Pat Visits the Old Sod Past Review
By Patrick B (Accounting, Providence College) for
IFSA: Dublin - University College Dublin
Great time. Learned a lot about my heritage and spent a lot of time getting to know family i wouldn't have known otherwise.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Teaching methods were very different from the US. I do not like the Grading system as a great majority of your grade rests on the Final Exam. The Workload was average, however, the frequency of classes was below average. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IFSA was available whenever I needed them and helped to sort out any problems I had. I have absolutely no complaints in reference to the program and its advisers. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was good, however, i would have liked to have an oven. The ride into town was not so bad, but taxis begin to get expensive. |
| * Food: |
I cooked meals for myself, there is no meal plan at UCD. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
IFSA arranged two great trips: Northern Weekend and Adventure Weekend. Northern Weekend was a nice change of pace, as well as a mini-vacation. Adventure Weekend was exhausting but a great time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Dublin is an overall safe city, we never had trouble with it at all. However, during our travels in other cities, we did experience a run in with an inebriated man who ran off. |
| 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? | Don't go out every night and take advantage of the deals when they happen. Stay away from going out to dinner all the time and when travelling be careful of fines for public transport. I was 3 minutes late getting off the bus in Prague and had to pay 800 crown. |
Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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?
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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? | Consider living downtown and commuting to UCD and try to find pubs in Dublin where pints are cheaper than 5 euro. And dont go to Temple Bar all the time, expensive! |
