America but Better Wildlife Past Review
By A student (Business, Brandeis University) - abroad from 02/14/2014 to 07/01/2014 with
ISA Study Abroad in Sydney, Australia
I would never have seen Australia, New Zealand or Thailand otherwise, so of course.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I took 5 classes and the minimum is 4, I didn't find it that difficult to keep up. Business classes at USYD are run similarly to business classes at Brandeis |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I didn't have to deal with them that often. For study abroad students thought you can change your schedule yourself, they make an administrator do it and it can take a while sometimes. She was usually speedy but sometimes took a long time. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a pretty nice dorm-style studio. But there's no meal plan, just a communal kitchen downstairs (you actually had to exit the building to get to it). Sydney University Village - Only USYD students, events at least once a month. |
| * Food: |
there is no mean plan. you're on your own. Food is expensive in australia, as is everything. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Australia is basically America with accents, especially in Sydney. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't personally engage with it really, but my boyfriend ended up in hospital for over a month and had a huge facial reconstructive surgery there and they took very good care of him. He was back at full function (after having been in an induced coma) by 3 months after the accident. |
| * Safety: |
Would take a 20 minute walk home alone after midnight frequently and was never worried. The city is well lit especially around University of Sydney. Campus security is always around campus and actually drove friends home once or twice when they didn't want to walk alone at night. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
Everything is so expensive. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 - $300 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Find free food or cheap food. Urbanest had free burgers every friday that I could get even though I didn't live there and then Chippendale's restaurant (near Urbanest) had $9 steak every monday and the Village had free food once or twice a month. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | 0 |
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 I'd experience literally no culture shock or alternate culture. Seriously, its just like america. |
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! |
