Physics and the couple life in France Past Review
By Lucy A (Physics., Wellesley College) for
Ecole Polytechnique: Palaiseau - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
It was a humbling experience, because the students I was with are really exceptional, and it was a strange thing to find myself in the middle of the pack. However, it's also hurt my confidence a little bit in Physics, and I'll need to see if I'm really going to put Physics before Computer Science (my minor) in the end. It was also interesting to see a different educational culture, but I think that I prefer the way my US classes work.
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. |
The workload to be turned in was pretty light, but there was continuous revision expected that brought it up to a level that I would expect. I highly dislike the nearly complete dependance on exams for the final grade, as I know that there are people who won't do as well on exams as they should, and in fact I think that I found myself in this group as far as Physics was concerned this semester. It is a highly lecture-based type of class, similar to what I experienced in the past at UC Berkeley, but the teachers are very good at giving advice about assignments when asked; however, I think that I generally prefer a more interactive classroom, because I know that there were questions that I would have asked had I been in the US that I didn't, simply because class wasn't really the time and I never got around to asking by email. I think that this may have hurt me, and I wish that I'd tried to be better about asking about everything that I really didn't know. |
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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? |
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| * Food: |
The cafeteria is good, but the hours are very limited. Most students don't eat there all the time, they cook in the dorms, like I cooked at home. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I know that there were many fun things that people told me about, and they all have fun with these things, but I didn't do any of them. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Just be careful in the metro late at night, and mt girlfriend and I were careful not to be affectionate at those times. Healthcare is great, I had some dental issues and paid half what I would have in the US to have it dealt with, and it was very good, and got reimbursed about half of what I spent. The program helped by giving me the paperwork to get the social security, but I had to find doctors for myself, which I did with the help of my roommates. |
| 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? | Food ended up being about 50 euros a week, and I could have spent lots on personal expenses, shopping and archery things and books, but I'd say I spent 10-15 euros on going out with friends and food-like treats a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Plan on paying a lot of money the first month, to get the metro card and to set up the social security and your room, and also plan for about 100 euros of processing fees to deal with visa things once you're in the country. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | French 303 and French 331 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
(I'm taking this question to mean, did I get linguistic instruction in a language that was not English, and the answer is yes, it was in French, but it was a language class, not just a class in French) The course I took was preparation for the TCF, the French equivalent to the TOEFL, and it was actually very interesting and useful. The TCF tests on expressions and reading comprehension, and so the review in class definitely taught me things that I didn't know, and also tests on language structure, so I was forced to review things that I'd forgotten or never bothered to learn. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | You must have a very good level of French, everything is taught in French even though the profs do speak English if necessary; don't ever hesitate to ask about something you don't understand in the science, because it can come back to bite you. A student who is self-motivated, wants a rigourous science curriculum, and has a decent background in French would benefit, I believe. |
