Amazing Experience in Prague! Past Review
By Emily B (Hobart and William Smith Colleges) - abroad from 09/16/2015 to 12/19/2015 with
UPCES - Study Abroad in Prague (CERGE-EI, Charles University)
Traveling abroad was definitely worthwhile. I learned a lot about myself and was able to gain personal confidence around things like traveling, living alone, being in uncomfortable situations, etc. Coming back from abroad I feel more independent and ready to take on challenges!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
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 |
The administration at times was difficult to communicate with and slightly unorganized. However, everyone was friendly and welcoming for the most part. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I absolutely loved my apartment! Our landlord was friendly and accommodating, the location was amazing, prices were reasonable, and we managed to make lots of friends within the building! |
| * Food: |
Food for our program was completely independent. However, luckily the food in Prague is cheap and we were able to eat out a lot and also cooked for ourselves at home. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Even by the end of the program I did not feel like I had made too many Czech friends. My Czech buddy did not hang out with me at all and would blow off meetings, I left Prague without ever having hung out with her. However, my professors that were from Prague made a great effort to have us experience the culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I got bedbugs from a program excursion and was not helped at all by program administration. Healthcare didn't cover it and I just had to pay for treatment out of pocket. |
| * Safety: |
I never felt threatened in Prague. Living in any big city you need to use common sense when you are out in public especially when you're out late at night and there is alcohol involved. That being said, we always acted and appropriately and never got into any trouble! |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I absolutely loved my experience in Prague. As with any experience, there were hurdles and thinks that I thought could've gone more smoothly. However, when traveling for four months in a foreign country that is to be expected and in hindsight I had the most amazing experience that made all hurdles completely worth it. |
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) |
Prague is a cheap city to live in so it was not hard to budget. However, this program was unique because you pay for your housing in cash when you get there, and you don't have a meal plan at all through the program. Instead of paying the school money I felt like I was spending a lot when I was there because every month I needed to pay rent, constantly be buying groceries or going out to eat and then of course there were travel expenses and the expenses included in engaging with Prague. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I think money saving in Prague is entirely possible, however, it all depends on what you want your experience to be. If I had only eaten at home cooking for myself and didn't travel on weekends, then I could've gone the entire semester on a very small budget. However, I chose to spend money on going out for meals, traveling, going to clubs/museums/tours and all of that eventually adds up. Realistically, abroad is about gaining experience, and I think spending money is unfortunately a part of that, but it's entirely worth it! |
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 |
The program encouraged us to use the language except I did not feel like I needed to learn it, and when I tried to use it people usually were not welcoming and wanted me to speak in English instead. |
| 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? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Introduction to Czech Language |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | You don't need to. |
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? | 0 |
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 felt well prepared for my program before I went! |
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! |
