An amazing experience and an incredible country! Past Review
By Markie A (Political Science and Government, University of Rochester) - abroad from 01/02/2015 to 05/23/2015 with
IES Abroad: Dublin Direct Enrollment - Trinity College Dublin
I learned so much about myself, what it means to travel, and about Ireland. I had an amazing experience, and I would go back in a heartbeat.
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. |
The academic rigor was less than that of my experience in the United States, however it was still challenging. It allowed me to travel pretty extensively, but also required significant time management, |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff at IES was incredible. They were so nice and helpful, and they genuinely cared about the experience that we were having. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We lived in an apartment in a safe residential area. We each had our own room and we had a very nice kitchen and communal living and dining room. It was about a 20 minute walk to trinity. |
| * Food: |
Dublin is pretty standard food wise, very similar to the United State. Groceries (if you shop at Tesco) are actually cheaper than in the U.S. if you're looking at things in euros. The restaurants are a wide variety of places, Indian, Burger joints, italian, you name it, besides mexican food, there really isn't a lot of mexican, however burrito plcaes are big in Dublin. The local food is very meat and potato heavy. Pubs typically serve the local fare, my favorite was The Duke off of Dame St. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was hard to make friends at Trinity coming in halfway through the year, they don't really do the semester system and a lot of their classes are full year, so if you're doing the semester long classes they can be bigger and people are less approachable. In general however people are very friendly and willing to talk to you whether its in a store or pub, etc. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no issues but one of my roommates did and it was taken care of speedily and without a problem. |
| * Safety: |
Dublin is very safe, I never felt threatened even when walking alone at night. |
| 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) |
You can live as expensively or inexpensively as you want.One feature of being in Ireland is that alcohol is taxed the most of anywhere else in Europe, so if you're going out a few nights a week then you're going to be spending a lot of money. I tried to spend around 100 euro a week and that was pretty frugal. Dublin is a semi expensive city but groceries are very cheap, so it really just depends on how much you eat and drink out. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Approximately 100 euro |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't spend all your money in the beginning, really try to stick to that budget so you aren't down and out the last two weeks. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | I wish I knew to keep a travel journal. It seems tedious, but do it! You won't regret it. |
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. |
