Vienna: Good and Bad Past Review
By Katherine V (Political Science and Government., Wellesley College) for
University of Vienna: Vienna - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was worthwhile, but had definite drawbacks in terms of the culture in Austria (very xenophobic and unfriendly). It was also not as much of a help to my German language skills as I had hoped because the German spoken in Austria is very different from the German spoken in Germany and taught in America.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The educational system at the University of Vienna leaves much to be desired. The university is overcrowded and poorly run. There is constant construction going on in the buildings, making it impossible at times to even hear what the instructor is saying. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our director was a very nice woman, but not organzied or timely in her responses to sometimes urgent matters. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The dorm manager was completely useless and unresponsive. For months the washing maschine and dryer did not work. I was consistently harassed by one student living in the dorm and felt unsafe at times. |
| * Food: |
I bought and cooked my own food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There are a lot of students in Vienna, so thereare a lot of people to meet and things to do. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Our program director could have been more timely and responsive when we needed health issues addressed. She would sometimes not answer phone calls or e-mails for days at a time. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? | I was not shocked by any expenses,one just needs to adjust to the fact that things are valued differently in Austria. SOme things will seem very expensive, but others will seem very cheap. I think it balances out overall. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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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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