Made My Own Fun in a Monetarily Challenging Switzerland Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

workload wasn't bad at all, class schedule was a little ridiculous - it was meant to inhibit a lot of traveling (which was explicitly stated). Some professors were great, others were not so great. There were a few classes I think I would have been better off without taking, I simply didn't learn anything and often times I found I was teaching myself the material outside of the classroom.

On-site administration of your program

They were good when they were there. I'm not sure if nurses count as administration but I know the administration has something to do with at least hiring nurses so I'll say it here. The nurse was on campus for about 2 days a week, totaling maybe 6-7 hours. She was there Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 until 11:00, maybe a little later. Luckily I didn't fall ill because I had class every Monday and Thursday from 8:30 until 11:15, so I wouldn't have been able to visit her without missing class. Which leads to the next point. You can't miss class more than 4 times, lest you receive a deduction of 1 full letter grade on your final grade, or even a failing grade for the entire semester. Some professors up the anti, and only allow 2 classes to be missed. This isn't really a huge issue but it gives no wiggle-room, especially when the nurse can't write sick notes. If you are sick and see her but don't want to pay part of the *required* insurance ($2000 deductible)money to see an actual doctor, that will count as an unexcused absence, regardless of the fact. The dining service was horrible, it was overpriced and the food was lousy. The meal plan was set up so you didn't have enough money for the entire semester, so you had to refill (in my case almost $500)just to eat regularly (at the end of the semester I was only eating 1 meal a day because it was too expensive and I couldn't afford the meal plan)

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

On campus food was horrible. Meal Plan was horribly put together by the administration, it was impossible to not use it up by the end of the semester unless you ate off campus consistently (which was extremely expensive, this is Switzerland after all) Each meal cost 12 CHF (Swiss Francs) and it was a small portion (3/4 of a regular plate). The portions weren't anywhere near large enough for how much it cost, and diet-wise, it was pretty horrible. Being a vegetarian it was almost impossible to meet my daily protein requirement with most of the vegetarian options being pasta.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

A lot of fun, good group of people. Small school got a little annoying towards the end, but nothing too much.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Addressed this earlier, nurse wasn't there everyday and she tended to not be too nice to those who emailed her.

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

I took French and Italian. The French was great, I think the professor and the class was a lot better than at my home institution. I feel like I learned more, and the class was geared more towards mastering conversation, rather than mastering facts (as it was at my home institution). Italian was very helpful as well. It was easy (intro level) but I was able to learn a good deal and communicate "well" with the locals in Lugano.

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• Dorm

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• International Students

• People
• Location

• University's Food Service
• Some of the university's professors