Spring 2024 August 17, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had off-campus housing. I got no help from the university itself, and found housing through a friend. I was satisfied with the housing and neighborhood it was in.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Being a foreigner in Korea can be extremely isolating and lonely. People will rarely ever approach you first and more often than not, will avoid you. If you really want to have an immersive and social experience, you really have to get out of your comfort zone and approach people first. I spent more than a month trying to become friendly with my classmates, and although it was extremely difficult, it was rewarding in the end.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There were so many amazing takeaways from my trip but there were also a lot of challenges as well. I think that the challenges I dealt with were purely an administration problem. The professors were either disorganized, emotionally unstable, or discriminating against foreigners. There was only one professor that I found to be respectable. But part of me wants to believe that I just got really unlucky. During my time, I got the chance to meet so many amazing people. I learned so much more from my classmates and peers. I also got the chance to branch out and talk to other professors who were very kind and offered a load of advice. If I reframe my experience and consider the amount of effort I made to build relationships with others, I genuinely had an amazing time. I do think however, that the administration needs to do more to offer a more welcoming and inviting experience for students.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Wellesley courses usually offer all the material or supplies one would need, and it there are extra expenses, then the class usually has a spending budget. I had to buy everything I needed for my classes out of pocket. I did not expect to be spending as much money as I did on my classes. There was NOTHING offered by the university, and I mean nothing. If you need a pair of scissors or even tape, you have to buy it yourself. Since my classes were project based class, I spent a hefty amount on my classes. This completely threw off my student budget. Otherwise, the cost of living in very affordable. Food can be cheap, but because I have dietary restrictions I had to go out of my way to find food a lot which would be more costly than what was readily available.

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

Although I came to Korea improve my Korean, a lot of Koreans are either uncomfortable talking with foreigners or they use it as an opportunity to improve their English skills. So even though I repeatedly asked people to talk to me in Korean, more than often they would not.

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• Apartment

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• N/A

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• Local Students

• Classmates

• Classes that say they are offered in English, should actually be offered in English

The Academic or Linguist