46 reviews
4.20 / 5 based on 46 reviews
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Sean T
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Travel, Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
After two months, youґve seen all the bars that you need to. They are all pretty much the same. The Veradero on Reina Victoria and La Pinta has good Cuban music on the weekends. I find that getting out of the city on the weekends is necessary at least once a month. There are plenty of destinations between the beaches, the mountains and the jungles of Ecuador.
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Sean T
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Home university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
I had a 4 month agreement to live with the family and afterwards I decided to live on my own. The amount of money that I was paying to live with a host family was equal to the cost of living in a hostal, eating out three times a day and having enough left over for beer money at night. It was not a very economical arrangement by any means.
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Personal comments
I enjoyed living with the family, but I payed way too much to do so and I lived too far away from the University and everything.
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Sean T
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
Because Ecuador is significantly cheaper than in the U.S.
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Food, Telephone, Housing, Nightlife, Travel, Overall:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Host family living was a financial suprise. I did not expect to pay so much. Also, spanish classes at the Catolica University are rather expensive and not very good. It is much better, for every reason, to try to find a way to live on your own, or with other ecuadorian students and to study spanish in a private school that offers private lessons.
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Sean T
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish
How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
I learned very little in my spanish classes. I learned a lot in social situations and by reading on my own. I think that having a class with a lot of international students is counter-productive when the language is spoken outside of the classroom. It´s better to go out and make friends.
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Sean T
Overall
I wish I had known...
That the host family was so expensive.
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In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
The majority of courses at the Catolica are not very good. If I were to return, I would either find another university, or decide to study on my own.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Try to make friends. It is the only way to learn about ecuadorian culture and to improve your spanish.
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Sean T
Academic
Course recommendations
Sometimes you get lucky and find yourself in a good course. Most of the time you are in a course that was set up mostly for international students and you are lucky if the professor shows up to class for the entire period of class time. Sometimes the course work is apaulingly low. At times, I felt that I was wasting my time being in classes at all.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
It is just a different system. Sit back and take it in. Have a lot of patience, you will need it.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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