Fun, and eyeopening Past Review
By A student (Business Administration, Fordham University) - abroad from 09/04/2013 to 12/14/2013 with
IES Abroad: Paris - Business & International Affairs
How to be extremely independent and solve problems efficiently. Yes, this experience was invaluable, in my opinion.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The academics were challenging, but the hardest part was the work load. Most of my classes had a very demanding amount of homework. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was very nice and definitely open to help students and give advice. However, I felt that they did not do a very good job helping students prepare and choose classes to take at l'Institut Catholique de Paris. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The arrangement was not bad, but for me, I only chose to live with a host family in order to facilitate my immersion in french. However, the family I stayed with did not have any children living in the house, and the parents were very old and therefore could not really relate with me. Although the apartment was nice and the hosts were accommodating, I would've rather lived in an apartment by myself since I was not speaking with my host family often enough. |
| * Food: |
This program only allows students to eat dinner 3 times a week with their family, and a small breakfast each morning. I don't eat breakfast, and neither did most of my peers in the program, so I was really only eating with my host family very sparingly. This was another reason why i would've preferred to live on my own, since the program inhibits the experience of living with a family. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This fall I, unfortunately, felt very disconnected from the parisian culture as i was studying with all americans. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 200-250$ |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to big supermarkets to do your grocery shopping, and stay away from buying pre-made sandwiches. Go for frozen meals and buying actual ingredients for dinners and lunches. Try not to always eat out for lunch and dinner. Plan out your travelling well in advance! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 1502 which is the equivalent of 3 semesters of a language if you were to start at the beginning. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | try to speak with your host family as much as possible. go to all the language speaking programs that your abroad program offers. speak to your teachers or administration in the language and try to speak with even your friends -- even if its a little weird. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? |
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? | that taking a philosophy class in french would be incredibly difficult. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
