Needs to be the right fit for YOU! Past Review
By Holly W (PSYCHOLOGY., University of Rochester) - abroad from 01/30/2013 to 05/26/2013 with
IES Abroad: Dublin Direct Enrollment - Dublin City University
I definitely found my experience worthwhile. I grew a lot as a person and became more independent. I also got to travel through much of Europe. That being said, I think another program may have been a better fit for me.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
There were a lot of subjects that were off limits to study abroad students and many of the courses that were available to us had conflicting schedules. Although the classes I ended up taking were mostly irrelevant to my major, I did enjoy them a lot and found both the students and teachers to be very helpful. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The IES program administration was incredibly helpful. They responded quickly to all e-mails and seemed truly invested in making our experience everything we were looking for. They also take everyone out to wonderful restaurants and planned great trips. Everyone was very personable and easy going. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in student apartments and it was wonderful! Some of my favorite memories were with people who lived in my apartment building. I was able to have irish roommates as well, which was very helpful and allowed me greater insight to the lives of our irish peers. Overall a very social and fun environment, plus your own bedroom and bathroom! |
| * Food: |
Much of the food we ate in Ireland was what I would consider comfort food, such as steak and potatoes type meals. I did go to some wonderful restaurants and did enjoy the seafood, but overall I would say it was average. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The people in Ireland are very helpful and are more than happy to chat with you! In some ways, I felt it was very similar to America and may have appreciated a little more extreme of a change. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any experiences with the health care system but during orientation, they explained our options and it sounded very complete. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe, however it is important to be on guard for pick pocketing. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
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) |
|
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 40 Euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I spent most of my money on traveling, but Dublin itself can be affordable. Make sure to cook meals at home and try to limit buying too many drinks at pubs, it will add up! If you take the Dublin bus into the city and hang out at a pub for awhile before the clubs open you can save a lot of cab fare! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew how small the program was going to be. I also wish I had been more realistic about how the weather would be. |
