I found everything I was looking for plus more in Germany Past Review
By Shana M (Government, The University of Texas at Austin) for
University of Erfurt: Erfurt - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was the absolute best time of my life, and I wouldn't change a second of it, or dream of having gone to a different program. I am a completely different person than I was when I left, and would go back to Erfurt at any given possible opportunity.
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? |
A mix of other International students and locals, flatmates are completely random unless you request to live with someone. |
| * Food: |
there is always vegetarian food available at the cafeteria, but the quality of it is sometimes questionable! But the town itself has many good and cheap places to buy food from if you can't cook your own meal |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Erfurt may not be a 'party town' as far as clubs and bars are concerned, but it's close to other towns that are, and there are student parties very often, and there is no shortage of fun! with the german rail system it's very easy to travel around the country and see as many cities, cathedrals, or sites that you'd like to see! Berlin was the absolute highlight of my travels, and it's only a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Erfurt. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Germany is one of the safest countries in the world, but i would avoid the north part of the town at nights just in case...odds are nothing will happen to you even if you are there at night, but nothing is ever going on there so you would have no need to go there at all in any case. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you're not planning to travel Europe while you're there your cost of living should not be any higher than Austin, in fact it can be lower. But traveling almost every other weekend can be costly, so save up for your travels if you want to see Germany and Europe! |
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? | German Literature (upper division) |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Of course almost everyone in Germany speaks English so if you can't say something in german, english will work just fine almost anywhere. That being said, almost everyone is always encouraging you to speak german with them if you wish to, to improve your german. I felt absolutely comfortable there knowing english and a basic level of german, and have improved very much. Which language you choose to speak to people with depends completely on you, all the germans and other exchange students of course love to improve their own english skills and never mind to speak it, but as i said before, it's up to you to decide which language you speak with others. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Talk to everyone around you...Germans aren't as unfriendly as they are reputed to be, in fact most of them are friendlier than Americans! |
