HKU: Tough program, but an amazing and unique experience Past Review
By Marc S (Bentley University) - abroad from 09/17/2012 to 12/22/2012 with
University of Hong Kong / HKU: Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was a very tough program, but it was completely worthwhile. Take 3 or 4 classes if your home university will let you. I learned about so many different cultures, and got a better idea of what kind of work I'd like to do in the future (something international)
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It's tough, and there's a bell curve so you're competing against other students, including locals |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Tons of red tape with registration, didn't get into a lot of classes, overall was very hard during add-drop period for the first two weeks of classes. I didn't know if I was going to get into everything I needed to graduate. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Pretty standard suite style dorm, but was cheap |
| * Food: |
Variety of food choices, from traditional Chinese canteens to French delis and frozen yogurt |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
If you put effort into making local friends, it's easy enough especially since everyone speaks English (all-English speaking university) |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Incredibly safe city and university, can walk around at 4am by yourself and it's totally okay |
| 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) |
Local food is very cheap, about $4-5 USD per meal if that. If you want to go to bars and clubs, those are where it gets expensive, but everyone drinks outside at 7-11 first (no open container laws) |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $150-200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Hong Kong is very accessible to all of Asia since it's right in the middle, but if you'd like to travel a lot, the flights are pretty expensive, usually around $300 round trip depending on where you're going. Some are cheap though, like Taiwan and the Philippines at around $150 round trip each. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Save as much money as humanly possible if you want to travel. It's a trip of a lifetime, go to some places you've never even thought of visiting. You can definitely make it on a tight budget without much travel though. Also, have backups for the classes you want to take and think are offered, there's a good chance they actually aren't. |
