Rome- Absolutely amazing Past Review
By Dennis N (History/Politcal Science, University of Rochester) for
AIFS: Rome - Richmond in Rome and Internship Program
I learned so much. I loved every minute of it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
They try to take the American approach with written tests, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Knew what they were doing. Excellent at what they do. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was in the middle of Rome, two blocks from the Pantheon. Absolutely amazing. I lived with 7 other men. All the apartments on the program were all over the city and all really nice. |
| * Food: |
They gave us meal vouchers at a bunch of restaurants took and the grocery stores took. Really helpful. They gave us about 200 euro a month. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My program gave us a 2 days in London at the beginning, weekend to Venice, and a weekend to Naples, Capri, and Pompeii. I also got to do 2 weeks in Florence before going to Rome for the rest of my program. While in Rome, we had cooking classes, wine tastings, Soccer games, a trip to the zoo, and other cultural experiences whoch were all subsidized by the school. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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? | I had meal vouchers for food provided through the school. Outside of that, I probably spent 30 to 50 euro a week in Rome. I spent most of my money on traveling in other countries and that varied by week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The deposit for my Apartment. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people did speak English. They did dinner with Italian nights to practice language. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You should definitely do it. There is so much opportunity in Italy that you can not get in other countries. Italy has the history but one can also party there. It isn't Prague or Spain but there is so much more to do there and so many more cities to see. All the people I have talked to in other programs go to Italy for Spring break which I think shows Italy has that much to offer. |
