My Favorite Period of my Life June 16, 2025
By A student (Classics, College of the Holy Cross) - abroad from 09/03/2024 to 12/20/2024 with
CYA (College Year in Athens) - Semester/Academic Year Program
I was the most confident and outgoing I had ever been. I also gained a passion for exploration--especially to less-traveled places--, meeting new people, and trying more food.
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. |
For me, the academics were the perfect balance of intellectually challenging without taking away from time I could spend in the city. The field studies included in the program brought me places I never would have gone on my own and provided critical insight to appreciate them with. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CYA perfectly understands what makes a study abroad program work for students. The location couldn't be any better. The field studies are genius. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Personally I had a single but one of my roommates had to walk through my room to get to his. This is probably just an issue with the number of people though. The apartments themselves are great. |
| * Food: |
Greek food is the best in the world. The only reason this section does not get a five is because the program-arranged food options were often not good. But it was free and it was a lot of food and having a dining hall at all is a huge plus for socialization and budgeting. Not every study abroad program provides free food for students every day, nor is every study abroad program located in a place that had cheap eats. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Greece is so welcoming. Having Greek friends, taking Modern Greek as a class, and participating in the field studies all made me feel like I was constantly learning about Greek culture--beyond the stereotypical conceptualizations of loud dancing and broken plates--and even partaking in it, which was wonderful. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no experiences with healthcare during my time, but what I heard from other people who did is that it can be difficult to find treatment if your case isn't an emergency. |
| * Safety: |
Far safer than most, if not all, major European cities. The only incident I can recall hearing about was one involving racist bouncers at a club who assaulted one of the students. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I wish I had done Athens for both semesters! |
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) |
Athens is almost as cheap as it gets for Europe. You are able to eat takeout every day for every meal for approximately 10-15 Euros. I personally spent a lot of money but if I had to I could have easily survived on 15 Euros a day for everything. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Food was about 8 Euros a day for me. I also spent about 60 Euros a month on a gym membership. Clothing and trinket shopping also contributed to a large portion of my budget. Drinks at cafes and bars added up very quick. I would estimate 200-250 per week for me. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Keep track of how much you spend on the weekends. |
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 |
Greek is not a requirement in Athens at all. However, students are encouraged to take the language and many teachers will include some of it into their courses, even if it's not related to the course material. I personally found the language fun to learn and practice. |
| 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? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None in Modern Greek. Introductory Ancient Greek and Advanced Latin. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Explore!! Read and internalize as many words as possible while exploring. |
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? | That I thrive on sunlight. There are many more likeminded people to me than I thought, I just have to know where to look. Also that I am something of an extrovert in the right environment and around the right people. |
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. |
