Don't Choose This Program Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were really disorganized. One of our professors was fired before the end of the semester and they did not give a good justification- it honestly seemed like a personal issue between that particular professor and the academic directors. The independent study/internship period was a disaster- it was incredibly disorganized and many students ended up starting their projects late due to the incompetence of the academic directors.

On-site administration of your program

The academic directors are husband and wife, which creates ethical issues from the start. Many people who are associated with the program (e.g. "translators", for instance) seem to be friends of people who work there. Dr. Thiam, one of the academic advisors, seems to think he's the glue that holds the whole entire organization together. He was working on like 5 other study abroad programs during our semester, which made it seem like he didn't have enough time to actually devote to our program. I don't have much to say about Dr. Brodnicka, the other academic advisor- she was kind, but the fact that she is married to Dr. Thiam made it difficult to talk to her about many issues because it seemed like she had to choose between siding with students or siding with her husband.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was okay for me, but there were a number of students with housing issues that were ignored.

Food was fine.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was pretty difficult. There were Senegalese students who took part in our program, and some of the male Senegalese students sexually harassed many of the American female students at some point during the semester. Even though all of the students were told that "no means no" during our orientation, the students who harassed the others seemed to think that "no" meant "try harder". It was difficult to call them out without seeming like we, as American students, were criticizing Senegalese culture as a whole.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues.

Dakar wasn't too bad- just use common sense, like you would anywhere.

I don't regret doing the program, but I most definitely would NOT do it again.

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

It's affordable if you don't eat outside often.

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

Select all that apply

• Host Family
• Hotel

Select all that apply

• Americans
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans

• I got to experience a new country
• I met some really cool people
• I tried amazing food

• The program's administration was terrible