Time of My Life Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Not knowing a lick of German before heading to Vienna, I was thrilled to find out that one of our classes was an intensive German course that was held every day. A month of this allowed me to become more comfortable around the city. My other classes were great. A few were held at the University of Vienna, which were in English, and the others at our professor's houses. The class size was usually around 5 people, so it was more of a get together to discuss and learn (often times with coffee, strudel, and dinner) rather than a lecture.

On-site administration of your program

The strengths of IGE are abundant. I was thrilled to be part of a small group. We all came from different colleges, which allowed us to grow close to people away from our own schools. There was ample time for traveling, which was amazing in itself. I never thought before going that I would take so many different forms of transportation or be able to visit so many wonderful places. Vienna is in the most perfect spot of Europe where you can get anywhere very easily. The program also provided train passes that made traveling so much cheaper and more doable. Kevin and Aimee, the program directors, were great. They made sure the process of coming to a foreign country by yourself was seamless. They were there to pick you up from the airport when you got there and showed you around Vienna right away. They came on trips, cooked us dinner, took us to the best restaurants, held movie nights, and made the abroad experience great.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We lived in a hotel-style dorm with many Austrian students as our neighbors. I lived with a fellow American student and we got along so well. We got to know many of the Austrian students and learned a lot about their culture in the dorms.

Viennese food is awesome.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Here are the places I was able to visit while studying in Austria: Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Holland, Italy, and Turkey (trip planned by the program). They were all AMAZING

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never felt unsafe during my time abroad. Vienna is an amazingly clean and safe city. We were all smart in our decisions, but I felt safe exploring on my own.

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

As mentioned, an intensive German class was something mandatory for every student. I didn't know any German before this month-long class, and it really helped me feel more confident trying to get around the city on my own.

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• Dorm

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• Americans

• The city, people, food and travel

• If only I could've lived off more than a student budget