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Comments about the Vienna Summer Program from Past Participants

for more complete comments, please check out the binders in 1055 BIF

Location

“Vienna is awesome. The city is often termed a city of culture with numerous activities in theatre, music, art, museums, and opera. Vienna has more shopping stores and centers then you'll have the time to check out, and the nightlife is great as there are different places to go every night.” – Kevin Ofiara, 2011

"Vienna is beautiful! It’s a great place to stay for the summer where there are countless of museums and tourist sites to keep you busy. Night life is fun!" – Christina Tseng, 2009

"Vienna is a very historic and exciting city with plenty to do and see.  It’s also a very safe city with pleasant people.  It has a great public transportation system.  It rains a lot in Vienna." – Chad Wherley, 2009

"Vienna is a great location in that it is only a few hours train ride away from several neighboring countries. This makes visiting other countries in a short amount of time very manageable and convenient. The city itelf is very nice because of all the different sights, and the well-designed metro system makes it extremely easy to get around. Vienna is in the northeast corner of Austria, so it was actually closer to travel to the neighboring countries in that area than to travel to the other parts of Austria. This made it more difficult and time consuming to see other parts of Austria and the countries bordering Austria on the southwest side." – Diana Liao, 2007

Courses

“I loved my intercultural marketing class. My professor was French, but teaches at Duke University. He spent time giving us insights on other cultures and how marketing and business in general changes depending on geography. I would not recommend the financial enrichment class, the students that took it found it almost impossible to pass.” – Alison Kloempken, 2011

“Project Planning was my favorite because it related to my supply chain major and it really helped me grow my knowledge in that field. However, HR Management was fun too due to the outdoor training day. My instructors were fluent English speakers so I had no trouble, I heard a few of the other professors were not as good, but my experience was a great one with the Vienna University academic program. I truly learned a lot.” – Gregory Keating, 2011

“I was able to get into both classes I wanted to take at my host school. I listed my preferred classes on my application to the program and was made known which classes I was in long before arrival in Vienna. I really enjoyed my accounting course taught by my professor who was a tax manager at KPMG in Vienna. He was extremely knowledgeable and it was great to get a more international perspective from a professor who had experience in a large accounting firm. Quality of the instruction was great, my professors were very experienced in the fields they taught, most of them teaching the same subject at their home universities. The only downside of the classes is that they did run a bit long, but considering it was a short program, it was to be expected.” – Kevin Ofiara, 2011

"You get to interact with your classmates often. Discussions take part for most of the class. There is a lot of cultural exchange of information.  Classes are graded very subjectively. Your final grades are generally graded based on your participation in class." - Christina Tseng, 2009

"I made a ton of great friends with the people in my classes.  It was very interesting to hear the input and experiences of students from different cultures and backgrounds.  During the period with the intensive course and the enrichment course, we were in class for a large portion of the day, which isn’t ideal for only a 3-week program." – Chad Wherley, 2009

"The courses I took, International Marketing and Cross Cultural Management, were very interesting and provided good knowledge on international business. It was interesting to take classes in Vienna because teachers use examples from countries all over the world. It was also interesting to compare the different teaching styles in Europe versus the United States and also to see the similarities that exist when it comes to teaching theories. My International Marketing course was taught by four different teachers. This made it more difficult to gete to know each teacher and for the teachers to get to know the students. Some of the teachers didn't coordinate their lesson plans very well with others and often times we ended up learning the same concepts from several teachers." – Diana Liao, 2007

“The courses are at a medium difficulty level, which is perfect for learning, but also not studying all the time so that you are able to experience the city.” – Melissa Colgan, 2006

“My courses were interesting and helped facilitate interaction among the students who were from all over Europe along with the few of us from the U.S. The coursework was both insightful and not too heavy.” – Matthew Larson, 2006

Housing

“The living accommodation was very comparable to the dorms here at U of I, though the bathroom was a bit small. In the end, very little time is spent in the dormitory because there was so much to do in Vienna. We were provided meals twice a day for breakfast and lunch on weekdays, and were on our own for dinner and weekend meals which allowed you to explore Vienna's variety of restaurants.” – Kevin Ofiara, 2011

"The Haus Erasmus’ rooms are big compare to the ones in UIUC dormitories. There is also a bathroom in each room. On the other hand, it gets really noisy at nights as people tend to party loud in their rooms." – Christina Tseng, 2009

"The housing was a great way to meet and socialize with other students in the program.  Also, the location of the housing made it easy to get around the city.  It gets pretty hot during the summer months and there is no air conditioning in the housing, which made some nights very uncomfortable." – Chad Wherley, 2009

"Although the dorm was only a 5-minute walk from the nearest metro line to the university, the metro ride itself was still 15 minutes. This is a lot different than living on campus like here in the U.S. Also, the laundry facilities in the dorm required a card that we had to obtain from a bank. This made doing laundry extremely inconvenient and many people had trouble working the machines." – Diana Liao, 2007

Useful Advice

“Doing laundry cost a lot more than I anticipated and it was difficult trying to find a laundromat near the dormitory. I'd recommend packing enough clothes to last three weeks, or be prepared to set time in your day to do laundry because it takes a while. Also, try and go to as many extracurricular activities the program has planned as you can. Though not every activity may seem incredibly exciting at first, it's a great way to experience the city of Vienna and see things you might otherwise never see.” – Kevin Ofiara, 2011

"My overall experience with studying abroad was unforgettable.  I was able to see more than I ever expected and have gained a lot of valuable experience.  I gained a lot intellectually and personally.  It was great experience to travel alone and encounter some of the communication and cultural barriers.  I would highly recommend studying abroad to anyone who is looking for an adventure and a chance to further develop their academic career." – Chad Whorley, 2009

"The most valuable thing I learned on the trip was from my classmates from around thirty different countries around the world. Living with people from so many different cultures, I learned about the life of a college student in each of those different countries. I can now say that I have a place to stay in dozens of different countries in Europe because of the friends I made in three weeks in Vienna. Overall I feel like my trip to Vienna was one of the most fun and enriching experiences I have ever had." – Kevin Bergeron, 2007

"I wish I had more knowledge on how people dressed in Vienna. I was stold that people in Europe dressed a lot more formally than here in the U.S. However, I found that college students all pretty much dress the same as students here in the U.S." – Diana Liao, 2007

Costs

“Aside from the initial cost of the program and flight fees, I spent around $1000 while I was actually abroad in Vienna. A significant portion of this cost was used on my trip to Prague one weekend, when I had to pay for train rides, hostel/hotel stays, food, entertainment, among other things. Since we were provided breakfast and lunch five times a week, I only had to pay for dinner on weekdays and meals on the weekends. Food in Vienna isn't exactly cheap, but there were numerous pubs and cafes that offered food at reasonable prices. I estimate I spent about 40-50 euros a week on meals. Over the course of the the three weeks, most of my expenses where used on entertainment, which I would estimate at around 300 euros or 100 euros a week. This covered trips to museums, shopping, and nightlife costs. The prices of drinks at clubs and bars are a bit steep, and at some clubs drink prices actually increased as the night went on. But then again, how often do you get to go to Vienna so I indulged a little. Since it was only a three week program, I did not have to purchase any books for the courses.” – Kevin Ofiara, 2011

"Estimation: 50-75 euro a week on food.  We had vouchers for breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday." – Chad Whorley, 2009

"As part of the progrram fee the school gave us vouchers for breakfast and lunch for every weekday at the school's cafeteria. For dinner and food on weekends I spent probably around $50 or so a week, but that includes drinks and eating at restaurants. There was no textbook for my course but there was a note packet that was included as part of the initial fee for the program." – Kevin Bergeron, 2007

"I probably spent about $50 a week on meals. The University provided breakfast and lunch vouchers on lecture days. So, we only had to worry about eating dinner on weekdays and eating on the weekends. I didn't spend any money on textbooks. The University provided all the materials that we needed for class." – Diana Liao, 2007