N/A Past Review
By Guy H (Economics., Rollins College) for
Rollins College: Shanghai - Rollins in Shanghai
yes i am glad that i did it, but if i had the time again i would do many things differently.
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. |
Teaching methods different from US professor, despite being told they would be the same. Different levels of homework for different levels with many classes not even completing all the specifies syllabus. Different grading between the different professors. Also due to the 2 classes being condensed into 12 weeks don't expect to be at the same level as if you took the classes at Rollins. Content courses with Rollins faculty member were excellent. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
they were good at taking cultural excursions. No real ability to get stuff done, did not feel like they were there to help us. before we left we were told there would be apartments available. Ended up in a hotel in which the room was barely big enough for one person, let alone 2. We moved out into an apartment which we had to find by ourselves in the first week. expectations were not met, everything seemed to be organised last minute with no real structure behind the events |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
lived in acommodation which cost $10 a night, despite continuing to pay around $2500 in housing fees. hotel was on a street where they were building either side, some people ended up buying desks, chairs, wardrobes for their hotel room, the one we had want big enough to fit them in. no wireless in hte rooms and only study are was the bar area despite being told there would be a meeting room available 24/7. this was untrue |
| * Food: |
options for western and chinese food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
cultural field trips were excellent, but very poor at organising anything to do with business, and no social events put on. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
no medical pack carried by group leader, and no information given on vaccinations |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | College reimburses you with $2400, but unless you are eating chinese food every day and not going out you will easily spend more than this. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | being put in sub- par accomodation and having to rent an appartment |
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? | 102 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
in every day life you needed to be able to speak chinese, although a lot do speak a bit of english |
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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* Who did you take classes 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? | from what i have heard about the courses being offered next year i would not recommend any business, IR or Econ major to go on this program |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese Business and Economic Development |
| Course Department: | ECO/INB |
| Instructor: | Prof. T. Lairson |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Excellent, very knowledgeable professor, learnt a lot. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese 202 |
| Course Department: | CHN |
| Instructor: | local |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | our professor was one of the most challenging from what i heard, learnt a lot |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese 201 |
| Course Department: | CHN |
| Instructor: | Local |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | our professor was one of the most challenging from what i heard, learnt a lot |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
US- China relations |
| Course Department: | POL |
| Instructor: | Prof T. Lairson |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | very knowledgable professor, learnt a lot |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
