Study Abroad Report

Academic experiences at the partner school

  • general academic structure – This was one of the very different aspects of school at INCAE. The most basic difference is the quarters versus the semester schedule. While you are there you will have two quarters of classes. The average load is 5 classes per quarter. The classes are 1 hour and 20 minutes. The class schedule is not set at all like in the US. Because the professors teach at two schools the class schedule changes every week. You might have a class each day for five days in a row or you might not have that class for an entire week. You take 20 classes for each quarter.
  • classes taken/ how they compare to courses here – I took a wide variety of classes including: System dynamics, Marketing, Ethics, Quality, Microeconomics. You name it they have it. The variety of classes varies by quarter. You have about 8-10 classes to choose your 8. If you are not able to speak Spanish well then your choices will be limited to the 5 classes that they have selected to teach in English. The classes were similar to Carlson (I am a night student so I am accustom to evening 3 hour long classes). The major difference is that you are expected to participate in every class (Spanish or English) Participation is any where from 20 – 60% of your grade. The teachers put a lot of emphasis on this and we were requested to participate more in the beginning. The work load is more intense. They do not have textbooks. Instead they run copies and dispense them every two weeks.
  • Advising – I did not utilize any advising assistance from INCAE. Their school has different requirements than Carlson and we were told that all we needed to do was to take the full load to receive our credits.
  • surprises/comparison with academic environment in the U.S. – The teachers tended to make changes frequently to the schedule. The syllabus did not lay out what was required in the class (number of tests, papers, etc.) SO there tended to be surprises with additional work every once in awhile.

Logistics at the partner school:

  • Orientation/Arrival – I arrived the same time that the seminar students got in. This helped out because INCAE was there to transport us to the school. Because we were “semester exchange students” they did not have us on the list. The keys to our place were not there. Even though we didn’t feel like we were expected, they did allow us to tag along as we went to dinner, grocery shopping and a day trip to San Jose. I expect that if they did not have the seminar students there probably would not be any type of orientation. We were promised mentors to help us answer questions that we might have and we were never assigned them. Erica, the international coordinator was always happy to answer our questions but never really went out of her way for us.
  • Housing – The housing is single sex bungalows that sleep 8 people. The capacity could be as low as 5 and as high as 8. They try to split up the exchange students so you will be living with students from all over central and south America. You sleep two to a room and each room has their on bathroom. The room has ample closet space and a desk/ workstation. There is a single bed. They do not provide sheets or blankets. (they do provide a pillow) I recommend bringing a lightweight blanket because it gets chilly at night. There is no air-conditioning but most rooms have overhead fans. There is a common area with a refrigerator, sink, living room and a group study room. Many students bring a TV, toaster and microwave oven, this varies by house so don’t expect it.
  • Meals – Monday – Saturday lunch and dinner are served. The food is usually rice, chicken and black beans. If this is not your forte you can eat out, cook at home, or order food in (burger king, pizza hut, papa johns, Church’s chicken all deliver to campus). The exchange students are not required to purchase meal tickets (one is required per meal) These cost about $4.50. You can try and negotiate with the other students (who are forced to buy the plan) to sell you tickets cheaper (this is easier as the quarter comes to an end). You will need to provide your own breakfast. Most people eat cereal or toast in their houses before class. The grocery store is about 5 miles away and there is almost always someone going.
  • Transportation – There is buses that stop in front of campus and take you to downtown Alajuela. You can transfer to a bus to San Jose down there. Buses are next to nothing and coming fairly regularly. There are lots of taxis around. This is more expensive but if you go with a group it is not too bad. In addition, INCAE has drivers that work for them and you can get rides with them. They tend to be equivalent cost to taxis but they are safer drivers.
  • Student activity groups – There are a few clubs on campus. They will send invitations to the students if you are interested in going. Most other activities are very ad hoc. There is almost always a group playing soccer or volleyball. There is a tennis court that you can sign up to use (almost always available) They also have dance lessons and there is the Hard Bar where students can go hang out and play pool.
Host Country Culture
  1. What were some surprises or insights you had into the culture of your host country/school?

The students come from many different countries. This is a real unique dynamic to learn the subtle differences between each of the countries. It is overwhelming at first because it is hard enough to learn everyone’s name much less the country they are from. But it eventually comes together. INCAE is a very different school. It has high academic standards are the students take that very seriously. It is normal to be up late into the night study for the next days classes. There are a lot of group projects and they hardly ever seem to work efficiently. The students are very welcoming to foreigners especially Americans. The majority of the students have lived in the US and speak English very well. My hardest transition was working full time and going to school part-time and switching to only going to school full time. I eventually adjusted but in the beginning it was tough.

  1. What are your recommendations for ways that other exchange students to learn about and become immersed in the culture?

The easiest thing to do is get to know the other students. They will help you to experience the most. The tendency is to hang out with the other American students but you will definitely miss out on things. Some of the best traveling I did was with the students because they know where to go, how to get the best deals and many of their families have home around the area. Practice your Spanish before you go. You will be able to get by only knowing English but you will get much more out of the experience is your Spanish is strong.

  1. Did you have the chance to learn a second language? Why or why not?

I lived in Spain for 6 months prior to coming to Costa Rica. I already was comfortable speaking Spanish but this help to improve my language skills and take my speaking ability to a new level.

Social life:

  1. How would you rate your integration with other students from the host university? I think I did an average job. The campus is small and I was able to know almost all of the students there.
  1. What were some of the best ways you found to make friends and meet people at the host university? You can’t help but meet people at INCAE. You just need to be patient. If you are there with the seminar students it takes a few more weeks because the students don’t think you are sticking around. Find out who from INCAE has recently done a study abroad. These students are very familiar with what you are going through and will do more to try and integrate you to campus.
  1. What kinds of after-hours and weekend activities would you recommend for other students? Try to travel when you et the chance. Any guidebook can point out the best must see activities. Zip lining, river rafting and visiting a live volcano and definite must.

Other:

  1. Budgeting: how much would you recommend students take with them? How much would you say would be the monthly living expenses in the city you lived in including rent/food/misc. expenses? You will need to pay for books and housing right when you get there (I recommend bringing a blank check otherwise you have to wire the money in which costs more or having the cash available) This amount will be communicated to you ahead of time. You can choose if you want to buy the lunch plan this can be added to that one time payment or you can oay as you need more tickets. Meals are $4.30 each (about $1,000 if you buy all meals). They have laundry facilities on campus. This is about $6/ week if you have them do it for you. Your out of pocket expenses can vary. If you eat out a lot and take taxis around town you will spend a lot of money. If you stay around campus then you will have almost no expenses. Make sure you budget for travel. Rental cars are about $40/ day and buses are much cheaper. Almost all places to visit have entry fees. Hotels can vary from $5 - $50/ night – you just need to decide how you want to travel.
  1. Do you have suggestions on the types of students who would be well suited to this program? Adaptable friendly people that are interested in central and south American cultures. This school is not a big vacation so you need to know that they expect you to and be willing to deal the work. I strongly recommend knowing Spanish. You will get much more out of the program if you can speak the language.
  1. Did you need a visa to enter the country? If so, how did you apply for one and how long did it take to receive? I did not have a VISA when I got to the country so I had to get one there. It is not that big of a deal. You have to travel to San Jose (which INCAE provided) and get fingerprinted. You will also need to get 4 passport photos. The cost was minimal. I would say you can get one before or after it really doesn’t matter.
  1. What recommendations would you give to other CSOM students going on this program (to bring, to wear, etc.)? I have made recommendations through out this report. I would suggest calling a student that has been there before and asking them your specific questions. One thing to note. They have a wireless network for internet. This is only on campus (it doesn’t extend to the bungalows yet) If you buy a computer you should get one that has a card built in or know that you will need to bring one.