Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academics are different than in America. Students are usually not assigned homework and are only given a midterm and a final, sometimes just a final. Other courses there was a continuous assessment, but overall your graded upon your midterm and your final. I actually missed having the continuous assessment because it forces me to actually make sure I am keeping up on my studies. In most cases the students would not even attend class and just look at all the lecture notes that were posted on blackboard two weeks before the final.

On-site administration of your program

I think that IFSA-Butler did an amazing job; from all the pre-departure emails, to the organization of orientations and program sponsored events, and the availability of the program advisors. The fee that is paid to IFSA includes everything except your personal expenses, which I found very helpful. They organize housing for you and make sure you are in an area that is not only safe, but gives you the whole experience of life as a college student. I honestly did not find any problems that affected me, however there was a group flight option that was offered after mentioning there would be no group flight. They did not offer transportation to and from the airports on arrival and departure dates, but transportation to all other events was provided. If you live in the Boston area there is no need to take the group flight to IFSA-Butler Ireland, for they fly out of Newark, it is much easier for you to fly direct out of Logan.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

In each of our houses in the complex (Gort Na Coribe) that was affiliated with NUIG, there were depending on the size of the house, at least two Americans. In my program each person was paired with another person from our program and we shared the double. The other rooms were singles and given to NUIG students, primarily Irish students. In my particular house, we had on the ground floor one bathroom and a kitchen/living area. The first floor consisted of the double in which I shared with another IFSA-Butler student, a single, and one half-bath. The second floor had a similar set up except there were only two singles instead of a single and a double. Everything in the house was provided for us, except for bedding and linens. <br /><br /> Gort Na Coribe is affiliated with NUIG, which means it is all students. This made for a friendly, fun environment. There was a security guard on duty and security cameras, as well as a laundry mat and reception desk. There was a maintenance service that was available for any items that needed to be replaced or fixed. Gort is a short walk from Dunnes Stores, it is similar to a Super Walmart or Target. This made shopping easy. Gort is also about 20 minutes walking away from campus in one direction and 20 in the other to city centre where the shopping, restaurants and nightlife take place. Everyone walked everywhere, but taxis were also available.

I enjoyed making my own food, friends and I got together and would cook almost every night. We basically made whatever we wanted. Though I do not recommend buying beef, burgers are not as good as they are in America. We also ordered out a lot as well, some of my favorite places were Supermacs (Irish version of McDonald's only better), Papa John's and any Chinese food places. If going out to eat some places my friends and I went in Galway were: The Front Door, Kelly's Kitchen (my absolute favorite) and Griffin's Bakery ( a place everyone must go, great food!!) Overall the food is great, I liked tuna sandwiches but now after going to Ireland I put sweet-corn in my tuna! It is amazing!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Too much to say, but some of the trips we went on were to the Aran Islands, Paris, London and Rome. I just loved every minute of my time and had a blast with all the people I went with. All of these trips I planned on my own with the students in my program. We had two trips planned by the program that were paid for by the program fee to Cork and Belfast. I only went on the Cork trip for my family was visiting during the Belfast trip, but Cork was absolutely amazing and great fun. From what I heard Belfast was just as good.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I always felt safe no matter where I went in Galway and all of Ireland for that matter. Of course when we visited other countries we were more cautious, but in Ireland I would walk home from class at night sometimes alone and it got dark early and I never had an issue with safety. The walk was 20 minutes and I never felt that I was unsafe.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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