Big Times in Little Karlsruhe Past Review
By Allen B (English, German, Presbyterian College) for
Karlsruhe University of Education: Karlsruhe - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Definitely.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Full-time students at the P-H choose certain classes in which to write a "Hauptseminarschein"--essentially, they choose to convert certain lectures into more rigorous undertakings, which usually include a long essay and a lecture or presentation. However, exchange students don't need to do this and are usually only required to attend lectures and participate in occasional small group projects. This has obvious advantages for someone who wants to travel around Europe, but as an academic experience it's a little too abstract to feel awfully fulfilling. Still, you can learn quite a lot if you're self-motivated. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I usually spent in the neighborhood of 50 euros a week, but one could definitely live cheaper. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | There were a lot of little collections for different funds in the dormitory; I felt like I was always being surprised with new dues I had to pay. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 301 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
This was the best part of the program! I was able to take classes with lectures and readings in German, and this was very helpful for the further development of my language skills. The only problem doesn't really have to do with the program itself: well-educated Germans almost all speak English and they love to practice it, so you have to be very proactive to avoid getting lazy. Sometimes I felt like I had to be very aggressive to get the Germans in my dorm to speak German with me. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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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