Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

progressing; 'bigger picture' Past Review

By (Griffith University) - abroad from 02/20/2012 to 06/24/2012 with

Griffith University: Gold Coast - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
yes don´t give up, hard-working, developing your own skills, motivation

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

hard: workload is really hard and intensiv, especially for international students (for non-native speaker) no exceptions for international students (for hand-in dates, hand-in regulations and so on)

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

ok

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

lecture theatres and tutorial rooms sooooooooooooooooooooooooo cold - i was ill 2 times.... aircondition doesn´t fit to temperatures outside and the aircondition 'politics' doesn´t fit to the environmental attitude/politic of GRIFFITH - should DEFENTIVELY be reassessed.....

* Food:

defentively to expensive, not affordable for students

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

no support to get to know the australian/local culture

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

to expensive, paying for additional medicine/pills

* Safety:

ok

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

i haven´t spent $200 per week, but it was still REALLY hard to finance and manage my living costs here, especially rent+food, costs for international students from Europe are immense high. In germany i usually spend about 120€ per week for rent+food....

* Was housing included in your program cost? No
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $240 including rent, 'social expenses' and food
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? not living at griffith village, buying food at ALDI or carrera market

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

I HAD to use english otherwise i couldn´t get in contact with people

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Advanced
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Fluent
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? 3rd year course
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? stay in contact with foreign students and particularly from other countries than your home country use english help and the offered english courses from int. department

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
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?
  • Weather in Australia
  • Nature
  • university structure
* What could be improved?
  • support for international students (study abroad students)
  • not just ONE introduction event in the beginning - VERY disappointing and NOT helpful, we paid SO high tuition fees and got NO information about campus life, university structure, libary, courses, assignments, culture, living in Australia - absoulutly nothing except ONE event.... VERY disappointing - should be reassessed
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? structure, framework of griffith, libary confiugartion workshop offer

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

1008PSY
Course Department: Psychologie
Instructor: Michele Dunbar
Instruction Language: English
Comments: tutorial well-structured, interesting, challenging and demanding (but really good) tutorial framework, tut. teacher very good prepared and intensive knowledge about all topics
Credit Transfer Issues: i don´t know yet
Course Name/Rating:

1001EHR
Course Department: HRM
Instructor: Ruth McPhail
Instruction Language: English
Comments: assignments (case study´s) starts to early - beginning in the 2nd week to much assignments (5 case study´s - 30%; essay - 20%; career development - 10%; final exam) tutorial teacher VERY good, competent and helpful (my best tutorial teacher at griffith) a attended the tutorials every week except one time - really helpful, well-structured and absoulutely interesting
Credit Transfer Issues: right now i don´t know - i will see, when i will be at home in juli