The Best of Europe Past Review
By Alyss (Women's Studies and Community Health, Tufts University) for
DIS Copenhagen: Semester
Definitely! You can only gain certain perspectives and experiences from traveling to other places and learning about them.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Fall 2008 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors are really great! Most of them work in the field which is great for their knowledge and field experience. They also invite classes to their houses for dinner and wine! The grading is extremely fair, even on the easy side. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The front desk was usually pretty helpful, but other people had bad experiences with the registrar and horrible experiences with IT. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived Shared DIS housing with all American students. We lived in an apartment building with about 60 of us on one floor. Most of us had roommates with a small kitchenette to cook and a bathroom in the room. The rooms were pretty nice, a little sparse, but decently sized. <br /><br /> It wasn't too far from campus and we had decent rooms, although I would've liked more interaction with Danes. |
| * Food: |
We cooked for ourselves so I could eat whatever I made. Some people found budgeting groceries a little difficult. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
They have amazing study tours and adventure trips. They also have really cool cultural activities, such as beer tastings and subsidizing tickets to a soccer game. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Copenhagen is a very safe city and when we traveled to other places we always traveled in groups. The program allows you to have a national health card so you go through the Danish health service. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I didn't really keep track of money, but between travel, going out to bars and clubs, food, and gifts, I think I spent about $5000 in total abroad. The program provided a small food stipend and covered transportation to and from school. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | When we went out of the transportation zones we had to pay extra. Also, things are generally more expensive in Copenhagen. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Everyone in Denmark speaks perfect English if you need them to. Also, only Denmark speaks Danish so it's not worth learning the language for 4 months. The Americans who took Danish didn't learn much. You pick up on a little while you're there anyway. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It won't be the most exotic or completely different cultural experience, but it's a great city and really becomes your home! |
