New Friends Past Review
By Zac G (International Relations and Affairs., The University of Texas at Austin) for
University of Freiburg: Freiburg - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I made amazing, life-long friends and I learned a lot about different people.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I was in two courses that were intended for locals. My professors in both of them were very accommodating and helpful to me. Overall, the workload seemed much less than at UT. There were no innovative-or even interesting for that matter-teaching methods. The classes were pretty boring, dry, and not engaging. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There was a lot of uncertainty as to how to get a lot of things done. Luckily I had some friends who helped me. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My housing was assigned to me by the university. The neighborhood itself seemed safe, but the tram stop next to ours was a sketchy neighborhood. The buildings were ugly, but the complex was located on a big lake that was an awesome asset of the city. It was also about a 30 minute walk from the nightlife and classes, or a 10 minute tram ride. |
| * Food: |
Food at the grocery stores was pretty cheap. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There was nothing arranged for me by my program. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
It's Europe... |
| 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? | No. |
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 German grammar |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people speak English but I have no problem speaking German in day-to-day interactions, so I did. I also spoke German with a few of my German friends. |
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?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Dekolonisierung |
| Course Department: | history |
| Instructor: | Rausch |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | The course was basically student-run. We had to read a lot for each day, and different class days had different groups of students that would take charge and lead the class discussion-for every single class, the entire semester. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | n/a |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Die Alpen: Kulture in Kontext |
| Course Department: | n/a |
| Instructor: | n/a |
| Instruction Language: | German |
| Comments: | It was very boring. The class a joke. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I didn't take the final for this course. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
international trade |
| Course Department: | economics |
| Instructor: | n/a |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was for exchange students. It was interesting but very easy. We also only had around 10 class days-and this is apparently worth our three credit hours to the Germans |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I haven't tried yet. |
