I loved Berlin but would probably prefer the wealthier Munich for the summer Past Review
By Ngoc N (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Harvard University) for
Goethe Institute: Berlin - German Courses
Yes. Confidence, Fluency in the language, lots of new friends, fun, being away from Harvard is a gift in itself.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was manageable, the grading system fair. The teacher used a combination of the official school-issued textbook and handouts from a Grammar book. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Streamlined administration, clear communication, good management of the cultural program. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Extremely nice family, good neighborhood overlooking the river |
| * Food: |
German food by default is not great. But the Italian food here is top notch! Berlin has so many different kinds of food so do try a lot of things. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trips to Berlin's cultural and historical sites |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Great. NO issue |
| 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? | 100 Euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Berlin is a cheap city compared to other cosmopolitan cities in Europe. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Third year German |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Host family, teacher, classmates |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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? | If you have more money, please do yourself a favor and go to Munich. The landscape is a lot more interesting (there's rivers, mountain, tons of stuff to do), the land is SO much wealthier. Berlin's so poor it's not even funny after a while. Though Berlin is a very interesting and eclectic city with lots of history, so it's worth knowing. But after having lived in both cities, Munich's my favorite by a mile. |
