Beautiful Country, Beautiful People, Lackluster Program Past Review
By Tom C (Pyschology, Temple University) for
IES Abroad: Study Rome - Language & Area Studies
yes, but ies had little to do with this beyond giving me a good place to live.
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. |
typical summer curriculum was typical. the art history class was very informative and i got to see a lot of work by caravaggio. cant beat that with a stick in my opinion. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
if you are an independent, capable, responsible, ect. upper classman, then this is not the program for you. you will be treated like both a child and a dollar sign. you will be hit with irrational, contradictory rules. when you ask for something, they will ask for a lot of money in return (read: 60 euro per night for every extra night you stay in your housing). the administration is generally aloof and can easily give the impression of being incompetent. now to speak of the interns they have working as staff. the only one i need to speak of was a self loathing pseudo intellectual who hated other americans. he treated every student as if they came into the building for the first time screaming obscenities waving a flag with their frat letters on. the kid stereotyped people from his own country, was rude, and an all around sad human being. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
the only thing worthwhile that IES did for its students was accommodate them with stellar houses in a very quiet, very nice little middle class neighborhood, Monteverde. no complaints at all on this aspect. i was actually impressed with the quality of housing. without digressing into a full length essay I will say living with "Italian Student Companions" is really a great experience. i made a great friend who I hope to keep in contact with for many years to come. if you DO choose this program, make sure to choose to live with an "isc", cant say enough about how rewarding this experience will be. |
| * Food: |
the food in italy is great. nothing provided by the program however. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
the only part of this program that i felt i got at least a bit of my money`s worth aside from the housing was the trip to almafi. pompei is underwhelming and you`ll get a comical waste of time tour guide. but the almafi coast, bellissimo! |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
|
| 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 |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
you`re going to pick up on a foreign language being in another country if you put forth an effort. do not look for these credits to transfer smoothly to your home school. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Come for the apartments and italian student companions. ignore the rest. |
