Scaffolding for individuation and self-discovery May 26, 2025
By Aleah L (Medicine/Neuroscience, Wellesley College) - abroad from 06/16/2025 to 05/09/2025 with
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
I learned mostly about myself, my place in the world, and gained wisdom on how to consider what I want to do next in it. I learned that it doesn't take a lot to make me happy, and I am so proud of myself for learning how to solo travel safely as a young woman so I could make memories abroad!
Review Photos



Personal Information
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors are obviously passionate about what they study and are, for the most part, incredibly talented at pedagogical dissection of topics. There were few times I can think of where this was not true, and the times it was shine as my brightest memories of study abroad, especially being able to connect deeper with my professors with them during classes and field studies. |
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living in a homestay is the best way to study abroad. Yes, I am biased. Changed my entire perspective on life and my future staying with the fantastic individuals DIS paired me with, and if I could go back I would still do it again! |
* Food: |
DIS does provide food stipend... in a homestay, it doesn't go far. Copenhagen is outrageously expensive when it comes to eating out, so don't expect to do that unless you have money to flush down the toilet (because it will go fast.) Most people learn to cook and meal prep. And it's not that hard! Just do it! |
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Being in a homestay, making genuine effort to learn and use the language helped with this :) |
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Danish healthcare is fairly easy to navigate |
* Safety: |
Very striking how much safer I felt in Copenhagen than any U.S. city like ... ever. |
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Overall, the structure that DIS provided helped me to thrive abroad, and the host family I connected with will remain a part of my family forever. The professors are really passionate about what they teach, and the built-in travel and class-specific experiences make it feel engaging and worthwhile. |
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) |
Copenhagen is a very expensive city. Thankfully DIS covers public transit, but it depends on where you live how much they decide to cover + any travel you do outside of the zones they cover you have to pay for yourself. Plus international travel is expensive, and it adds up if you don't make a budget... |
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $50 - $100 |
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | MAKE. A. BUDGET. |
Language
* Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
Other Program Information
* 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 had known how obnoxious some Americans can be when abroad, and I wish I had told myself sooner to stick to my values and goals as a person in order to not let their negativity and cliques get me down. |
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: |
Neuroimaging of the Disordered Brain |
Course Department: | Neuroscience |
Instructor: | Julian Macoveanu |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | Yes, this course was challenging, mainly because of the very strict grading my the prof and unclear feedback on graded assignments. I am the type of person where I seek individual help after missing questions on assignments, but this was not easy because DIS *as a program* does not make this easy... very few opportunities for office hours, and I (personally) find emailing questions intimidating and usually unhelpful for my understanding. The prof was very knowledgeable on the topic, but I feel this class would have been more engaging and exciting for students had it not been conducted as a "sit and listen" lecture for 75 minutes... it was clear that many of my classmates tuned out, showed up late, and overall did not care as much about the class... Harder class for the amount of information that was taught, could have been better, but ended up being just fine. Spent much less time on this class than I would have at my home institution. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues transferring. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe |
Course Department: | Child Development, International Relations, Sociology |
Instructor: | Salim Aykut Ozturk |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | WOW!!!! If there was any course that I wish I could go back in time and take every class with the professor, it would be this one. Aykut is a phenomenal person passionate about the work he does as an anthropologist studying incredibly complex, multidisciplinary topics. He is very obviously an expert in his field, but he is simultaneously an incredible pedagog and creates an inclusive classroom environment where I felt both comfortable, willing, and excited to speak up about my perspective on migrant and refugee children in Europe. As someone new to the field entirely, it was intimidating at first, but by the end of the class I was confident in presenting my 16-page final paper on the topic. I cannot stress enough how much everyone should take a class, ANY CLASS!, with Aykut. He is amazing, and I wish I could go back in time and take more of his classes at DIS. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues tranferring. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Human Health and Disease: A Clinical Approach |
Course Department: | Biology, Pre-Medicine / Health Science, Public Health |
Instructor: | Magnus Ebbesen and Pernille Petersen |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | This course was interesting, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn more about the human body, medicine, and healthcare. Based on my classmates experiences, those who don't already have a strong salience of what healthcare is, how it operates, and the role of a physician benefitted most from this course. So, if that is you, take this class! This, however, was not me. And, the majority of my other classmates were the same stereotypical EMT pre-med type who also (often times very obviously) did not care about this course and saw it as their time to frolic abroad. And this absolutely is! ... but forming cliques in class and excluding classmates who don't fit your "type" of person, blatant negligence about course protocol, and showing up to class drunk really affects the way other people feel about a class... and it definitely did me. Just a warning to anyone thinking of taking this course, or really study abroad in general. Prepare yourself for some high school-type antics... Anyway, the field studies and trips for this class were definitely the highlights for me, as well as the aspects of the course that delved into comparative healthcare systems within Europe. As others vocalized during the semester, logistical planning for the field studies greatly determines how much students get out of the social and academic visits, and they were sometimes lacking in this case. |
Credit Transfer Issues: | No issues transferring. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Medical Simulation Lab |
Course Department: | Biology, Biomedicine / Biotechnology, Pre-Medicine / Health Science |
Instructor: | Andreas Fenger, Lise Lode, Zara Bond, Samir Jawad, David Rasmussen, Benjamin Waraich, Molly Davies |
Instruction Language: | English |
Comments: | One of my more fun courses at DIS where I was able to learn transferable skills to brag about on my resume! Had so much fun learning different suturing techniques, ultrasound, and anatomy on CT. As with other DIS courses, the professors are obviously experts in what they teach, but it was also very special having med student TAs to lead the class. Made it so much more fun and engaging! |
Credit Transfer Issues: | No transfer issues. |
Course Name/Rating: |
Danish Language and Culture |
Course Department: | Danish |
Instructor: | Nina Winsløw |
Instruction Language: | English/Danish |
Comments: | Overall, a very fun course to learn the basics of Danish and learn more about Danish culture. Very obviously that many people didn't care about this class because they were forced to take it at their home institution, which makes group projects incredibly frustrating. |
Credit Transfer Issues: |