Sweden: A Great Place, but Please just do a Direct Enroll into SU Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The Swedish Program runs a semester program at an institution that is not on the same schedule as American schools. This means that it is nearly impossible to enroll in a class not run by The Swedish Program (Swedish universities have students take one class for 5 weeks at a time, 4 classes per term). Additionally, it means that no Swedish students will enroll in The Swedish Program's classes. It is very isolating and makes it difficult to meet others outside of the program. Teaching is done mostly by Swedish professors, with a couple of American professors as guest professors. Classes are fairly similar to those at American universities, though they are oftentimes smaller (6 people, in some cases).

On-site administration of your program

The administrative staff are highly unprofessional and unorganized. The student advisor was particularly incompetent. By the end of the program I was trying to avoid interacting with any of the administrative staff because I just couldn't put up with their inability to be helpful. Little support was given to students to help them integrate into Stockholms Universitet. For example, the last week we were in Stockholm, he forwarded us an e-mail newsletter for international students at SU. It was full of events, things to do, and club meeting times. We had never seen this before and had not been told how to get on the newsletter mailing list. When I askede why we had never been told about it, his response was, "Well, we told you about the Student Union website." Furthermore, in most cases, people only figured out how clubs worked by the last month they were in Sweden, and by then it was a bit too late to join. On the other hand, if you are a highly independent person, this program could be great for you because outside of your class schedule, you have a great deal of freedom. The other wonderful thing about the program is that they give you two weeks of travel/vacation time--I would recommend using one of those weeks to travel around Sweden. It's a gorgeous country.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The program will arrange all housing for you--and for the most part they do a great job. My apartment was centrally located (4 metro stops from central Stockholm), clean, well-decorated, and in a very safe neighborhood. However, I got lucky and was assigned an apartment that they were renting for the first time. I know some of their older apartments are farther out in the suburbs and are not necessarily well-kept. They do make safety a priority, however, and will not place students in bad neighborhoods.

Since I lived in an apartment, I cooked all of my meals. I'm a good cook, so this was great for me. There were plenty of people who couldn't cook, however, and that wasn't so much fun for them. The program also supplies students with a very generous food stipend, so I never had to pay for food. Stockholm is full of great food--thai especially--but it can be pricey so if you aren't being fed by your host family it can get expensive.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program organizes a few cultural field trips (to the City Hall and to the Opera) as well as a trip to Gotland.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Stockholm is incredibly safe and clean. I never once felt unsafe. While in Stockholm I got very bad strep throat and an ear infection. Healthcare in Sweden is accessible if you know where to go--the program provides you with a few places but they weren't that informative. You will also need to be able to pay up front to access a doctor. Doctor's fees are often 1600 SEK, or more than $200. I would recommend getting travel insurance that will reimburse you for these costs.

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

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• Apartment
• Host Family

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• Americans

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• Americans