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Pontificia Universidade Catolica (PUC-RIO)

75 reviews
4.45 / 5 based on 75 reviews
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Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Activities
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Personal comments
Most cafes, bars, and clubs of Ipanema, Leblon, and Lapa.
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Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why?
It was a great experience and added substantially to my emmersion in the Brazilian culture.
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Personal assessment
Cost
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Personal comments
I chose to live with a family who I had previously met and enjoyed. The university offered housing with families in the area, of which I heard mixed reviews.
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Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Overall
I wish I had known...
I feel like I was pretty well prepared.
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In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Academic reasons
3
Culture
4
Costs
2
Activities
2
Campus life
2
Party / people
2
Weather / location
4
Personal recommendation
Great university, many fun people to meet and a lot to learn.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
4
Traveled
4
Improved language skills
4
Met people from other countries
3
Became more independent
4
Partied a lot
4
Experienced a change in life
4
Advanced my studies & career
4
Final comments
Go for it!
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Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Academic
Course recommendations
The courses I chose were those for which I would recieve credit in my home university. I very much enjoyed the majority of them.
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My academic experiences
Quality of courses
Variety of courses
Access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
A smoother registration process would be beneficial.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
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Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Languages
Language of instruction: Portuguese
Was learning Portuguese a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
How much did you improve your Portuguese?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Social
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Personal comments
Upon arriving in Brazil for my program, which was not my first experience, I was speaking Portuguese at an intermediate level of fluency. Throughout my experience, I was able to learn very much and I now speak and write at a superior level of fluency.
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Useful  |  1
Christopher T
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United States
Business Studies, Undergraduate, Independent
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Family
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
Food, housing, nightlife, and travel are cheaper in Brazil than in the U.S. However, all types of telefone usage are more expensive, and my tuition in the university was about the same as what I paid in the U.S.
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Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Food, Housing, Nightlife, Travel, Overall:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Personal comments
I ended up paying about %15 more for tuition towards the end of my stay due to changes in the exchange rate between the American Dollar and Brazilian Real. Because of the fact that my university did not have a program with the university that I chose in Brazil, I was paying tuition directly to the Brazilian university, month by month. I would recommend trying to study abroad through a university in your home country in which you continue to pay your regular, home university's tuition in order to avoid exhange rate fluctuations.
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