Stressful, studious, and hard...but I am glad that I did it!!! Past Review
By leslie W (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 03/01/2012 to 07/31/2012 with
National University of Cordoba: Cordoba - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Although it was interesting to see what they were teaching here and to spend time in an Argentine classroom, I would rather just study in Texas and then come to Argentina on my own.
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. |
I was in the faculty of philosophy and humanities. The classes are very rigorous with A LOT of reading. The material was usually interesting though. One problem was the transfer of my grade: in Argentina, 4/10 is considered passing instead of 7/10. This means that grades tend to be lower than in the US, and A's are rare. My GPA will definitely be affected. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I never heard from them unless they needed something from me. Don't expect much in the way of help in enrolling for classes, etc. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing arrangements aren't provided. I was lucky enough to have a contact before I went that let me stay with her. A lot of other students went without plans and stayed in a hostel until they found an apartment. The UNC International student facebook page was useful for finding roommates. I think that most rents ranged between 1,000 and 16,000 pesos a month. |
| * Food: |
I bought all of my own food, paying about $80-$100 pesos a week. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I feel like the amount of studying that I had to do held me back from socializing more. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any health issues. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe. Of course, the usual common sense rules apply though. Don't carry flashy things (ipods/iphones, fine jewelry, etc.), don't walk alone in dark and deserted areas, don't get so drunk that you can't take care of yourself, etc. |
| 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) |
Bus is $3.35 pesos each time. rent is about $1000-$1500, food varies, depending on what you buy, I spent about $100 or so a week, clothes are very expensive- you shouldn't plan on buying too many, anything imported (especially electronics) are very expensive (sometimes double US prices). |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | No |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Maybe $200-$300??? |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy produce from the produce stores, not the supermarket (much cheaper and better quality.), bring plenty of clothes so you don't have to buy any (but if you do need to buy some go to San Martin Street, it is significantly cheaper), don't eat out too much, eat in the university comedor if you have time ($4 pesos for a relatively good meal!!), rent is much cheaper outside of Nueva Córdoba, buy your books in the fotocopiadoras.... |
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 |
it is essential |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 4 semesters of Spanish |
| 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? | Again with studying, it was a bit frustrating because I felt like I spent so much time studying that I didn't get to speak as much as I would have liked...my reading/writing skills improved though! That being said, I did speak a lot of Spanish since none of my friends spoke English. If you go, make an effort to be around non-english speaking people!!!! |
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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| 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? | That school is very challenging. It wasn't so much that it was hard, just VERY time consuming with a lot of reading and essay writing. |
