National University of Ireland: Galway Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Most of the classes were great, but they weren't what I expected. The study abroad course was advertised as Irish Writers and Literature, but in reality the classes we took crammed in a lot more than that. I'm not saying it was a bad thing, but we were only given pre departure material concerning the literature so I felt unprepared for the other classes and underprepared for the final paper we had to write on the literature because so few classes actually focused on it.

On-site administration of your program

Our faculty guide for the weeks was awesome. She really made us feel welcome and was always around when we needed her. There was, however, some lack of communication between the admins in Ireland and the admins here in the US. I booked the group flight as recommended by Fairfield only to discover on my program itinerary the day before departure that I was arriving too late to participate in the first program activity. I felt this was a serious oversight on the part of both the national and international admins.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The hostel was stayed at was great. It wasn't your typical hostel where you grab a cot and everyone sleeps in one giant room. It was more like a hotel with individual rooms that all had locks and keys. The free wifi was also a plus and the kitchen wasn't too shabby. It was super conveniently located too, right down the street from all the pubs and shopping.

We had to buy our own food except for breakfast, which was provided by the hostel. Breakfast was bland and lacked variety, but for a free meal I couldn't really complain. As to buying our own food, there are tons of restaurants nearby. There's also a grocery store so you can cook in the hostel kitchen if you want to save money.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We took a ton of field trips, my favorite being to the Aran Islands where we biked from the port to an ancient stone fort called Dun Angus. My only disappointment was that on another day, we went to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara and weren't given nearly enough time there.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There really weren't any healthcare issues. There was a hospital nearby so if we had needed it, help was there. I never felt unsafe in Galway. On several nights I walked back from the pubs around one or two am and never worried about being harmed.

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

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• Hostel

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• Other
• International Students
• Americans