Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Teachers understand that no one is primarily there for the courses, all of which to my knowledge have an equivalent course on the Boston campus. So they don't bombard you with busywork throughout the semester, which is awesome and makes it much easier to travel as much as possible. During midterms and finals the work starts to pile up and become overwhelming, so try to plan for that ahead of time. Academics are something of a toss up - I would say the World Since 1914 with Ralph Trost is one of the best classes I've ever taken, while the Sophomore Honors Seminar with Bianca (which was required for me) was probably one of my least favorite classes of all time. The other two weren't standouts for me, but they were generally enjoyable and informative.

On-site administration of your program

The Castle administration does a great job organizing everything, from daily life at the castle to academic excursions. The amount of details they have to coordinate for over 80 students is enormous, and yet we still, amazingly, always got where we had to go ... There's no way I could ever do what they do. Castle staff (particularly Dulcia) are amazing.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Castle life = perfection.

The food is cooked by staff of a local Dutch restaurant, which I'd imagine makes it pretty authentic. Some of it was absolutely fantastic, a couple of meals were kind of awful, but in general it was really good and different. There was always a vegetarian option, but I don't know if you could survive as a vegan.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Traveling with 80 other students was interesting to say the least. Our excursions to London were great, and I'd say the trip to Croatia is something that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. It was absolutely incredible.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had anything serious happen to me, health-wise. I did see the local doctor once for a sinus infection, and got medicine that cleared it up right away. If something more serious were to happen, though, I'm not sure how well it would be handled ... European health care is extremely different from what we're used to in the U.S. As for how safe you feel, that is entirely up to you and what you do when you're traveling. During the time in Well ... it's probably one of the smallest safest places in the world.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Not a huge focus on language since classes are taught in English and almost all Dutch people speak English, but I picked up a few Dutch words/phrases ... and of course, their version of the Happy Birthday song :)