Had so much fun! What a great city. Past Review
By Anna C (Political Science/Communication, Trinity University) - abroad from 08/26/2013 to 12/19/2013 with
Ewha Womans University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Learned so much about other countries in general, different mind set, so much fun, I would go with Yonsei instead of Ewha however. DEFINITELY choose Yonsei instead if you can.
Review Photos
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. |
Classes here in my opinion are much easier than one's taught at Trinity. Of course I mainly took courses to fulfill my common curriculum credits rather than for my major so that has a little to do with it as well. However, I did still learn a lot. I went to Korea in order to learn the language and highly recommend signing up for the Korean language class if this is what your goal is as well. It's rigorous in that it is 3 hours, 4 days a week 8am-11am, but totally worth it. I met great people in this class and my Korean significantly improved. WORTH IT. DO IT. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't speak to the program administration much but always knew where they were and how to get into contact with them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorm beds are not comfortable, nor are the sheets that come with it, but you really do just get accustomed to everything. Bring your own towels…Korea uses tiny hand towels for everything including drying off after showers so it can be kind of hard to find a normal size one. There are wooden floors that are also heated during the cold. Showers are in the room or on your floor. Very comfortable living situation, very technologically advanced. |
| * Food: |
GREAT! Cheap, awesome, delicious, varying types, school cafeteria has complete meals for around $3, surrounding area has food for about $5. Desserts there made me gain ten pounds but it was worth it... |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Felt integrated into the local culture for sure. It is a bit odd how much you stick out from everyone else if you're a foreigner, but that's also the fun part. I'm Korean and they could still tell I was a foreigner. Learned a lot about the culture, got much better at the language, ate a lot of local foods, drank the local alcohol. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't get sick abroad luckily, so I have no idea about the healthcare system. However, I did break my glasses and they got me an eye exam, prescription, and pair of glasses in just a few hours for only $70 total. |
| * Safety: |
Felt very safe! I had no problems walking around alone, there's always so many people around. At night time I would walk with friends just because there's always crazy people anywhere you go, but felt extremely safe throughout the entire time I was there. |
| 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) |
It is cheap here. But because it's so cheap I spent so much money. Shopping is what really killed me. If you budgeted carefully, you could definitely live off of around $120 a week. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I shopped freely, ate out every night, went out every weekend, made a weekend trip to Jeju Island, and spent about $3,500 total during my semester abroad. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget yourself. Don't blow all your money in the beginning. Make it last throughout. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Used to hear and speak a lot when I was younger, but lost so much of it. Went back to gain the language skill back. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Meet locals, really pay attention in the Korean language course. Make sure you sign up for the Korean language course (you have to do this before you get there when you apply I believe), use it when you order dinner, shop, anytime you can. |
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? |
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? | That Yonsei would have been a better fit. They seemed to be more open to meeting international students and had more school activities in general. Also ranked higher than Ewha prestige wise. |
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. |
