Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Waterford, Ireland Study Abroad Fall Past Review

By (Marketing., Illinois State University) for

Waterford Institute of Technology: Waterford - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I loved studying in Europe, but I liked traveling. I didn't care for my host school because they were not organized but I liked the fact that I could travel so much. I went to so many different countries and it was an amazing experience to do it all!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

There was no homework so the workload wasn't big at all. The teachers cancelled class a lot and they didn't seem to care as much as my home school's teachers. They said that they won't have our grades posted until February so I find that terrible.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I honestly did not care for the host school. I thought they were very unorganized and the study abroad office was only open 2 hours at a time. The were helpful but they did not get things done compared to my home university. My classes were a mixture of Erasmus and Irish students which I liked and the class sizes were small which was nice. The overall education level is noting comparable to my home university's. They schooling seem very easy.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in Riverwalk and it is about a 25 minute walk to campus and 20 from downtown. I felt very safe here because of the CCTV cameras. Riverwalk offered the students sheets and a pillow for 30 euro. They did supply cookware and the rooms were great size. The only thing I did not like was that in order to take a shower, you had to turn a dial and let the water heat up for 20 minutes before you could go in; the hot water would only last for 5 minutes.

* Food:

Dumphy's for ice cream. Revolustions for a nice dinner.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All the students lived in the same apartment complex so we were always planning nights to go to the bars and clubs in town. There were a few events that happend in Waterford while we were there so we attended those. The host school arranged at the very beginning of the semeter to take students around the Waterford area at a small fee.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I never was sick so I didn't have to deal with health care. But I felt safe in Waterford.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Depends on the week, but 30 euro
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Spend wisely because of the exchange rate.

Language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Exchange

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

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  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Traveling
  • Meeting people from other countries
* What could be improved?
  • Organization
  • Knowing the grading scale before I went over
  • Host school answering my questions
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I would have studied in another county of Ireland; Galway is amazing! And Dublin is a lot of fun as well. The type of student who would benefit most would be a student who wants to learn a lot about the culture of Waterford and spend a lot of time with the other Erasmus students.