Past Review
By Elizabeth Rose K (German and Human Rights, Barnard College) for
Wayne State University: Junior Year in Munich
It was definitely worthwhile. I learned how to live abroad and be comfortable. It taught me more independence. It made me want to come back to Germany yet again, but it also strengthened my appreciation for where I come from.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Ludwig Maximilians University |
| 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. |
The educational system at the German university is pretty different from my American school, but I still enjoyed it. I ended up taking a fairly broad range of classes at the university, all of which I was excited about taking. All of the classes contributed to my German major, but none of the classes contributed to my other major: Human Rights. It would have been nice, albeit challenging, to have taken a Human Rights course at the German university, but I am not disappointed that this was not an option. I wanted this semester to focus on improving my German skills. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The director of the program, Professor Hans-Peter Soeder, is really great. He is so clearly passionate about what he does, that it's great to learn from him. He is also very encouraging about the possibility of returning to Germany after the study abroad program. The entire staff knew all of our names before we arrived and were always very helpful and accommodating. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Studentenstadt, Blue House. <br /><br /> The housing was great. We had our own rooms, kitchenettes, and bathrooms. It is also great because we live with German students as well as other international students. I had the chance to meet a lot of German students and practice my German with them. I was not just with Americans the whole time, which was great. |
| * Food: |
I cooked for myself and there was a cheap grocery store nearby, so it worked out fairly well. I couldn't cook anything too fancy since I had limited cooking supplies, but it worked out fine. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Everything was great! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Munich is an extremely safe city. I had one experience where I had to take a friend to the emergency room for incessant nausea, and the experience was really painless for both of us. The insurance that the program provided us was great--much better than what Barnard provided us. (Barnard's mandatory health insurance was rather redundant and totally unnecessary) |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Groceries were pretty cheap each week, I probably spent about 75 Euro a week in total. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Munich is an expensive city, so it's important to budget. It's important to know the hours of the public transportation system well so you don't have to take taxis, which can be expensive. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I took several high-level German courses, among them a literature course, a course about German/Austrian politics, etc. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
It's hard to tell how much my German has improved, which is why I rated it fairly low. I don't think I'll be able to tell how much it has improved until I get back to my home university and am back in class with familiar professors. I used German everyday I was here, which was great. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This program really caters to all types of people. I didn't really feel like anyone on the program was quite like me--there were all types! That makes it fun and interesting to meet all sorts of people. |
