Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Great experience! Past Review

By (Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/27/2019 to 05/10/2019 with

SIT Study Abroad: Morocco - Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
This program in specific helped me realize that I truly enjoy research, specifically ethnographic research, by allowing me to conduct my oown reserach during the ISP period.

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.

This program is not very intense academically, but rather allows the students to focus on cultural immersion which I found to be an extremely educational exeprience, but different from the book/homeowkr/exam heavy course load I was used to which was nice.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Helpful, but the information we receievd before the program was lacking- more should be done to reach out and inform the students before the program starts

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

listen to the safety tips the program gives- dont touch the animals on the street, be cautious when eating street food (if you choose to), be careful at night etc.

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

This program was everything that I wanted.

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)

Morocco is very affordable, but the estimate that SIT gives for spending money was not realistic in my experiene or in my friend's experiences. The biggest thing that you will spend money on is going to cafes in order to access theinternet (especially if you host family does not have wifi, and many dont). Buying coffees every hour or two in order to stay in the wifi zone starts to add up quick.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? usually, around $50 a week. This accounts for times that I wanted to buy my own lunch during school instead of eating at the cafeteria, or wanted to go to lunch with friends on the weekend.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Morocco is comparitively more affordale than the US, but be careful not to go into a buying frienzy because everything seems so cheap- it adds up.

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

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Beginner
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? none in Arabic
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
  • Apartment
  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Host Family
* 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?
  • Staff
  • the students
  • ISP
* What could be improved?
  • Organization/ info before the program
  • more ISP preparation
  • Meal vouchers
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Your host family will encourage you to keep eating even when you say you are full- you have to stand your ground and stop eating when you are full early on in the homestay or else you will be eating more food than you're comfortable with every day.

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 Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!