Paris!! August 11, 2024
By A student (History, Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/08/2024 to 05/15/2024 with
Hellenic American University: Semester Abroad Program
I really learned a lot about French art/culture. I went to so many museums and learned to love/think critically about works of art. AUP has great offerings for curatorial and art history courses.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Compared to Wellesley, the academics at AUP are below our normal academic rigor. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I had a bit of a difficult time communicating with the housing office. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Again, I had some issues with arranging housing through AUP. But everything ended up okay and I loved my apartment! |
| * Food: |
There is no meal plan at AUP, which is okay but something that needs to be taken into account for cost of living. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had a lot of fun living in the 14th arrondissement! I felt like it was a great area to live and be immersed in French Culture. However, I did not know any french coming into the program which made true cultural integration difficult. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Healthcare is generally affordable in Paris, but AUP does not have an on-site nurse that is readily available. |
| * Safety: |
Paris is a large metropolitan city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Living in Paris was amazing. As someone who had little/no experience with international travel it was great to live in such an iconic city. However, almost all students that attend the university are study-abroad students, which impacted the schools extra-curricular activities. |
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) |
Again, most expenses are based on food costs because there is no meal plan. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | ~70 euro a week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would advise saving up and planning ahead for trips! Paris is great for travel but booking last minute is difficult! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | I wish that I knew that AUP is a bare-bones institution with almost all study-abroad students. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
