Amazing Place, Amazing People - Program could use Improvement August 12, 2025
By A student (Neuroscience and Biology, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/08/2025 to 05/11/2025 with
Academic Programs Abroad (APA): Paris - Immersion for Intermediate & Advanced French Speakers
My time abroad was absolutely worthwhile, and I learned some extremely valuable lessons. One is - and I know it's cliché - independence. I had more autonomy than I have in my life, and I feel that I learned to take initiative more in academics, my social life, and in my experience in general. I wanted to make the most of my time abroad, set out to do so, and feel like I accomplished it. I also really appreciate the experience of coming to a place to learn that had different standards, an unfamiliar system, and where I spoke the language at an intermediate level, having to learn and adjust as the semester progressed. I now feel better equipped to handle challenges I may face at my home university and in life.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I am highly disappointed in the administration of my program. Students enrolled in STEM courses started their courses 2 weeks late because our program did not enroll us in them and did not provide our schedules. Then, for the first week of us attending courses, they provided us with the wrong schedules, causing many students to miss class and show up at times when our classes didn't meet. We had to go to the administrative office at Sorbonne and get the schedules ourselves, and were then reprimanded by our program for doing so. The cultural immersion experiences were the highlight of the program but were often poorly executed, particularly in terms of communication and scheduling. The dates and times of trips and events were often different on the handouts, Google Calendar, and in emails, causing many to miss these events and waste time and money as a result. Overall, I loved my time in Paris, but would not recommend APA until they improve their communication, coordination, and administration. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I could not recommend living with a host family more!! I love my host mom to death and still keep in touch with her. Living with a host family was vital to my experience abroad and I don't think I would have felt nearly as immersed in French culture, or improved my language skills as much, had I lived in a dorm. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt relatively safe in Paris - however, my phone was stolen during my program's trip to Marseille and my program was not very helpful in resolving the issue. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
APA has something special going for it. The weekly theatre visits and cultural excursions are an amazing opportunity to learn about the arts and history of Paris and France; the ability to take courses at multiple universities was invaluable as it exposed us to a range of Parisian school's missions, teaching styles, and student bodies; and the opportunity to take such a diverse range of courses, from STEM to Humanities, is an enormous advantage and the reason I chose the program in the first place. However, the program must improve its communication and scheduling, or more students will be left frustrated and disappointed. This communication change means not only providing clear-cut dates and times for events that do not change the week of: it must originate within the program itself, as I often received different answers from different staff members on where and when things were happening. In addition, getting students enrolled in classes and providing them with the appropriate course schedule before courses start would save students academic stress. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~$150 |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I took a 141 level French class on French Cinema |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Don't be afraid to make mistakes, and push yourself to speak the language to as many people and as much as you can. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had known how much it would end up costing me for food/groceries once I was there. I ended up going over my budget that I planned beforehand. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
