Comments about the Quinn Summer Program from Past Participants

for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH

Useful Advice

"Considering I once told a friend I would absolutely never study abroad, my summer in Ireland turned out to be one of the best experiences of my college career. If you don't feel comfortable spending an entire semester abroad, I highly recommend a summer program. the program I did involved taking a class and doing an internship, and the internship was unvelievable. I learned a lot about how human resource consulting firms and got to participate in a lot of the marketing design for the company. Overall, my summer in Ireland was an amazing summer, and I highly recommend studying abroad to students interested in broadening their horizons and learning about different cultures."
-Joy Zuanella, Summer 07

“I would say it was probably the best experience of my lifetime and definitely something I would recommend to anyone who was thinking about studying abroad. Make sure to just walk around the city as much as you can because it’s really interesting. Even if you get lost, it will just be easier to find your way the next time. Make sure you go out on your own, too, because if you go walking with other people all the time, you will never get a feel for what the city is really like.” – Eric Biltgen, Summer 06

"I learned how to be self-sufficient, and comfortable experiencing things on my own. I gained a lot of independence and left behind a lot of my shyness. I loved studying abroad and being able to experience another culture. I found it exciting to learn about a different way of life, and to view the American way of life from a new perspective. I'm especially glad I studied in Dublin because of its friendly residents, rich culture, and size."
-Monica Hebel, Summer 07

“I would rate this experience very highly. I enjoyed every moment I was in Ireland. I feel that studying abroad is something that everyone should do before they go into their professions. It will be one of the most rewarding things you ever do for yourself.” – Rebecca Neumayer, Summer 06

“I would say that overall I had a great experience. I really learned a lot about a different culture and a different economy. I really enjoyed meeting all the new people that I met and would love to go back to Dublin.” – Tim Treacy, Summer 06

“I would evaluate my experience as invaluable. I would tell anyone wanting to going abroad that they should do anything possible to go. The things you see, and the point of view you get from being outside the US for so long are things I don’t think can be taught and must be experienced firsthand.” – Tim McHugh, Summer 05

“I loved the program! However, it depends heavily on the internship that the student receives. If the internship was with a good company that involved the student, then the learning experience was highly valuable. I was placed with McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland in the HR department and had a fabulous time.” – Elizabeth O’Donnell, Summer 05

Location

"Dublin, Ireland was a greaat place to study abroad. It is currently the fastest growing city in Europe and is a modern city with an old-town feel. Traveling around the country was easy to do since Dublin is a major transportation hub, so I was really able to see a lot of Ireland. There is always something to do in a bustling city like Dublin. The weather was probably the thing I disliked the most about Dublin. Even though it was sumertime, we only had 8 days of sun the entire 2 months I was abroad; it was perpecually rainy, windy, and cold (in the 50s-60s the whole time.) I will say that you adapt quickly, and the rain does not stop you from doing anything."
-Joy Zuanella, Summer 07

"Dublin is a smaller city than most European capitals, so it was easy to get to know the city and easy to get around. Public transportation is easy to use and efficient."
-Monica Hebel, Summer 07

“The location was great because there was no language barrier, and there was very easy access to all of Europe with cheap airline flights.” – Eric Biltgen, Summer 06

“I enjoyed being in the city atmosphere in Dublin. I was able to see people that were professionals in business. Dublin is a very friendly place and I never felt like I was in danger of anything. The people were very helpful and the public transportation was easy to figure out. The social scene in Dublin was also very enjoyable. Irish people are very active and fun.”

“The weather in Ireland during the summer is cooler than the Midwest, and the sun rarely comes out for more than an hour a day. It is rainy and chilly most of the time. I wish it would have been a little bit warmer just so it felt like summer.” – Rebecca Neumayer, Summer 06

“We had a very nice location. We were about ten minutes walk south of the main city center in Dublin. Also, we had a bus stop right outside of our house, so that was nice because it took us anywhere around the city for less than a euro.” – Tim Treacy, Summer 06

“The location of Quinn School of Business in relation to the apartment I stayed at (Merrion Square) was about a 20-minute bus ride away. In relation to my internship at McDonald’s my apartment was about 25 minutes away. The walk to both bus stops was reasonable, at most being 4 blocks. Being so close to the center of Dublin was very useful and I would highly recommend living at Merrion if simply for location.” – Elizabeth O’Donnell, Summer 05

Courses

"The class on Irish history was very interesting, and a good way to get to know a new country. Overall, I really liked the class. The class was only a week long, and we were given a lot of material very quickly, which made it difficult to remember everything and fully digest the material."
-Monica Hebel, Summer 07

"I took a one-week long intensive Irish history class. It was very interesting as we covered Irish history from the Viking founders of Dublin up through the final peace treaty between Northern Ireland the the Republic of Ireland. The best part of the class was that each day after class, we went on field trips that corresponded with that day's lesson. For instance, we learned about the Irish founders that helped the country get freedom from Briatin and how the Irish are very proud of their culture; that day we went on a tour of Croke Park - the national stadium for all of the Gaelic games. Although the course was very interesting, sometimes it was kind of hard to follow since I had no previous experience with Irish history. The teacher tried her best to relate some of the Irish history to US history (a lot of Irish immigrants came to the US after the potato famine in the 1800's), but it could still be a bit hard to take it all in."
-Joy Zuanella, Summer 07

“The courses were OK. The Irish history course was nice because it was only four days long. The other part of the program was the internship, which was a great experience and will hopefully be a solid resume booster.”

“The Irish course was cursory at best, nothing was delved into deeply; however, it was only four days long so it did the best it could.” – Eric Biltgen, Summer 06

“I only took one course with the University College Dublin, and it was an Irish history course. We only met four times and went on 5 field trips. It was a very interesting course, and I learned a lot about Irish history. I like the professor that we had;  she was always willing to help us out when we were confused. The paper we had to write was ten pages but we had plenty of sources so it was not a problem to write. The classrooms at UCD were all really nice and there was wireless Internet access at the Quinn building which was nice when we were writing our papers.” – Rebecca Neumayer, Summer 06

“The Irish History course was great in the sense that it exposed the student to a wide area of Irish culture, politics and history. The paper requirement was comparable to what would be expected after attending the course and the grading was fair.”

“I wish the directions for the internship course would have been clearer, both going into the program (from the UIUC standpoint) and from Quinn’s standpoint. Make sure that students ask questions of Quinn professors, especially in regards to the internship academic requirements as sometimes directions are conflicting.  The work for both the history course and internship are very much self-directed.” – Elizabeth O’Donnell, Summer 05

Housing

“Housing was decent. We had a great location, with relatively easy access to the City Centre, bus stops and grocery stores.”

“It was EXTREMELY expensive, especially for the quality of house we rented. We had no cable or Internet, and the house was absolutely filthy when we moved in.” – Eric Biltgen, Summer 06

“I stayed in Monkstown Co. Dublin which was just a 20-minute train ride outside of the city. I was in a house with two other girls from the program. We stayed in the garden flat. The landlady was extremely nice and helpful making sure we knew where everything was when we first arrived in the city. It was right on the seaside and had shopping near by. The neighborhood was really nice and safe and everyone was very friendly.”

“I didn’t enjoy the location very much. Everyone else in the program was actually staying in Dublin. We had to take a 20-minute train ride into the city.” – Rebecca Neumayer, Summer 06

“Housing was good. If future students should chose to stay at Merrion Square I would highly recommend bringing a laptop as there is free wireless Internet connection throughout the building and is a great way to do research for the courses, keep up with the assignments and communicate with fellow group members and friends and family back home.”

“The shower was not very trustworthy in terms of hot/cold water regulations. Male and female students often share the same bathroom and definitely the same kitchen. Make sure to work out cleaning schedules.” – Elizabeth O’Donnell, Summer 05

Costs

"I spent about 50 euro on food a week, I think.... We didn't spend any money on textbooks, because we didn't use them. For our papers we used online databases and the college library, as well as textbooks left at our house by previous students."
-Monica Hebel, Summer 07

"I spent 150 euro (or US $200) every ten days or so for spending money. Eating at home was cheaper than eating out, and would cost roughly 5 euro for simple food meals (grilled cheese, pizza, soup, salad). Breakfast out was typically 6-8 euro, lunch would be 8-10 euro, and dinner at a pub would be 10-15 euro; eating at a nicer restaurant obviously costs more, as did having alcohol with the meal. A pint of Guinness was around 5 euro, so drinking can quickly add up. We didn't have to buy a textbook for the class, so I didn't have to really spend any money on books. In order to do the reports for class I would just go to the library and check books out for free. The main cost for school was getting to and from UCD; it was 1.40 euro each way and the school was out of walking distance, so you had to take the bus back and forth."
-Joy Zuanella, Summer 07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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