Poorly Organized Waste of Money Past Review
By A student (University of Kentucky) - abroad from 09/01/2016 to 12/08/2016 with
EuroScholars: Stockholm - Karolinska Insitutet
My experience allowed me to increase my lab abilities and see some beautiful locations but given how poorly I was treated and how poorly it was run, it was not worth the 11,000 dollar investment.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The rigor of my program was perhaps too intense for an undergraduate student and far outside the scope of my knowledge or indicated lab experience. This was a poorly designed project for an undergraduate student. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My academic liaison at Karolinska was virtually non-existant throughout my stay. He failed to communicate with me regularly and was often absent in interaction. Upon my arrival, I was unsure of where to stay, what to do, or who to report to. Perhaps the worst administration I have seen and unfortunately was forced to experience. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was less than sufficient. More importantly, my housing location was never clearly provided to me till my arrival in Stockholm. |
| * Food: |
Food in Stockholm was quite good but expensive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
The EuroScholars program is intended to give the image of a prestigious, rigorous program without any of the organization of such a program. I was often left without answers to my questions, was placed into a lab the day before I arrived, and was randomly given requirements along the way. One of the most poorly organized study abroad programs I have seen and not a program I will ever recommend to other students interested in living abroad. |
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? | 100-200 USD |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | N/A |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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 wish I had known how poorly organized this program was going to be and how careless the administrators at ISA and at Karolinska would be towards me. I would have gladly saved my time and money and visited another location. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
