This program is very intense and not for those who are just looking for an easy and relaxed semester abroad. The assignments and readings are challenging, even for those who speak almost fluent German, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first. It was somewhat frustrating how much time was needed to complete assignments, especially towards the beginning of the program. But it got easier toward the end, and most of the professors were really helpful and understanding. By the end of the program, I felt like my German had improved so much, that it was worth the time spent struggling through essays and readings. It's unbelievably satisfying to look back on the work that you've done throughout the semester, because it really is a huge accomplishment that everything was done in another language! The excursions were great in all of the classes and I think it made my educational experience a lot better. One of the most helpful classes was the academic writing class, which really made the Hausarbeiten a much easier, but it was sometimes a bit too long. (5ish hours on Wednesdays)
Although there was no choice of classes to take, it actually turned out pretty great because I took classes that I never would have normally taken and learned some really cool and interesting new things!
It was nice that the class sizes were so small, which meant we were often helped individually by the professors and also were able to give input into what we wanted to learn.
All in all, Berlin is an amazing city to spend a semester abroad and I think that this program did a pretty good job of teaching us the cultural aspects of Berlin and Germany in general. If you're looking for a rigorous program to improve your German, this is the one for you!
What would you improve about this program?
One of the worst parts of the program was probably the schedule. The classes didn't end until 7, and mostly everyone lived about an hour away, which means you get home pretty late every day, which can be exhausting. During the 1st half of the semester, there was a 4 1/2 hour break in between our two classes, which most of us found frustrating. Even during the second half of the semester, I felt that the time to do homework was partioned out a bit oddly and it just seemed like there wasn't enough time in the day to finish everything.
Another thing I would've liked to have was more focus on discussions and debates to really perfect our speaking skills and allow us to express complex ideas more coherently. While this program improved my writing skills immensely, I would've also liked to see such improvement in speaking, especially about current topics that would have come up in actual conversation with other Germans.
Another thing is that I don't think there was much interaction with the locals, which I really would've liked to have had. There's an opportunity to get involved in sports or volunteer, but during the week there's barely enough time to finish homework, and the weekends are always difficult to guarantee that you'll be there if you want to travel. It would've been cool if even just once or twice there was a guest speaker in the class or if we did something similar to the theater workshop, where we interacted with a woman who worked at the Maxim-Gorki theater!
The last thing is that I think many American students generally don't have a great understanding of German history, so it's hard sometimes to get a grasp of more complex ideas and a good cultural understanding when the basics aren't always necessarily there. I think if maybe sort of a general German history class was offered, that would've been nice.
