Love Rome, hate Gustolab Past Review
By Student (University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign) - abroad from 01/18/2018 to 05/12/2018 with
Borromini Institute: Rome - Institute for Food Studies Semester and Programs
Abroad was definitely worth it and I had an amazing time due to being with close friends, however the program was almost unbearable.
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. |
This was the worst study abroad program I have ever heard of. The organization is absolutely terrible. They have a totally incompetent staff that is insanely unreliable. No wifi within school and has students in class for countless hours crammed in one room. Love the city of Rome and had a tremendous experience, but when it comes to Gustolab, everything about them is absolutely horrible. Wouldn't recommend this program to anyone, and am honestly shocked that this program has survived this many years. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was decent. Often times hot water barely worked, stove had problems. Overall, decent quality housing. |
| * Food: |
Amazing food in Rome. |
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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: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Worst program of all time. Please if you can go to Rome, but do not fall into the marketing scheme that is Gustolab. They have their students do their advertising for them and feels like a giant pyramid scheme. |
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? | $400 |
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? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Chinese 4th year |
| How many hours per day did you use the 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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | That this program would be this bad. My friends and I love Rome but we would have tried to go through a different program. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
