Everything I needed from my semester abroad May 28, 2026
By A student (Politics, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/16/2026 to 05/14/2026 with
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
100000% worth it. I learned about topics I was passionate about through a completely new lens that I didn't even know existed, and I see the world and major themes/issues very differently than I did prior to going abroad. I navigated a type of independence that you cannot quite understand until you are living in a place where you truly know nobody around you, and I think every college student who can should have that experience for everything skill wise, emotionally, and confidence wise it did for me.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
DIS advertises itself as incredibly academically rigorous, and while I found it incredibly engaging and LOVED my academics, it was definitely not anything near the intensity I feel from Brandeis academics, and found this to be one of the reasons I felt excited about returning to campus in the fall. The biggest reason for this I think was the adjustment of being in classes with students from multiple universities with varying levels of engagement/investment for the actual academic part of study abroad, mixed with the high frequency of group projects. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I say 3 stars only because I don't think I ever met a single DIS staff who's role was not just professor/educator |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I absolutely loved living in Stads Kollegium, living with Danish students was a quintessential part of the experience for me and I cannot imagine going on DIS without this part of the program. I loved living in the location I was in on Amager and found my actual apartment to be charming, homey, and well furnished, especially compared to some of my friends on the program in different living situations. |
| * Food: |
The grocery stipend was nice but it would've been nice to have a bit more on there to account for how expensive Copenhagen is to live in, even when trying to maintain a tight budget |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt incredible at home in Denmark for the time I was there, but I never felt like "a Danish person" mostly because of Danes increasingly clear line between Danish and not. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Never had to access healthcare or deal with health issues. |
| * Safety: |
Copenhagen was incredibly safe, I felt safe at all times of day and night, wasn't worried about walking alone, never felt uncomfortable, and honestly probably became too comfortable with my guard too far down considering it is still a major European city, but I never had a bad experience. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
DIS and Copenhagen were incredible places to spend my semester. By the end of the program I had been able to travel to 15 countries, and with every new place I explored, no matter how much I loved it, I was always saying how exciting it was to be able to return to Copenhagen as the place I was calling home. |
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) |
Copenhagen is an incredibly expensive city to live in, I was lucky that I had saved up for my semester for a while and had a flexible budget to work with, but if you are "tight" on funds you would have to be very intentional in Copenhagen about where and how you spend your money. Honestly, without a bit of budget flexibility Copenhagen is a place where it is not easy to "live" and by that I mean be social, go out occasionally with friends, travel/see museums or really do anything above food and required expenses, which will still eat at your budget pretty heavily. |
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 |
Not encouragement but excitement around the adoption of slang and key terms. |
| 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 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Talk to native Danes not just the professors! |
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 don't know, this is a hard question for me because I think if I had known any of the things I didn't know about Copenhagen, DIS, or study abroad in general then it wouldn't have been the experience I had being able to learn about it there, and I think learning it through my semester was so incredibly important and fulfilling. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
