Rome: Do It Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The program wants you to be able to truly experience your semester abroad so the work load isn't too challenging, but there is still a good amount. Many of the classes also integrate on site lectures to many of the historic sites of Rome which makes them much more enjoyable and allows you to really familiarize yourself with the city. The classes were a nice variation from all of my technical courses that I had taken at UC Berkeley.

On-site administration of your program

The administration is a very helpful and fun group. They want all of the students to get the most out of their study abroad experience and help them to do so by offering daily activities and always being open to give advice. They were very friendly and really wanted to get to know everyone. The program was extremely well structured, providing students with their base while also allowing them to travel as well as providing students with great trips to places like Venice, Pisa, Siena, Capri, Naples, and Pompeii. The program size was about perfect at around 130 people. Over the semester students interact with almost everyone, even though they develop their own slightly smaller groups of friends. Everything the program offered more than met my expectations and made for an amazing semester.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

It was great having the meal tickets provided to us by the program. This made me conserve my money a little, and allowed my roommates and I to cook meals at home often. We didn't really eat out at the restaurants very often but when we did the food was amazing. One of the favorites for our program was Hostaria del Moro 'da Tony', or Tony's as everyone calls it. The food is great, the service is great, and everything is pretty cheap. There are also tons of small fast food places throughout the city to get pizza and kebabs, which students did a lot. My roommate's and my favorite kebab/pizza shop was the one by our apartment on the corner of Via Cavour and Via Panisperna. And finally, try to eat a lot of gelato. Every gelateria throughout the city is great. There are a lot of good ones near the Pantheon and near the Spanish Steps.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program has a great social structure and everyone tends to hang out together and get along very well. I was able to meet a lot of great people from around the country, especially the East Coast, and have made some great friends that I will be staying in contact with for the rest of my life. The program's weekend trips to Venice and the Naples/Pompeii/Capri are awesome and allows everyone to travel together and spend an entire weekend together. I also believe that having the program start in London and Florence was a a great way for all of the students to get to know each other and adjust to the semester. This made the social aspect of the program much easier once we got to Rome.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

As in most cities in Europe, safety is always a little bit of an issue, but it really isn't a problem. As long as you are mindful of your surroundings and what you are doing and do not isolate yourself you will be completely fine.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Everyone is required to take some level of Italian language class, but overall the classes weren't all that helpful. The two week orientation class in Florence was extremely helpful though and established a great foundation for the rest of the semester. It was also challenging to practice using Italian because so many people spoke English but we still tried to use some of the basics every once and a while.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

• The people (staff, students)
• The social aspects (nightlife, day and night planned activities)
• The trips

• Larger variety of activities
• More day trips to other cities