Best time of my life and the beginning to what's to come! Past Review
By Jassmin P (International Business., Austin College) - abroad from 02/16/2012 to 06/23/2012 with
ISA Study Abroad in Seoul, South Korea
My trip abroad was worthwhile, no doubt!! I gained incredible friends that thought me a lot of their home countries - whether it was Korea, China or Spain. I gained culture customs I was not aware before, among other things.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Education overall was a bit too easy - maybe just for foreigners. Some Korean teachers only lecture and they didn't challenge the students to become interested in the subject. But overall it was a good experience! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program administration was great and very helpful. Anytime we had a problem or a question, we could always go to the office and ask for help. They always helped us in anything! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing was safe and comfortable. Anytime something was broken or the room had something wrong with it, we will just report it and they would fix it. |
| * Food: |
The food was different, interesting and delicious. The only downside about the meal plan is that we didn't have lunch, only breakfast and dinner. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Everyday we were able to communicate with the local community. Since we had a transportation card to ride the subway and we could walk anywhere, without having the necessity to have a car, integrating with the local people was pretty easy. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Health issues were addressed well. When someone got sick or needed to go to the hospital their issues were taking care of quickly. |
| * Safety: |
Everyday, even at night, everyone felt safe on-campus and off-campus. Korean itself is a safe country. I felt safe everyday while being in Korea. |
| 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) |
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| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | +$100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Have a budget on how much money they want to spend a week or a day and not go to over. It's going to be hard but it's possible. |
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? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Beginning Korean Language Class |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Practice when they go shopping, sight seeing or when they are talking to their friends from the prospective country. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | I would have liked to know that lunch was not provided on the weekdays and I would have like a proper tour of the school showing us everything - the other cafeterias on campus we could have gone to, the campus store to buy souvenirs and other things. |
