Vienna is the best city in the world! Past Review
By Susan Griffith (Trinity University) - abroad from 08/16/2017 to 12/16/2017 with
IES Abroad: Vienna - Study Abroad With IES Abroad
I gained a lot of confidence and independence fro living abroad and doing solo travel.
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. |
Classes were across the board very easy. Some professors were good and gave interesting lectures, others were sub par |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved the location and the type of apartment I lived in. However, 6 girls sharing an apartment (and 3 sharing a bedroom in my case) made the living situation difficult at times. |
| * Food: |
I lived in an apartment and cooked for myself but grocery stores were close and pretty affordable. Vienna has really awesome cafes and restaurants too. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had to see a Doctor at one point and it was easy, affordable, and a good experience. |
| * Safety: |
Vienna is the safest place I've ever been. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved living in Vienna so much. IES was an adequate program, whatever it's failings were I've heard of friend having similar complaints with other companies. IES made living in Vienna easy and gave me classes that could count toward my degree so I can't complain. |
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) |
I cooked for myself and probably spent 30 euro a week on groceries plus another 20 euro for lunches out or morning coffee and pastry. Vienna is very affordable as long as you cook. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $75-$150 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook for yourself, bring lunch to school. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None for German, intermediate Spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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? | Different people will get different things out of the experience. Decide what you value most and pursue it. For me that was travel, I visited 10 countries during that semester and it was the experience of a lifetime. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
