Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Good Times in the Gong Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/11/2018 to 06/22/2018 with

IFSA: Wollongong - University of Wollongong

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Really improved my creative writing skills and made lifelong friends, Australia will always have a piece of my heart.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Had a wonderful time in Wollongong, wish I'd gone for a year instead of just a semester!

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $50

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • Classes
  • Community
  • Proximity to the beach
* What could be improved?
  • Dining hall food
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Really, wear lots of sunscreen, even just walking to class! Also, even though it's also an English-speaking country, there's still that good ol' culture shock, especially coming back.

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 Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

CACW103: Foundations of Editing
Course Department: Creative Writing, Faculty of Creative Arts
Instructor: Shady Cosgrove
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Shady managed to make even such dry topics as adverbial clauses and proofreading marks interesting—and I definitely feel as though I have a solid base in the editing process and have improved my own writing thanks to this class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

CACW203: Narrative Studio
Course Department: Creative Writing, Faculty of Creative Arts
Instructor: Shady Cosgrove
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Genuinely one of the best classes I've ever taken—learned a great deal from the lectures and was able to put it into practive through a collaborative workshopping process in the tutorial. Improved my writing exponentionally, especially short stories.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

CAVA124: Intro to Digital Photography
Course Department: Creative and Visual Arts
Instructor: JoAnne Day
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Nice to learn the basics of working a DSLR and photography techniques, but I had a 4-hour tutorial (4pm-8pm) that met on Wednesdays, which is a rough time period. JoAnne was great, really patient with explaining and giving feedback, and I enjoying creating the Visual Process Journal, but that time slot was a bit of a turn-off.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

INDS150: Introduction to Indigenous Australia
Course Department: Indigenous Studies
Instructor: Dave Kampers
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Mostly online course with interesting readings—not many assignments and those we did have were not very challenging compared to what I'm used to. Best for self-motivated students if you really want to get anything out of it, but I think this was a really important class for me to contextualize my experience in Australia.
Credit Transfer Issues: