Beautiful city, great host family, mediocre program Past Review
By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/03/2017 to 04/19/2017 with
Bordeaux Montaigne University: Bordeaux - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
My french improved and I learned a lot from the experience of living with a french family.
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. |
The program did a pretty mediocre job integrating us into the french academic system |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Delphine was very sweet but there wasn't anyone directly from middlebury in bordeaux |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family was lovely |
| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The program's community service was an ineffective way to immerse us socially and I felt incredibly isolated on the university campus |
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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? |
No
I would not go to a language program. I felt incredibly isolated and didn't feel like the program did much to help us. The community service option was poorly organized and uninspiring and the students in the school were unfriendly. I am very happy I had a couple of friends in the program to adventure with. |
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? | $300 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Grocery shopping is best done in bulk |
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 |
We were not allowed to speak English |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | A french culture course |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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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| 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? | Going abroad to a small city is really challenging if the program doesn't help much. |
Individual Course Reviews
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History |
| Course Department: | History |
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