Be different in different situations Past Review
By Joshua D (Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 08/31/2015 to 12/15/2015 with
Korea University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Friends. Classes I couldn't take at my home uni. It was definitely worth.
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. |
Hardworking students and a great learning environment -- Korea Uni provides great courses and a great environment. Very nice buildings and very modern class content. However, testing is a wee bit on the easy side and lectures are very powerpoint heavy. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Korea University has a superb administration for their exchange students. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in Crimson House and it was great. Lots of freedom and chill neighbors. However be warned that there is no kitchen. |
| * Food: |
Lots of cheap options for on the go eating. So much Korean bbq options that you'll never eat it back home ever again. A lot of variety, and more options when you venture out of the city. I highly recommend a trip to the farmer's market/grocery store. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Koreans are so friendly! However, their English is so good that my Korean may have gotten worse abroad. Hang out with your classmates and don't talk to too many foreigners after the first month! Working with the local students is much more interesting and you will learn more about the local culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Expensive, and no recognition for student status or other insurance. However, you can just expense it at home through your insurance provider if you have it. |
| * Safety: |
I could leave my backpack on a table and come back for them the next week. However, a wallet was stolen when I accidentally left it in a public area. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Korea Uni has so much support for exchange students, great academics, and a hardworking (but fun and friendly) student population. There are no major issues I have with the program that I can't attribute to my own mistakes. |
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) |
Food is up to you. There are cheap options, normal options (compared to the US), and expensive options. Food prices around the university are quite cheap for eating out big city. However, your main costs will come from travel (tourism is expensive). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 300-500 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Kimbap is amazing. Eating with friends will make things expensive usually. If you can cook, it will save money. |
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 |
I could have gotten by with no knowledge of Korean. I tried a little to use Korean, but everyone wants to use English and Seoul is very foreigner-friendly. You will need to know a few basic phrases though (This one, restroom, thank you). |
| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Accelerated Korean 1 |
| 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? | Don't talk to foreigners, especially beyond the first two weeks. You'll get trapped into your comfort zone. It's hard enough getting Koreans to speak Korean to you. |
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? | Kimbap is cheap and tasty. Travel is expensive, so book ahead for a discount. You will spend more than you budget. |
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: |
Programming Languages |
| Course Department: | CS |
| Instructor: | Hakjoo Oh |
| Instruction Language: | OCaml, English, Korean |
| Comments: | This was a great course. Challenging and requiring some thought outside of class, there was plenty of room for exploration here. While completing assignments is pretty lenient, you can explore much more in the theory beyond the course as I think the professor facilitates this. Grades were relatively easy, but there is a definite yet reasonable workload for assignments. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | No matching course. Currently petitioning. |
