It was breath-takingly awesome, it just was. Past Review
By simhyun91 (International Relations and Affairs., The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 09/02/2013 to 12/12/2013 with
Seoul National University: Seoul - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I learned that we (people from all over the world) think the same.
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. |
Professors do not give students enough information and material you can study with. Not prompt at grading your exams so you have to keep on waiting and asking. However, local students were pretty helpful and very kind. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
It was good overall. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived at their dorm. I stayed with 5 other girls, sharing a room with one student from Canada and shared a bathroom with them. It was okay, the room was pretty small, it would have been better if I was roomed with their local students. Maintenance is pretty bad overall. They clean the apartment only once in a year. |
| * Food: |
Cheap, delicious and healthy! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was hard for international students to be friends with the local students. So we (international students who speak the same language) had to travel by ourselves... |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
My overseas insurance did not work when I arrived there. Maybe it took a while to process? but still, I was sick and was not provided any health insurance benefits. But their health care is WAY cheaper than America. You can simply go to a pharmacy and tell them how you feel, they will give you the perfect medicine for really cheap. |
| * Safety: |
I could go shop, dine out and hang out at 11pm without having to worry about getting robbed etc. I could walk everywhere too. I felt really safe while I was staying in Seoul. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Their food was cheap and transportation was cheap. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | less than $100 only for food and occasionally spent about $60 every time I went shopping. I usually went shopping every once in two to three weeks. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Do not buy clothes that you won't wear back home. You might think that their local clothes might look pretty but if you keep on buying a bunch of clothes and you know you won't wear it back home. Just don't buy it. Styles are so different. |
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 |
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| 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? | Lower division language 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? | Being comfortable with yourself. Just tell people where you are from and they won't make fun of your accent. They will actually think that it's cute so they will teach you a lot of vocabularies, slang words, proverbs or sayings. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | I should have looked into more courses that were provided in Korean. I could have learned more Korean. I was afraid that I wasn't going to get good grades because of the language. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
