Semester Outside September 01, 2025
By A student (Biological Sciences, Wellesley College) - abroad from 02/24/2025 to 06/20/2025 with
IFSA: Dunedin - University of Otago
I was able to spend a lot of time camping, hiking, climbing, and backpacking, which I loved. It was incredible scenery and there was a lot of support for outdoors activities as well as a lot of like minded people that really made the experience special.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academic experience was not as enriching as I had hoped, mostly due to the format of large lecture classes and a heavy focus on exams. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
|
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
UniFlats was incredible, provided a strong community and was timely with maintenance. |
| * Food: |
I was responsible for my own food. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
UniFlats allowed us to be living among other Dunedin students, but the apartments were in UniFlats neighborhoods, meaning most of the exposure I got was to other international study abroad students. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
N/A |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe overall at most times. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
Most of the activities I participated in were outdoors related and thus not quite as expensive as other things might have been. Food was definitely the most significant expense for me. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $250 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Sharing meals with flatmates helped save money for me. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| 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? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew it would be a very different kind of studying and mostly exam based. It might have helped me prepare academically for the semester. |
