Life Redefined - Pura Vida y Otra Cosas Past Review
By A student (Cellular and Molecular Biology, Berea College) - abroad from 07/06/2013 to 08/10/2013 with
ISA Study Abroad in San José, Costa Rica
There is too much to explain in a little box... I not only learned may things in the classroom, from the host family, and simply by observing the culture.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The Spanish course definitely required a focused effort to do well, but the elective course that I took, was much more relaxed and not as rigorous. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff on-site were extremely helpful and friendly throughout the entire program in any interaction I had with them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had the BEST host family I could have possibly asked for. They took my roommates and I in as their own and did everything they could to make sure we were comfortable and happy. |
| * Food: |
Overall, I really liked Costa Rican food, the only disappointment was the cheese. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our classes were solely with americans, and you had to go search out opportunities to interact with the culture. There could have been more done to encourage interactions between the two cultures. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My advice would just be to think about what you do. Don't go exploring parts of the city you don't know at night by yourself. Have fun but make smart decisions. |
| 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) |
It depends on what you want to do. With excursions and extra trips it could easily spend over $200 a week, but if you only bought food, then you could get by on $100. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~$175 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Set an amount that you can spend per week and withdraw it from the bank. It is a lot easier to tell how much you have spent when it is in your hands and not on a card. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 103 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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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* Who did you take classes with?
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| 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? |
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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? | That my classes would solely be with Americans. |
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 LinguistYou 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: |
Health Psychology |
| Course Department: | Psychology |
| Instructor: | Delia Pena |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was not a challenging course for me but we did get to go to several relevant field trips. The professor was knowledgable and class was student led with presentations daily, and take home exams. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Basic Spanish for Healthcare Professionals |
| Course Department: | Spanish |
| Instructor: | Marlene |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This course was definitely not an easy course but was well worth it, we had three presentations in Spanish and english was not spoken at all. There was often homework and in class partner work, and in class exams. There was a lot of participation in class which was very helpful for learning the language. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
