RAdelaide Study abroad experience! Past Review
By Kaitlyn A (Computer Science, Harvey Mudd College) - abroad from 07/23/2014 to 11/21/2015 with
IFSA: Adelaide - University of Adelaide
I loved my experience abroad. It taught me to let loose an enjoy every day! Try to say yes to as many events as you can and experience as much as you can!
Review Photos
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. |
I didn't work very hard in my classes and still did pretty well. Most of the classes I took were much easier material than I have at home but there weren't a lot of resources for homework help or tutoring. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I had Sharna as an advisor and she is wonderful! She's so fun to be around and the group in Adelaide was so small it was great to have so much one on one time with her! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived at the Urbanest Apartments and it is a beautiful facility. They have everything you need (although laundry is incredibly expensive) and it's a very social place to live. I lived with three boys so the kitchen was always a mess but other than that it's great. The only reason I docked half a star was because there were all international students where I lived so there wasn't a whole lot of exposure to "Australian culture" and native Australians. But I got plenty of that on the frisbee team. |
| * Food: |
The mexican food makes me sad... but I guess that makes sense. But the asian food more than makes up for it! I am not a great cook so I went out for fast food a lot. I would recommend Zambrero and Sandwich Chefs. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt very integrated with the culture but it was not without effort. I joined the frisbee team and reached out to my peers in classes. You really have to try to make friends because the academic environment doesn't really focus on collaboration very much.Most of the Australian friends I made, I made outside of classes. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The health care is amazing compared to the US! |
| * Safety: |
Adelaide felt very safe. I never really felt threatened at all. |
| 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) |
I ended up borrowing a lot of money from my parents. They were happy to do it but the money I thought would be enough wasn't even half of what I needed. The cost of living in Australia is really expensive (that's why minimum wage is so high) and if you want to have any fun you end up spending a lot of money on social things (pub crawls, frisbee tournaments, etc.) |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't save money! How often are you going to study abroad?! It's worth it to go into debt for this because these will be memories for a lifetime! |
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? | Go prepared to have an amazing time. I know it's not always hard but try not to leave with strong attachments back home. Close friends is one thing but if somebody who you have to skype all the time is back home, it's going to be tricky because the time difference is huge and it's gonna mess up your sleep schedule. |
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. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Funamentals of Creative Writing |
| Course Department: | Creative Writing |
| Instructor: | Ros |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This class was not difficult but it was very fun. The lectures were very boring but there's only one quiz on the lectures and it was embarrassingly easy. It's the tutorials that really make this class fun! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No problems :) |
