IAU Past Review
By Rebecca G (International Business, Bryant University) for
Institute for American Universities (IAU): The School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Aix-en-Provence, France
My experience was absolutely worthwhile. I loved the people I met there from different parts of the country, and I loved my host family.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes at IAU were not a joke, a few were actually harder than ones I'd taken at Bryant. However, the classes were interesting and I liked my professors a lot. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Yamina was great. She took care of all the housing and different social aspects |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
|
| * Food: |
My host mother was amazing... She provided us dinner six nights a week, and was very underestanding towards my dislike of tomatoes and olives. The food in Aix is great too... A lot of options. My favorites were Crepes-a-gogo, the Boulangerie around the corner from IAU, and the Book in Bar. The restaurants on Cours Mirabeau are pricey, but definitely worth trying once. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
IAU was great, the took us on three different field trips, and some classes also took seperate trips. With one of my classes I went to Geneva to the UN, WHO and a few other organizations. I also took a day trip to Paris with a class. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Aix is very safe, I would walk home by myself at night all the time, even when it started to get dark out. I never felt unsafe. |
| 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) |
|
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Take advantage of everything around Aix, the bus system is great there, and you can go a lot of different places very cheaply. Make sure to spend some weekends in Aix as well, because the city has a lot to offer. |
