Studying in Vienna: An Invaluable and Enriching Experience Past Review
By Eliza M (Music, Political Science, Providence College) for
IES Abroad: Vienna - Study Abroad With IES Abroad
Studying abroad has helped me to gain confidence in myself, my abilities, and my goals for the future. I am considering returning to Vienna soon to continue pursuing these goals.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
IES is similar to Providence College in terms of how it grades, teaching methods, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The IES staff are knowledgeable, approachable, friendly, and extremely helpful. The program academically caters to American students very well and the size of the program enables you to get to know other students well. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
IES does a very good job with housing - I was delighted with my apartment, location, and roommates! |
| * Food: |
There are options for vegetarians in Vienna, and the Viennese cater to gluten and lactose intolerance as well. Viennese cuisine is not exactly light, but it is delicious! Cafes: Cafe Dreschler has a delicious breakfast menu, has freewave, and is open 23 hrs a day! (Warning: it gets smoky at night) Cafe Museum has delicious food, desserts, and drinks. It was designed by Adolf Loos and has a great atmosphere, friendly staff, and freewave (open until midnight!). The Palmenhaus Cafe in the Burggarten is in a greenhouse and is home to my favorite cafe atmosphere in Vienna. Their Palmenhaustorte is insanely good. Corn n' Pops isn't a cafe in the traditional sense, but they have a müsli bar (if you don't know what müsli is yet, you will soon- and it will change your life!) and a lot of delicious drinks and other food items. Also notable: Cafe Central, Cafe Sperl, Cafe Cuadro, Cafe Hawelka, Cafe Demel, Cafe Gerstner... cafe culture is one of my favorite parts of Vienna. Dinner out: I would recommend 7 Stern Bräu or Bettelstudent for delicious, relatively inexpensive Wiener Schnitzel and other traditional fare. Zwölf Apostekeller is a great place to take visiting friends and family. The wine (especially the fruit wines) and the food are delicious and the ambiance is fantastic. There are also some charming heurigens in the 19th district. Lunch on the go: Anker, Strück, and Wolfbauer are good places for a quick lunch on the go. Pasha is another student favorite and has great falafel. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Orientation in Mariazell was fantastic! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Vienna is very, very safe. Students should exercise reasonable caution as with any other city, but I never felt unsafe while in Vienna. |
| 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? | Make a budget and live within it. IES gives music students a 500 euro lesson refund, but you have to pay for weekly lessons (generally 55-85 euro/week) up front and are then reimbursed. Lessons for the entire semester will probably be at least a few hundred euro more than the refund allows for. If you are a music student, budget accordingly. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced German in day-to-day interactions with shopkeepers, waitresses, etc. You could get away with only using English, because most Viennese people speak it, and some people in our program did. If you want to improve, it is important to create opportunities to speak German (IES has a language buddy program), because otherwise you can get away with not using the language and you won't grow or get to feel at home in Vienna as much. |
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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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? | This is a fantastic program for a student who is excited to make the most of the opportunities presented to him or her. Vienna isn't necessarily a "party" city. You can find clubs and bars if that is what you are looking for, but if that is all that you do in the city, then you've missed the point. Vienna is about art, music, history, and so much more to a degree that US cities could never hope to compete with. Don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone and fully embrace the Viennese lifestyle - the city is full of opportunities and once-in-a-lifetime experiences if you are willing to open yourself up to them. |
