Travel semester from Koc University Past Review
By Timothy D (Government, Clark University) for
Koc University: Istanbul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I had the time of my life abroad just traveling all over Turkey, making new friends, and being in a completely foreign environment. I gained a lot from this program and I now feel comfortable traveling to most other countries after experiencing a country like Turkey for 6 months.
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. |
Most of my classes stressed exams more than my American university. The workload was fine. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The trips our program took us on were great but the administrator was not easy to work with and did not seem happy to help. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorms were very clean and nice but my roommate wasn't very good. He slept almost all day and would barely talk to me. |
| * Food: |
The quality of food in the school cafeterias was great, I really enjoyed it. S dorm cafeteria is way better than the Student Center cafeteria. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I really loved being amidst the Turkish culture and the social scene in Turkey was a lot of fun. Our program took us to a small village near the eastern city of Kars which was a lot of fun and interesting to interact with townspeople. They were very friendly and happy to talk with us. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Like any city you need to be careful in Istanbul especially as a foreigner but there were rarely any moments where I felt in danger. Just be smart about traveling around the city and don't offend their social values because they value them very strongly. |
| 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I learned more from talking to people on the street than in the classroom, but the Professor was very good. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Just make sure you go out and experience the Turkish culture as much as you can. Try to get off of Koc University campus as much as possible because since it is a bit of a ways north of Istanbul you can get sucked into the campus and not go anywhere. Travel a lot. Go out into the city as much as possible and you will have an awesome time. |
