Paris: It's A Wonderful Life Past Review
By Elise M (Political Science and Government., Austin College) for
France Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
Paris was amazing. I wish I had gone for a whole year.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was manageable, the classes were fun and interesting, the grading was fine, the classes were small and lecture/discussion based. The professors were American, so the teaching styles were the same. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration in Paris was great - everyone was really willing to help and answer any questions and help you take care of things. When one of our students got injured, a member of the administration took her to the hospital and helped her through the whole process. They were very nice and helpful. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I didn't know when I signed up to not live with a host family that I would be living in the suburbs OUTSIDE of Paris. I wish that they had made it more clear, or given us an option to pay more for housing inside of the city. While we were on the metro line, we were all very irritated at that. Also, the internet was only wired, and it was restricted. You got to use a certain allotted amount of time, and then you had to go get another access code. It would last about a day. |
| * Food: |
Provided all food for myself. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to Brussels and visited the EU Parliament and UNESCO in Paris. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Look before crossing the street -- someone in my program was run over by a biker and broke her foot. Other than that, there were no issues. And she said her treatment at the hospital was great. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
|
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The cost of tuition doesn't include the month-long metro pass you will need to get every month, which is about 60 euros. If you have a student visa you can get into almost every museum for free. Really, how much you spend depends on what you do. You can live on a small budget, or you can go crazy. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
|
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
