Korea University- Best Summer Ever! Past Review
By Brianne Messer (Drake University) - abroad from 06/25/2017 to 08/07/2017 with
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Seoul - Korea University International Summer Campus
I learned so much and it was definitely worth every minute and every penny. I got a completely different perspective of the world and grew as an independent person.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
TEAN provided a couple meals, which were great, but we provided meals for ourselves. All the different foods were so interesting and amazingly good! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Didn't have any issues with healthcare |
| * Safety: |
Completely safe. I honestly felt safer in bigger and sketchier parts of Seoul than I do in Des Moines. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I loved the program and it was amazing, but I would want to go to other places as well before going back to Korea University. And if I did go back to Korea again, I would probably go for a semester or year rather than 6 weeks. |
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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Approx. $170 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Start saving up well in advance of your program and apply for as many scholarships as possible. Also don't buy your plane ticket too far in advance but watch the prices. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
TEAN didn't necessarily encourage us to use the language, but the Korean teacher at Korea University did. |
| 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 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Try to learn some of the language before you go abroad. I had learned the alphabet before going to Korea and I knew a few words, which really helped because I didn't have to spend as much time on that and I could focus on sentence structure. Any knowledge you get before is good. Also, be confident. You're less likely to mess up and people are less likely to notice if you're confident with what you say. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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 had known how many stairs there were at Korea University and I wish I would have known how much money it would cost to travel to places besides Seoul (Busan, Jeju Island, etc.) |
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. |
