Florence: My second home Past Review
By Kathleen M (Finance and Financial Management Services., Providence College) for
Fairfield University: Florence - Semester or Year in Italy
Yes it was so worthwhile. I would do it over 100 times. When I get a job I would love to have the opportunity to travel to Europe as many times a year as I can. I will try to focus more on international business. Studying abroad has changed my life for the better.
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. |
The workload was very easy, a midterm and a final and little to no reading required or preparation for class. The classes are once a week and two and a half hours, but go by relatively fast. The grading is fair and a large percentage is based on attendance. There is a great opportunity to do well and not have to do much work to obtain a good grade. I prefer this grading system. There is no homework and all of my classes transferred back to my home institution so it will be good to have this a gpa booster. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Expectations were met. I think that they could have been more available for students and more prompt with paperwork, visas etc. I think the program is a good size, they have good knowledge about the host country. I don't think that their support services were up to par and at times I think other programs had better trip opportunities and cost-saving plans for students. I think the classes were up to par with American institution but not as challenging, I was happy with the class size and the level of difficulty, my class schedule gave me a lot of flexibility to travel and wander around the city. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I think my neighborhood was very safe and in the cities center it could not have been a better location. I am pleased with the location but I think the apartment is very outdated. We found out very late where we were living which was definitely an unnecessary stress. We had to buy sheets because they were not comfortable and wouldn't be suitable for the semester. We had a planned trip to ikea to go pick up anything that we needed for our apartment. We were given cookware and we had to buy a pan. I wish that we did not have to go to Ikea because it was very overwhelming. |
| * Food: |
The quality of food was excellent however it was very costly and unfortunate that we did not have some sort of meal plan accommodation. Anything would have been better than the nothing that we received. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
None were memorable. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I think Florence is a very safe city. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Traveling to different countries and becoming acquainted with their exchange rate. I think that I was unaware of how much money I would spend on food when I wasn't given a meal plan. Traveling as well is so costly but also very worth it. I spent way too much money. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I could practice the language with my teachers, a few restaurants and some store owners, however most people spoke english which I did not mind and Florence generally as a city does not force you to learn the language, maybe if I were there longer I would have taken it more seriously to learn the language. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | An open minded student who is ready to spend money and live the fastest 4 months of their life! This study abroad program is great and is everything you're looking for while studying abroad. |
