Home is Where the Heart Is (So take your housing choice seriously!) Past Review
By Paige G (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/14/2017 to 05/14/2017 with
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
I became more independent, met different people from all over the world, and really dug my heels into Danish culture. Absolutely worth it.
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. |
Not the same rigor as Middlebury, but perfectly reasonable and I learned a lot regardless. Definitely excellent access to resources. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
DIs administration was very accessible and helpful much of the time. The only experiences in which they were not helpful involved a lack of willingness to cater certain things to my housing situation, since we were positioned so geographically far away, but we usually worked it out somehow |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The folkehojskole in Hillerod was easily the best part of my study abroad experience, and it is clear that the way one experiences DIS is very much shaped by where one lives |
| * Food: |
The folkehojskole food was healthy but repetitive and not always substantial. Food in Denmark costs a lot for lunch, and my housing didn't have a supplementary budget. Still, I don't think either of these problems are enormous or deeply negative |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very integrated, but that is strictly because I lived among primarily Danes in my housing option; most DIS students did not seem to be so immersed and found it harder to get to know Danish people. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Everyone was given Danish health insurance/an id and a corresponding doctor. I sprained a ligament and was seen asap and treated very well. No issues with healthcare to be heard of. |
| * Safety: |
Copenhagen and Denmark are incredibly safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
The housing component of DIS was absolutely rejuvinating and personally enriching and gave me the best semester of my college experience thus far. The academic aspect of the program was balanced with a promotion of exploration of Europe, allowing me to have a work life balance that is just not as possible at my home institution. I grew so much as a person and thoroughly enjoyed my time. |
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) |
Denmark is an expensive country. DIS makes it cheaper to live there than it ever would be otherwise, but the fact remains that doing anything besides what is basically necessary (e.g. going to class and eating the necessities) will cost a lot more than it does in the states. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Anywhere from $50-$80 a week most likely |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Just know what you're getting into; Denmark is expensive. Budget and plan ahead. |
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 |
People would often say how everyone just understood English so learning Danish wasn't really that essential; even our class just focused on the very conversational basics. I found this disappointing. |
| 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? | N/A |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Go out of your way to use it and think about it, it takes a lot of self discipline to make Danish a real part of your DIS experience |
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? |
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? | I wish I knew how much of a party scene Copenhagen has. I was able to do my own thing because I lived so far away, but I feel a lot of people living in the city suffered from a social pressure to go out 4 nights a week, and you can't really predict that going in. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Positive Psychology |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Terry Saftis |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Didn't go into as much depth as I would have liked, but it was well taught, interesting and the field trips were highly relevant. The long study trip to Poland was tied very well in with our curriculum, and I feel our learning experience was very intersectional, and had academic as well as personal aspects to it. Our professor did an excellent job! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I don't believe so, although the credits haven't been transferred yet. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Psychology of Endings |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Lars Rossen |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Challenging, engaging, new. Went where no psychology course I've ever taken has gone before. Made information accessible, applicable, and connected. Fascinating material, and sometimes highly delicate material, handled in a very responsible way. I would recommend this class to absolutely anyone, and wish we had something like this at my home institution. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not at this point, but have yet to complete transfer |
| Course Name/Rating: |
The Social Brain: Neuropsychology of Social Behaviors |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Lone Vesterager Martinus |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Challenging and interesting and highly relevant teaching! Very multimedia course, we learned material in a lot of different ways. It's tough to make a three hour once a week course interesting throughout each entire session but our professor did it. So glad I took this course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not yet, haven't transferred yet however |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Danish Language and Culture I |
| Course Department: | Danish Language |
| Instructor: | Ditte Marie Egebjerg |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The teaching was well done and the course did what it was meant to do in teaching me intro danish. It was not very challenging however as the bar was quite low, likely because many students are required to take this course. I found this aspect disappointing, because I felt I could have learned and gained a lot more from this course, but we didn't often go deep or far with the study because so many people were just taking it to fill a requirement. Additionally, Middlebury is known for language instruction, so of course I'm used to going at a faster pace and this was therefore a bit boring on occasion. Still, everything was handled relatively well and I learned from the course. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Not yet, but have not completed transfer |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Gay and Lesbian Authors in European Cities |
| Course Department: | Literature |
| Instructor: | Morten Lykkegard |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Challenging and interesting material, but the professor was coming from a non literature, non gender studies background, so it took the course awhile to get into the groove of things. It felt as though the course was a little bit of everything, but not enough of anything, so to speak; it was very scattered. Still, the reading materials were good and I quite enjoyed the quality class discussions. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No, but have not completed transfer yet |
