Past Review
By Tamara O (Global Studies European Studies, The College of William and Mary) for
IES Abroad: Freiburg - Environmental Studies & Sustainability
Yes, it helped improve my language skills.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The people at IES were all very friendly and were available to help anytime. There was internet access and printing and copying access in the main IES building. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was put in a WG with 4 other German girls and one from Spain. All of them were very open and kind to me, inviting me to social gatherings etc. I ended up becoming really good friends with two of the girls, which really helped my language skills. |
| * Food: |
well i made most of my food, so I bought what I liked to eat and kept it healthy,simple, and good. The cafeteria was good, I just figured I saved more money making my own food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
As I said before the program did not do a very good job of integrating the students with local students, but helped in keeping us all together---which is not the reason I went to Germany. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very Safe. We had a health insurance through our program so if anyone got sick they were covered. |
| 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat at home as much as possible if you want to save money. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | German Conversation 206 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you want to really learn to speak German you have to make it happen. Freiburg gives you ample opportunity as it is a small University town. |
