62 reviews
4.30 / 5 based on 62 reviews
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anonymous
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: On campus
Why?
If you want to have more to do with other foreign and host country students, choose a dorm. However, in an apartment (even if shared) it's more comfortable. However, the apts are often off-campus,so choose the location strategically in terms of the bus lines..
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anonymous
Student life
Describe host city:
Student life dominates the city
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Travel: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment
Nightlife, Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Back in 2000, there were some good pubs/bars like Nick's, Kilroy's etc. where students would mostly go to. What comes to night clubs, Axis had recently opened. The music was a mixture of techno and rap.There could be more places...the few we went to got a little too familiar..Don't overlook the culture events, there are plenty.
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anonymous
Languages
Language of instruction: English
Was learning English a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my English
How much did you improve your English?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
My English was quite fluent before going there, but I wanted to make it even stronger and also learn to speak and use the phrases that are used in the US today...
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anonymous
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
Government assistance
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
The dollar was really strong that time, which made nearly everything costly. Most of my phone calls were local, which were free. Nightlife became costly because living off-campus, you need transportation home. Night busses didn't run our way at night and they were few, so taxi was about the only option. You can travel short distances by renting a car (gas wasn't expensive) but internal flights are costly and distances are huge. I recomment driving to Chicago and Indy, at least. The Int'l Center arranged Indy shopping trips too.
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Housing, Travel, Nightlife, Food, Overall:
was more expensive than at home.
Telephone:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
If you live off-campus in an apt, air conditioning and heating (=gas) costs surprised a bit. What comes to payments, checks are used a lot. Get a bank account with some amount of free checks and have a credit card! Travellers checks are quite widely accepted too, in grocery stores and elsewhere. Paying your rent in cash may be impossible, so you need to buy money orders first to be used like checks.
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anonymous
Overall
I wish I had known...
One needs to be very active to get in contact with the local students, they don't have a very big interest in trying to get to know exchange students
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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 university is OK, there are a lot of students in town (I guess they outnumber the people who live in Bton permanently). A lot of faculties, a lot of museums, the campus is quite green and nice looking, a good recreational center for sports. The nightlife could be better.
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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
Book your travel well in advance - especially as you have an internal flight to Indy. Those are often fully booked. And by the way, there is a shuttle bus running between Indy airport and the Memorial Union house. Interestingly, there are very, very few taxis in Bloomington. Therefore, many take a limo for getting to Bloomington from the airport!!!
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anonymous
Academic
Course recommendations
Ask the international coordinator at IU for advise about courses and well-liked professors.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Prepare to work! The work load seems hard, but I was surprised how well did measured against the university's own students.
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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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