Beijing was Mega and Unexpected, but Broadened my Perspective Past Review
By Stefie G (Architecture., Barnard College) for
Tsinghua University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Politics, traditions, and culture affect the way a society runs, it was a learning experience to see the differences and similarities
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors at Tsinghua university have a hands-off approach, so students have to be independent and keep up with the course materials. There are no discussion sections, assigned homeworks, or office hours (you can set those up yourself depending on how willing professors are to meeting with you), but there are 1-2 major papers. |
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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? |
The dorm provided sheets and pillowcases. We didn't have a kitchen, so didn't need to buy much. Everything else we bought, i.e. fridge, toilet paper, shampoo, etc. |
| * Food: |
The food is really cheap, and there are many options. If you get sick of one dining hall, go to another and explore. There are about 10 or more dining halls. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to Huangshan, southern part of China, and climbed a mountain |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I didn't need healthcare attention during my stay, but automobile accidents are something to be aware of |
| 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about $20-$30 a week on food, and $20 on snacks and fruits $15 on internet, $10 on phone overall, I spent around $2,000 during my stay (including travel) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | i was aware of the spending |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Advanced Chinese |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Mandarin came very naturally to me after the first month. I spoke Mandarin everywhere I went, and it was natural to converse in Mandarin with locals, otherwise they wouldn't understand you very well. The comprehensive language course I was in was also very structured, and I learned a lot of new vocabulary and sentence structures. |
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?
Select all that apply |
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Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intro to Philosophy |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Professor Zhou |
| Instruction Language: | Mandarin |
| Comments: | A 2.5 hour lecture every week, explaining 5 topics. The majority of the course focused on ontology and Heidegger. The material is very shallow and intro-level, and becomes redundant after a while. There are suggested books to read. I recommend you read (skim) them to have a more enriched background. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | It fulfilled my Reasoning requirement |
