INSTEP: Learning to Love Economics Past Review

By (Economics, Tulane University) for

INSTEP: Cambridge - Institute of Economic and Political Studies

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Absolutely.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The Professors were all interested, open, thoughtful, and amiable. It was fascinating, and a real change of pace, to have economics classes that were all essay and small group based. It would be a lie to say that I learned a tremendous amount of economics (I continue to believe that the real way to learn this is by working through difficult mathematical models), but I learned a lot about how to talk about and discourse on the subject, and really deepened my love for it.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

There was a lot of tension between the house where the SA students lived and the house's management. Mainly this had to do with differing understandings of who would be responsible for various cleanup duties. To be honest it would probrably have been better had there been no cleaning service at all, rather than the constant tension over who was in charge of what. Other than that, the rooms were well furnished and internet was fast. A minor bug issue was taken care of rapidly.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

.

* Food:

.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

No Friday classes made weekend travel easy and excellent. I was also surprised by how much I culturally learned from the other American SA kids (turns out that your average Trinity College student had some very different life experiences than I)

* 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

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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? .

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Professors instill a love for Social Science
  • No harsh rules or micromanagement from above
  • Opportunities to Travel and Explore
* What could be improved?
  • Little interaction with local students
  • Lots of drama over cleaning
  • Not a lot of inexpensive, tasty, food choices
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? A person really into social sciences who gets a thrill from learning at such a majestic, historic institution (and who is willing to organize other cultural adventures without outside help).