Worth My Time Past Review
By A student (University of Northern Iowa) - abroad from 05/16/2012 to 05/30/2012 with
University of Northern Iowa: Capstone in England and Ireland
I learned a lot of history information about England and Ireland, and I also learned a lot about the environment as well. It was definitely worthwhile.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Overall, I loved this trip and class! For the class part of it, we met a few times before we left the country and did most of our assignments ahead of time, which was nice so that we could enjoy our time abroad and not have to solely focus on the class portion as we were traveling. I learned so much more by traveling than if I would have just taken my Capstone in a classroom setting. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Overall, things went smoothly. I only wish that there would have been some warning on what days we would have free to go on our own to do things, so that I could have planned ahead. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Most of the places that we stayed at were pretty nice, however the hostel we stayed at in Dublin was a bit on the sketchy side. |
| * Food: |
Only giving this section 3 stars, because the food wasn't anything unique that I couldn't get back in America, and it was also super expensive! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I didn't feel like there was a huge difference between the culture in America versus the culture in Ireland or England. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Before the trip, health care issues were covered. |
| * Safety: |
I felt completely safe at all the places we went to, except for Dublin. I didn't feel safe there at all. |
| 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) |
I tried really hard not to spend a lot of money on the trip, but food and gifts really add up, and it became more difficult as the trip went on. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I was on the cheap end of the scale, spending the equivalent of only $460 for food and activities. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Start saving now!!! Even if you think you're a person that knows how to bargain and get great deals, the food expenses really add up, not to mention baggage fees at the airport! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | I wish I knew that I could have taken a bigger bag with me, because I thought I would have been charged extra for that. I also wish I would have researched the countries more before I had left, so that I could actually understand some of the history better. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Capstone: Environment, Technology, and Society: England/Ireland |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Ali Kashef |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This trip was well worth my money. I learned a lot about the environment and Dr. Kashef was really knowledgeable about anything you asked him concerning the foreign countries. The actual class portion was slightly challenging, and adjusting to different cultures was hard, but definitely worth it! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
