Past Review
By Mindy F (International Business, German, Universität Bamberg: Otto-Friedrich / University of Bamberg: ) for
University of Bamberg: Bamberg - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was 100% worthwhile and to try to sum up the entire experience I gained throughout a year would be impossible. I grew and matured a lot as a person and learned many things not only about the beautiful country of Germany and it's wonderful people/culture, but I learned a lot about myself. My main reason for going was to not only expand my majors and perfect my German language skills, but I plan on using all of my international education/experiences in my future career.
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Full-Year 2008 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes were much harder, but many were very interesting and I took lots of courses that I could not find at my home university. The only problem was that some of my courses did not give me and ECTS points so I have no record of taking them and could not receive credit at home. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The foreign exchange office was hardly ever open (meaning about two hours/day) and were not very helpful when they were open. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in the most ideal housing available in Bamberg and had so many wonderful experiences in my complex. It was very safe, international, modern, and close to campus/bus stops. |
| * Food: |
Let's just say I did not lose weight while in Franconia. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Bamberg is one of the most beautiful, entertaining, and interesting cities in Europe. There are so many little wonderful, fun things to enjoy there. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My home institution covered everything I needed to know about health issues while abroad, but I was always extremely careful not to get injured or sick while abroad because I did not receive any information (like emergency numbers such as 911) from my host university. I was also concerned about my insurance because my host university did not even ask if I had it or tell me how to use it. |
| 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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Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
They improved drastically and I picked up a lot of slang and dialect so that I don't sound so book-ish. |
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? | You need to be able to speak German pretty fluently, otherwise you will run into major problems in this sweet little city. |
