Past Review
By Hannah T (Global Environmental Studies, Clark University) for
The School for Field Studies / SFS: Costa Rica – Ecological Resilience Studies
Yes it was worthwhile but I like freedom. I am an independant person and I have trouble with others dictating how I live. The lack of free time was hard for me. It was great and I'm glad I did it, but I might have chosen a program with more freedom, had I known.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
All of us were Environmental studies majors or something similar. They spent WAY too much time on easy into things that we've all already known for years. Instruction was not very clear sometimes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Oh my gosh. Organization was seriously lacking. Time management was bad. They planned things poorly and were not very open to our suggestions. They told us it was community living so we all had to be equals and treat each other with respect yet we were not treated as equals and not always respected. The program director was not the best. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We lived in a research center. So we lived in a "dorm" where we also had classes. Our professors lived in little "casitas" and we all ate together and were together all day ever day. All the students in the program (36 of us) lived together. Mostly Americans. One intertanional student. |
| * Food: |
We had cooks who made it for us. They were great. The food got boring after awhile but we were allowed to make suggestions and sometimes cook for ourselves. The part I didn't like was that we were paying for it, but it was all locked away in the pantry. We had no access to it. Could only eat what they put out on the table. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Great. Community outreach was great. I would have liked more of it. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
They were crazy about health and safety. To the point where I feel I didn't get to really experience the country and culture because we were locked away behind a gate with a gaurd. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
We only had Spanish once or twice a week for the first month. It would have been more helpful for it to continue the entire time. I liked how they broke it up by level. Intro, Intermediate and Advanced. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I learned a lot from this program and had an overall good experience. However it is only for certain people. You MUST be OK with a completely structured program with NO free time whatsoever. You must be flexible and have a positive attitude towards everything or else you'll be unhappy with this program. Must also be a person who gets along easily with many other people. We live in VERY close proximity and have no time away from each other. |
