Food, Music, Wine, and Friends Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The Italian (grammar) courses were awful, but the courses I took at outside institutions were great and my advisor as well as the program director were very helpful to me. Some of the IES subject courses were better than others, which goes for the lecture series as well.

On-site administration of your program

Luca is super helpful!

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

First semester I stayed with a host family, and let me tell you, it was the best cooking I ever ate in my life. That's what the 3 stars are for. The Collegio di Milano food situation, though, left much to be desired. That food was NASTY! My Italian friends and I actually bonded over the misery that was eating it.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I feel like my housing situation (homestay and dorm) as well as my choice to take a lot of outside courses are responsible for what integration I felt like I achieved. If I had taken just IES courses and lived in the apartments with other Americans, I may never have had to actually speak Italian. I felt like I did pretty well though. My Italian improved significantly, and I still communicate with some of the friends I made, as well as cook up Italian dishes and enjoy Italian pop music.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had 2 run-ins with health care, and the community assistants helped me with one of them (which I greatly appreciated). The problem I had was that the Collegio di Milano healthcare provider wouldn't shut up about how much weight he said I needed to lose long enough to try to help me with the allergies I was experiencing. I was told he pulled the same thing on all the Americans.

Milan is a really great city. I always felt safe. The metro unfortunately closes around midnight, but most places I went, I felt comfortable walking home, and there were always lots of people.

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

There are really expensive places to eat in Milan. That being said, there are also some great cheap places if you look hard enough. I was a pretty loyal customer of a couple of them and that, along with groceries not being too expensive, made it a decently affordable city in my opinion.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Most subject courses were in English, which was disappointing because the professors clearly could have taught more effectively in their first language.

Select all that apply

• Dorm
• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• Americans

• They really guided us through a lot of the stuff that we weren't used to, like exam sign-ups and dealing with the police
• Administration was small and usually available to discuss problems with you or just to chat
• Schedules for IES courses were ready way ahead of everything else

• There was poor time management in the planning of the trips
• The Italian grammar courses were AWFUL.
• There should be more subject courses, lectures, and other resources in Italian