Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Amazing experience! January 16, 2023

By (Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/19/2022 to 12/14/2022 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
It was 100% worthwhile. I enjoyed learning how to live on my own. I picked up public transportation, traveling, and cooking/cleaning skills

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.

Not super academically rigorous, but the perfect amount of academic rigor for a study abroad experience. It was a super well organized program and I loved the layout of the program, including trips with my classes and free time to travel as much as I wanted to. I enjoyed the format, topics, and workload of the classes. I also appreciated how I got credit for my STEM major with two of my DIS classes. It definitely was the program that was the best fit for me.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Super well organized and a ton of resources

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Matched my expectations. They do a good job of pairing roommates

* Food:

I loved the food in Copenhagen and I enjoyed getting the opportunity to cook my own meals

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I didn't have a ton of integration with Danish people. I did have a visiting host family but I didn't see them very often. One day in class, my Danish class and I visited class of Danish high schoolers and it was so much fun to get to know them and chat with them. I wish I interacted with Danish locals, especially students, more.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I didn't have any experiences with healthcare but from what I can understand from DIS and my DIS friends' experiences is that it is a relatively accessible resource especially for abroad students and that it is run well.

* Safety:

Very very safe. The safest city I'd been to in Europe. It made my life a lot easier without having to worry about any dangers or risks.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

This was definitely the best fit program for me. The opportunities to travel were amazing. Copenhagen was a great place to live and I enjoyed the academic aspects of the program

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)

If I had really tried I could have used just my DIS stipend for food expenses. The majority of my expenses came from travel

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? I spend around $300- $400 a week on food and other expenses, mostly on travel.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Book your flights ahead of time to save money

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

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

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? 0
How many hours per day did you use the language? 0
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? I would recommend going to cafes and meeting Danish people

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • The level of workload
  • The ability to travel
  • The experience to live on my own
* What could be improved?
  • Having a centralized campus area (improving the student hub to have greater space)
  • I only had one class that I didn't enjoy so I think making sure all classes are high quality could be improved
  • Classes having rubrics for graded assessments
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I knew how fast the experience was going to go by.

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 Adventurer
The 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:

Medical Biotechnology & Drug Development
Course Department: Science
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Great course! Aptly challenging. Good and fair methods of assessment. The trips were well integrated and a great aspect of the course material
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Danish Language and Culture
Course Department: Language
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Danish / English
Comments: I gained a good and well-rounded understanding of Danish that was helpful to my life in Copenhagen. I highly appreciate the cultural aspects of the course too. I loved the field trip where we spoke to Danish high schoolers.
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Immunology
Course Department: Science
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Aptly challenging. The teacher explained difficult concepts in a more-easily understood way. The assessments were a good format and sufficiently challenging. Excellent teaching! The teacher was incredibly knowledgable and caring about her students
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Arctic Politics
Course Department: Political Science
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It was an interesting course and I enjoyed the material. I felt like we covered a lot of different aspects of a complex topic. The professor was very knowledgable and taught in a good way.
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Investing for Impact and Change
Course Department: Elective
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It was not a very effective nor valuable course. The instructor was not very organized nor did we do productive activities during class. Most classes were spent traveling to different locations and listening to different speakers - it would have been better if we only did this a few times. I also felt like we didn't get the chance to implement what we learned- for example, learning more about and applying our personal investing would have been valuable. The instructor overall wasn't very professional nor effective in teaching.
Credit Transfer Issues: