Too short!! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses offered at ISI offered the perfect load work for the semester. The work was relevant and the teachers rarely offered busy work. Additionally, many of the courses offer hands on learning through field trips with Florence and Italy.

On-site administration of your program

The on-site administration was phenomenal! The staff is so friendly and truly makes you feel like family! All staff have an open door policy as well and are always so helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The apartments are really spacious and even with 8 people to an apartment it never felt too crowded. While appliances in the apartment did require repair from time to time they housing staff was always very quick to answer our emails and have someone come in to the apartment to address any problems! While furniture is provided I found there to be overall limited storage for clothes, toiletries, or other belongings.

ISI students are responsible for their own meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

ISI does a good job of offering optional activities that was immersive to the Italian culture. The orientation offered by ISI also gave a lot of knowledge on the Italian culture and what to expect while being in Italy.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

ISI provided all students information on where to go for all healthcare needs including emergencies. The healthcare was really accessible - there is even a doctor that you can call to come to your apartment if you are really sick. There is little notice needed for this service as you can have the doctor there within a couple hours of calling. This service is completely free to ISI students as long as you have the medical card on you that is provided by ISI.

Florence is safe as long as you are smart and are aware of your surroundings. Near more tourist-y areas there is a higher threat of pickpocketing so you should just be more vigilant in those areas. ISI has mandatory travel forms you fill out each week just in case of an emergency they always know where you are which definitely made me feel more safe while traveling.

First, I really enjoyed Florence as a host city. It was the perfect size to feel familiar with the city pretty quickly and I loved how accessible everything was! The city is also so beautiful and the history is so amazingly preserved. I also was so happy with the ISI staff and the courses offered at the school.

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

It was a little more expensive to study abroad than I first expected. If you cook in you are able to save more money then if you go out to eat regularly during the week. I would say I spent an average of about 70 Euros a week on groceries alone. Traveling is probably the next biggest expensive. While you can plan many day trips in Italy for pretty cheap (less than 50 euros), an average weekend long trip could cost anywhere between 200-600 Euros depending on where you go.

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

There is a mandatory Italian class that all students have to take. The beginner class meets 4 times a week. In this class you have frequent writing and oral assignments in Italian to complete. Additionally, there are also immersive activities you will complete such as speaking with Italian students, interviewing locals in a Piazza, and attending a dinner with Italian natives in order to practice language skills in real world settings.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• Enjoying the city of Florence
• Meeting new people and making new friends
• Traveling Europe

• More school lead activities
• Offer more flexibility with class absences
• Possibly offer stipend or meal plans to help reduce living costs.

The Outright Urbanite