Amazing cultural experience but the program lacked organization and consistency Past Review
By A student (BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, AND RELATED SUPPORT SERVICES., Villanova University) - abroad from 01/09/2013 to 05/04/2013 with
Villanova University: London or Singapore - Global Citizens Program
Cultures around the world are so different and vary so much. It was great to see this firsthand. I have done a lot of traveling in my life but never lived out of the US for this long. It was a great time and the country was a great place to visit. The program was annoying at times and was very difficult to work with, but the experience I gained from being in the country for that long was definitely worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The projects and tests were very rigorous, but the in class work was not at all and rarely related well to test and project material. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Loved our on site coordinator and her team. She was very helpful and gave us a number of recommendations and help when we all needed it. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartments were livable but at times very, very dirty and not well kept (mold, lizards, bugs, etc). The people running the apartments were very nice and helpful, and I really liked the location where the apartment was, so the dirtiness was bearable. |
| * Food: |
Loved (almost) all of the local food. Plenty of options if you did not like the local cuisine and plenty of variety for food and drinks |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Accepted by many locals but to others we were definitely looked down upon. Easy to adjust to living there however and easy to find our way around. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have an issue but it seems like for everyone who did they were able to get things fixed quickly and efficiently |
| * Safety: |
Felts very safe in places where I would not have felt safe even at home. Was not afraid to be out in places within Singapore but other countries we visited were very different. It was nice to come back to Singapore and always feel safe. |
| 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) |
Fairly easy to stay to a low budget. Could easily indulge in very expensive things but there were plenty of things to do and food to eat that was very cheap. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 80 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you have a kitchen in your apartment it is very helpful and cheaper to share food with a group of people. If everyone pitches in to the food and eats that same thing, you can buy larger quantities which are usually cheaper per pound/oz/etc. Public transportation is also fairly cheap if you learn to use it effectively |
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? | The classes were not as easy as many study abroad students make them out to be. It was definitely a hard semester in terms of workload but it was still worth the time in the end |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
