Great experience to travel in Europe, didn't love DIS program or classes Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/14/2017 to 05/13/2017 with
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
How to be independent, engage with people from all different cultures, budgeting...
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Courses were hit or miss. Topics were interesting, but classes were definitely not at the level of my home institution. Some teachers graded following an American style and some graded following a Danish style, which made grades confusing and inconsistent. I know I went abroad to experience a different education system, but I wish DIS committed to the Danish system or the American rather than trying to do a vague version of both. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very helpful providing network and support. I felt safe. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Amazing experience to live with a Danish family in a homestay. The reason I did not put 5 stars is because DIS could have done more to integrate the homestay kids into the program. |
| * Food: |
Copenhagen has so many great food options, and if you live with a homestay, most of your meals are provided for you which helps with expenses. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Denmark is especially challenging given the fact that in my experience Danes generally followed an introverted social custom, unlikely to engage with people they do not know unless drinking at a bar. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
The reason I loved the program was simply having the opportunity to be in Europe. The things I didn't like were related to the program: the classes, teacher, and the lack of integration for homestay students. |
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) |
I think Copenhagen is just a very expensive city, it's hard to get around that. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I think homestay students save more money. |
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 |
Great class and I was able to learn basic Danish. It's difficult to actually use thought, because everyone in Copenhagen speaks Danish and as soon as you try to speak to them in Danish, they respond in English b/c of the American accent. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| 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? | I had never taken Danish before, but I had taken intermediate spanish at middlebury. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | budgeting tips for copenhagen specifically |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
European Urban Experience |
| Course Department: | Urban Studies |
| Instructor: | Regitze |
| Instruction Language: | |
| Comments: | Definitely interesting topic and course material and wonderful field trips and outings. The teacher was very knowledgeable on the topic, but it did not transfer to the classroom. She was unprepared, which meant we learned a lot less than we should have. Would only recommend this class if it was with a different teacher. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
