Three months of travel and sun. Past Review
By A student (University of Hartford) - abroad from 09/04/2018 to 12/16/2018 with
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Gold Coast - Bond University
I learned about other cultures, how to travel on my own, and how to budget my money.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Most of the classes were lectures, even the tutorial classes. Most people skipped those classes because everything was online in the form on power points. There was no homework but the tests were very hard. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I liked how TEAN gave us opportunity for events and meet ups, I wish there were more. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
It was small for two people but the bathroom was nice to have in the room as well as cleaning people. |
| * Food: |
The food was good. However, the good food was unhealthy and the healthy food was not fresh or good tasting. There also wasn't much variety, since the only place to eat was Lakeside and the Library Cafe during hours. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
It was easy to integrate into the culture, the transportation was easy to use and our language and customs are similar. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had a bad cold and went to the nurse on campus. It was fast and easy but she prescribed me antibiotics. They apparently prescribe this for everything. |
| * Safety: |
Never had an issue. Always police around and friendly people. |
| 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) |
I ran out of money on my meal plan and had to spend my own money. It was so expensive with travel and everything, I am very broke now. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | For the last 2 weeks, about $100. I rationed and had two meals per day |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save and work. Don't travel with Student Flights on campus, instead use student websites to find fights and hotels. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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 wish I knew that the orientation was a different type of fee. I had work conflicting with it and lost the thousand dollars we paid towards it. I wish I knew how important the club fair was, and I wish Bond did a better job of caring for their study abroad students. Making orientation better and more engaging. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
