Brown in Bologna is awesome!! Past Review
By Molly M (American/United States Studies/Civilization., Tufts University) for
Brown University: Bologna - Brown in Italy at University of Bologna
Absolutely. I loved nearly everything about Italy and Brown in Bologna and can't wait to go back.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Lilia, the woman who coordinates housing, jobs, lifestyle type stuff is amazing. The woman and man who were in charge of helping us select classes were pretty uninformed and scatter-brained. Picking classes and figuring out where they were, what time they were, etc., was way more difficult than it should have been. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived on Via D'Azeglio, right in the center of the city (close to everything). The location was great, but the apartment was not that nice. The layout was strange, sort of like a hallway, but the location is much more important when you go abroad. I would have liked a nicer kitchen and bathroom with more space. Four girls sharing the space was a lot. Luckily, we all got along. I brought sheets and a bedspread, but you can buy all of that when you get there, and they give you a bedspread, but I must say, I was happy to have my things from home. It made the first few weeks a lot easier. Bring things to decorate your room (this was another thing I was happy I did). You don't need to bring anything for the kitchen, they are all pretty well stocked. |
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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? |
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? | 50 euros a week, but sometimes more (this was, at the time, about $66-72 US). I was very stingy (just to give you some perspective). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook vegetarian at home, then eat meat when you go out to restaurants. That saved me a lot of money. Decide what's important to you at the beginning. I knew I didn't care about going shopping all the time, but that I wanted to buy a really nice leather jacket, so I saved for that. Also in terms of traveling, decide where you want to go early and buy tickets before they get too expensive. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I'd taken 5 semesters of Italian prior to my abroad experience. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
My Italian roommate and a language partner that Brown set me up with. No one in Bologna speaks English, so you have to speak it everywhere you go. |
Other Program Information
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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? | Brown is a great program for people who are serious about learning Italian, but still want to be a city from which they can travel to and from. Everyone on my program cared about speaking Italian and making Italian friends, so don't expect to be jetsetting every weekend (although you can do this, the majority of the people on my program spent a lot more time in Bologna than other programs). The classes are challenging but the professors are understanding, so don't worry about the oral exams (they are scary but most people end up doing very well grade-wise). |
