Summer in the Cope Past Review
By jnoruebor (Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 05/25/2015 to 07/03/2015 with
DIS Summer in Scandinavia
I learned entirely too much to put into words. It was completely worth it.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The rigor of the courses varies by subject and professor. No matter what, you'll have to actually do your assignments but I had wonderful professors that gave us interesting assignments. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
In general, the staff was nice and super helpful. My only issue was that a girl in my class had her stuff stolen from our classroom and DIS did nearly nothing to help her. So, be careful with your stuff and you should be fine. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I stayed in a kollegium. If you are a summer student, DO NOT STAY IN A KOLLEGIUM. My assumption was that staying in a kollegium was a good way for me to meet more Danes. However, during the summer there are only international students in the kollegium for the most part. The building itself had pros and cons. The rooms were singles and spacious with a private bathroom. However, the community kitchen was disgusting and there was no system in place to keep it clean. I stayed in RS, located in Rodovre (which is a suburb outside of the city). Twenty minute train ride to and from the city to get to class and pretty much anything at all. It wasn't all bad though. I did meet some nice international students and the area I was in was nice with a beautiful park to run at. |
| * Food: |
The food in Copenhagen is great. Eat the hot dogs. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The Danes pretty much keep to themselves and their groups of friends, but if you ever need help they are always willing to assist. They are so nice and usually speak fluent English. They are a pretty homogenous population, so I did feel like I stuck out as I am Black. However, I never felt any discrimination. I always felt welcomed at bars and social events. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never had an issue, but a friend sprained her foot and had to go get a boot. Danish Healthcare system is great. |
| * Safety: |
I ended up stuck at a train station at 2 in the morning and I honestly felt safer at that moment than I do walking around at night at my home campus. The crime rate is low in Denmark. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Denmark has a higher cost of living because everyone pretty much has money to meet their needs. So it I really had to watch my spending but it's manageable. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $80 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Look at the exchange rate for where you want to travel, then make a budget. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | 0 |
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? | The kollegiums are not a good choice for summer housing. |
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. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Positive Psychology |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Line Kamstrup Frederiksen |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was mildly challenging. The hardest part was writing extensive essays. Besides that, it was pure fun. I loved going to lecture each day. During the summer, class is VERY long. We had a 3 hour class on average. However, Line was so sweet and enthusiastic about the course that everyone else was too. My favorite part was meditating at the start of each class and the study tour to Edinburgh, Scotland. I learned so much and can honestly say that the class changed my life. I use so much of what I learned in this class in my everyday life now. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Psychology of Criminal Behavior |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Lars Rossen |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was extremely interesting and so much fun. Lars is hilarious and so passionate about psychology and his work with the criminal justice system in Copenhagen. I loved coming to class because we had so many in-depth, honest discussions. There were great guest speakers, video selections, and trips to other parts of Copenhagen for lecture. We met some amazing people and really got a genuine perspective of criminal psychology in Denmark. I highly recommend this class if you are interested in psychology. I am glad that it required students to have taken psych beforehand. It is a true psychology class and not having to break down simple psych terms and concepts made room for better discussions. |
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