If you're looking for an easy-breezy time, look elsewhere! Past Review
By Michelle M (Speech-language pathology, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 01/08/2014 to 05/12/2014 with
Nanyang Technological University: Singapore - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Learned a LOT about cultures and cultural differences in Asia!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Courses seemed tough, but when test time came around all of the tests were very straight-forward. No tricks. Grading is on a bell curve, though, which means a student is graded based on how well he/she did in comparison to his/her peers. I wasn't informed of this until towards the end of the semester, so it threw off my grades a bit. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Contacting the administration was nearly impossible. I started off with problems in my schedule and no one could help me. Everyone referred me to someone different, or outright said there was nothing they could do, the system was automated. Finally my UT study abroad advisor was able to contact the university and get everything settled. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Dorms are pretty great, provided you get one with AC. There is a laundry room and a "pantry" in every block (dorm building). The pantry only consists of a hot plate, sink, and a hot/cold water dispenser, but still. Only problem is there were always ants; they didn't bite, but still. Overall extremely great for the price! |
| * Food: |
Food on campus (from an outsider's point of view) was pretty great! And super cheap! Although every canteen (cafeteria) offers pretty much the same stuff, so the food did get a bit redundant. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Many students were very closed off, not interested in making new friends. Even the other exchangers are hard to make friends with if you miss the first couple of parties/gatherings. GO TO THE FIRST GATHERINGS. They hang out on the roof of the ADM building (the one with the grass rooftop) most week nights. Great place to go meet people! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I accidentally sliced my thumb open on a razor pretty bad. I had to wait til the next morning to go to the doctor, since the office closes at 5, but they were very helpful, rushed me to the front of the queue and I was out in 20 minutes. They dressed my wound, and told me to come back every few days to check on it. |
| * Safety: |
No safety problems at all. Girls feel completely safe walking around campus and even the city 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) |
Singapore is really cheap as long as you don't go shopping!! Use Groupon & Deals.sg to buy tickets to events and the zoo and Sentosa and whatnot. Food is really cheap! Try to convince your roommate to get a mini-fridge ($80/semester for electricity), it is a great investment! Traveling to other countries is very cheap as well! I recommend Phuket, Thailand the most!! |
| 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? | IF YOU HAVE ROOM, take your bedding and toiletries with you! It's expensive in Singapore! ESPECIALLY facial wash (I bought the cheapest I could find at S$15!)!!! PLUS you can leave them behind when you go home and have extra space in your bag for souvenirs! I would also take one pot if you like to cook, one that you're willing to leave behind! Because it's pretty pointless to buy this stuff only to leave it anyway. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | GO TO THE FIRST PARTY/GATHERING!! Also, take toiletries (also, they don't sell tampons in Singapore), don't bother with packing a hair straightener, take one pair of pants and one light jacket (some classes are cold, but you'll want to wear shorts every day), take towels that you can leave behind, pack light and have a bag that you can take with you to other countries. Take only a couple pairs of shoes, you can catch sales or buy some in Bali really cheap as souvenirs. LOOK FOR SALES/DEALS ON FLIGHTS AS SOON AS YOU GET THERE - I met one girl that bought about 10 round trip tickets and traveled every weekend! She went to all but 1 country in SE Asia! |
