A great experience with great people. Past Review
By Sarah S (University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh) - abroad from 05/05/2018 to 05/19/2018 with
University of Pittsburgh: China Plus3 Study Abroad Program, Hosted by the Asia Institute
I gained a new view of China, and was exposed to a new culture. I think that it was extremely worthwhile.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our program was very well organized. I enjoyed all of the site visits, and it was nice to have an ample amount of free time in the afternoon/evenings to explore. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
All of the hotels that we stayed at were very nice especially the 5-star hotel in Shanghai. |
| * Food: |
All of the family style meals that we had as a group were delicious and exposed us to many different Chinese dishes which helped us identify dishes that we liked for when we ate on our own. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved the whole program, and I liked how we visited multiple cities in China. I miss China and all of the people that I met there. |
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) |
Most of the prices in China were very cheap compared to American prices. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $30-40 |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Mandarin is a very difficult language. Our program coordinators were able to translate a lot, and our tour guides spoke English. We were encouraged to know numbers and some bartering phrases for the marketplaces. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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 Chinese people would expect me to know Mandarin because of my Chinese ethnicity. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
