Magical Copenhagen Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I loved the academic experience because it was much more experiential than what I am used to in the States. Every class required a lot of class participation and the field studies in Denmark were awesome. I loved the small size of classes and my professors were young and energetic. I wouldn't say the coursework was academically rigorous, but I still felt challenged and put in effort (mostly because the material was either interesting or relatable).

On-site administration of your program

The administration was approachable and organized, but I had some friends who felt that they were unhelpful with certain issues (lost items, credit transfers, religious exemptions, etc.)

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing was nice because I had my own room which I really appreciated, but it was definitely hard to make friends in my housing in the beggining. If you are living alone in a foreign country, you have to go to events or reach out to others to make friends (especially Danish ones)!

DIS gave us a food stipend of $600 which was enough for me, mostly because I don't eat meat and chicken and didn't use it while I was traveling to other countries. If you use it well, you can get a lot out of the stipend! The only reason I didn't give the food 5 stars is because the food in copenhagen itself is REALLY expensive! It was hard to find affordable places to eat and I mostly cooked for myself (which was also a great learning opportunity).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It is hard to ever feel fully integrated into Danish culture (I learned a lot about this in my Danish Language & Culture class) but as an international student I felt welcomed. If I wanted to move there in the future and become a citizen, it would be a different story. Overall, though, I felt like a Copenhagen local and made a bunch of Danish friends! (Note: if you want to make Danish friends on DIS, you have to seek it out and go out of your comfort zone!)

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Luckily, I didn't have to use the health care system throughout the semester, but a bunch of my friends did. They were excited about the universal health care system, but when they actually tried to use it they experienced long waits and fustration. In the end, they all got what they needed, but it took a lot longer than they thought.

Copenhagen is SO SAFE! They have an extremely low crime rate and interesting criminal system (open prisons)! I never felt unsafe in Copenhagen (only when I visited other countries).

I would choose DIS Copenhagen again, but I don't know if I would choose Copenhagen again. It was a great city, but after visitng others I realized that other cities have a lot to offer as well, and it would have been cool to have already known the language of a certain country. That being said, DIS is an amazing program and they know how to make you fall in love with Copenhagen as well.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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• Other

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• N/A

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• Americans

• Professors/ learning style
• field studies/ long study tour
• resources: stipend, transportation card, etc.

• N/A

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer