Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was not as intense as in the United States and the classes were not as demanding as in my American University. The courses were very interesting though and while the same amount of support to students is not available at the host university, it was still a very rewarding educational experience. While I was somewhat disappointed by the level of the classes and the host university itself, the opportunity to live with a french family and improve my french was worth any problems I encountered.

On-site administration of your program

I was very pleased with EDUCO, since the staff was always available to help us and assist us with any difficulties we encountered. The building was also very central and easy to get to and the program size was great. Unfortunately, I was not told in advance that EDUCO did not have an affiliation with PARIS 4, the university I was planning to attend. Though I contacted both the host country program and my university about this issue, I only found out much later that Tulane had an agreement with Paris 4 and that I could have taken courses there directly through them. While this was disappointing, the rest of the program was very satisfactory.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was arranged through the program, the neighborhood was safe and central. It took me on average 30 minutes to get to class, by metro and/ or bus, which is very normal for Paris. I didn't need to buy any items to settle-in, since my host family provided everything. They were very sweet and willing to help with the transition. My french improved a lot just by living with this family, since we spoke it at all times. Living with them and getting to know the french culture that way was probably the best part of my experience abroad.

I ate often with my host family, as well as with friends by the university. The cafeteria at PARIS 1 was also satisfactory when we didn't have enough time to go somewhere else and eat.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program provides several cultural events, including tickets to plays and concerns, day-trips with tours of historical parts of the cities we visited, visits to museums, culinary activities and a few weekend trips. Some of these were not free to students, which I found disappointing, but there was only a small contributions students had to make when the activity was not free. Even though we had quite a bit of activities, I still would have liked to have had more trips organized by our program, specially to important cities in France.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt very safe in Paris and did not have any problems whatsoever or any safety-related incidents. I had to see a doctor in Paris and the office was easily accessible and the health care system was very good. I did not need any vaccines for this program. All foreign students were required to see a doctor in Paris in order to get a document that went in our passport, but there were no problems with that as well.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I practiced mostly with my host family, since we spoke french at all times. I also used french in everyday interactions and in the program. The only times I spoke English was to talk to other students in my program, since many were not comfortable speaking french at all times or were not advanced french students.

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• Host Family

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• Local Students