At Home in Rome: A Self-Fufilling Experience Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I would say that this is one of the worst educational experiences I have received. The good that I took from this experience was that I learned an immense amount about myself, and Rome which was vitally important. The most beneficial class that I took was the "At Home in Rome" where we spent a great deal of time exploring different areas of Rome and learning about their history and relevance to the development of the city. I saw this class as vital to my experience studying abroad in the city. For the most part very little reading and homework was assigned and enforced. The grading system was mainly dependent on a midterm and final exam, as well as a final project. Often it was very unclear what material was to be covered in each of these examination periods which made studying very difficult. The American educational system definitely enforces the idea of "checking in" on students from time to time and keeping them up to date with the material and workload, whereas this was not the case in Rome. Some of my teachers spoke poor English, and seemed very disinterested in the material which was very unmotivating as a student. I barely received any grades back on my work throughout the semester and therefore had no idea how I was doing academically which was also very hard.

On-site administration of your program

The administration of this program was nothing less than terrible. The staff was very disorganized, rude and lacked communication skills. The program was also very small which I was not happy about as I would have preferred a larger program to increase both class size and a more diverse student body. The program was not helpful in helping solve any issues raised and seemed to make our experience much more difficult rather than enhancing it.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was very satisfied with my apartments location, although I had to switch apartments within the first weeks of being there. However the apartment was in poor condition and I had a lot of problems with my roomates

Italy has excellent food and almost every restaurant will have something good to eat. I also took advantage of the fresh fruit and vegetable markets on a daily basis to cook my own meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Many cultural events and attractions that occurred in Rome I pursued on my own, without the help of my program.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

In general I felt safe in Rome. As with any city there are often unsafe parts, but I was always very aware of my surroundings. It is important to be aware that you are not in the United States, and therefore you must be much more aware of your vulnerability in a foreign city. I had friends that had their bags stolen, and were attacked by locals upon arriving in Rome which was very scary, but I did not have any experience with this myself. It is important not to place yourself in a situation where there is the risk of this happening. In terms of healthcare I utilized Italian healthcare only once when I was hit by a car in late November. I was overall satisfied with my experience, and Italy is known for having a great health care system

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

I could practice language with my peers as well as in everyday life. I definitely needed a background in Italian in order to get around in the city as many people did not speak English. The program also organized weekly meetings with Italian students at Roma Tre University which was helpful and further improving my Italian.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Two of my professors
• Studying at Roma Tre University
• No class on Fridays

• General Administration
• Housing
• Communication by professors