Program Reviews

Chile is an amazing country. I would strongly recommend studying abroad in Chile- for the people, the culture, the beauty of the country, and more. No one in my program had issues of safety (with the exception of a few pickpockets), and the homestays were wonderful.

Overall, Villanova provided a good program to Chile, but it could have been much better. I found Villanova's program staff in Chile to be a little disconnected from the students on the trip. As my group was in Chile during a time of protest, the program staff should have communicated better how to handle the protests in the city- instead, they never addressed the protests. Also, although Villanova offered internships, they were a little hit & miss. Some people had great experiences with their jobs while others had their internship experiences completely fall through.

Coming into the preparations for study abroad I would have never thought I would have ended up in Denmark. Most people were very confused when I told them that is where I chose to study. When asked why, it was always because of the amazing and specific program I found there, Child Diversity and Development, that fit my desire to work in pediatric occupational therapy so well. Each Thursday we would work as teachers aids in a typical Danish classroom or after school program. It was such an enjoyable experience and a great way to learn about the Danish school system and disability policies. I learned even more about the American system as well because of all the discussion and critical thinking we did in comparing the two.

I really liked the discussion based approach that most of the classes took, and overall was very pleased with what I learned and the work load given. My teachers were very interesting and helpful. Most are professionals in the field they are teaching and had a lot of great insight. I felt that I was actually learning things but had enough freedom that I had time to explore Copenhagen and many other countries as well. With your core class you take a short and long study trip both which are planned extremely well and are really engaging and informative. Also the additional trips DIS offers during breaks are incredible and really well priced.

Copenhagen is a very clean and safe city. I loved exploring and finding some cute cafes, enjoying a danish and coffee, or bouncing on the trampolines on the canal (highly recommended)! You definitely feel the sense of 'hygge' that is so part of Danish culture. The weather was very cold and the city was quite pricey sometimes but overall I completely loved my study abroad experience and wouldn't change anything about it.

A few of the highlights include some really interesting and insightful professors and classes, field studies which take you to places around Copenhagen you would never normally get to see (such as a debate in Parliament, the ballet or the former working class district of the city) and the long study tours, which give you and your classmates the chance to spend a week in an awesome European city or cities to see the sights and at the same time learning about your class' topic (my international law class went to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina and had an unforgettable experience meeting local people including members of the EU,NATO, professors, leaders of the local religious communities and survivors of the war, which would have never been able to do otherwise).

DIS is there for you to use as much as you'd like - you can get their help everyday or never once talk to them, up to you.

Housing can vary, I talked to people who had good and bad experiences with host families, in kollegiums and in DIS housing so it all depends. My home stay was excellent, and although it limited me socially (especially for going out on weekend nights) since I lived so far outside of the city, their good cooking, the great dinner conversations, insight into the culture and having a family and a house to come home to every night was the highlight of my time in Denmark.

Some negatives: Denmark is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. I'm talking $8-$10 a beer expensive. You will spend less with a host family since they provide most of your food, if money's a big concern, I'd be hesitant to spend a whole semester here. Also, Copenhagen is an expensive and limited place to fly into and out of, and since DIS's off-day is on Wednesday and you therefore have classes on Friday, the policy is to discourage weekend traveling. So if you were planning to visit a different country every weekend, I'd look at other bigger travel hubs (like Milan). Also, DIS is comprised of 800 students, and I've heard they are planning to accept even more students next semester, and I definitely felt overwhelmed by the number of fellow American students. It takes away from a more personal experience meeting people and in classes, and it also made it very easy to get comfortable with American students and friends rather than venturing out on your own, meeting Danes, immersing yourself in the culture and becoming more independent and self-reliant.

Overall, the home stay, the long study tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the profs, field studies and classes all outweighed the negatives and made this a great semester for me and showed that DIS is a really great program if you navigate it the right way.