Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Awesome Past Review

By (plastics engineering, Western Washington University) - abroad from 06/17/2012 to 08/18/2012 with

Semester at Sea Study Abroad: Make the World Your Campus

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
learned how to be a global citizen and adapt to cultures. Everybody should do it.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teachers were very passionate about their subjects.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The Ship does help with integration but nothing beats going into a country and exploring it for yourself.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

it is easy to save money if you eat on the ship and sleep on the ship. but in order to become a global citizen instead of a tourist, i stayed at hostels and met people from around the world who loved to travel.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? Yes
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 375
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Save up a lot before hand because you do not want money being the thing that holds you back from camel riding or getting in a hot air balloon.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

basic words: thank you, hello, please, how much, excuse me

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? Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? spanish class
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? basic words are necessary, but you become very good at speaking with your hands.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Other
  • Hostel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • My friends
  • The Local people
  • The history
* What could be improved?
  • better preport discussion
  • better guides to each port
  • more free sites to plan hostels
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? buy a map or rick steves guide

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Philosophy of religion
Course Department: philosophy
Instructor: Trenton Merricks
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Challenging essays and discussions. The class was always very involved and Merricks was always prepared with new arguments that would encourage students to reflect. The field trip to Delphi was great, it was awesome to see where western philosophy started.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

International Prosecution
Course Department: Law
Instructor: John Cerone
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Very challenging but Cerone is passionate about law and made sense of the hundreds of articles that we read. He was very patient with the class and the field trip we took in croatia to learn about the yugoslavian genocide had a big impact on how I perceive the international community.
Credit Transfer Issues: