of my time (and ate most of my meals) with my host family. If you haven't traveled a lot in Europe before, you'll probably spend a lot of money on that. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Studying abroad in Denmark is very expensive, much more than most other European programs. Take this factor very seriously when you're choosing a program. |
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? | none taken |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Danish listening comprehension came in handy when I was at parties and other events with Danes. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | DIS is so well-organized and will do everything they can to make study abroad a good experience for you. Students who haven't traveled abroad extensively will especially benefit from this program. If you are looking for culture shock, look elsewhere. |
