Any student who chooses to pass on studying abroad is an idiot. Past Review
By Caroline M (english, Clark University - Worcester) - abroad from 01/13/2015 to 06/13/2015 with
University of Sussex: Brighton - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I learned more about being independent and street-smart.
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The rules regarding the cleaning services (i.e. a cleaning lady coming in only once a week, if that, and leaving it up to the residents to deal with serious health/hygiene issues) and the housing administrator's laziness in making sure that the students were cleaning their own kitchens (until they had become so filthy there were mice nesting in the corners) were difficult to deal with. It makes sense to limit a cleaning lady's services so that the students will have no choice but to take responsibility and clean up after themselves, but so many of my flatmates either didn't care about cleaning their messes or expected someone else to do so for them. There were some students who did a lot of cleaning, but they were outnumbered by the kids who didn't care. Furthermore, no admin. supervised or bothered to check the halls or kitchens as often as they should have; they only did so after the kitchens had been messy for weeks. The admin. should've enforced their rules more and paid more attention so that the kitchens wouldn't have gotten as filthy as they did. I'm also bothered by how the mice problem was dealt with. I have reason to believe that our cleaning lady knew that there was a mouse living in our kitchen and leaving a mess, so to speak, some time before any of the residents did, yet she didn't so much as warn us about it or suggest to call an exterminator. Basically, it seemed as though most people were just passing the buck to someone else and hoped that they would keep the dorms clean instead of communicating the severity of the issue properly (at least until the dorms looked like a bomb went off). |
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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
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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? | Limit how often you go into Brighton or take trips and how much you spend during each trip. |
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? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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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? | That I should've made/saved more money |
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! |
