Past Review
By Julianna P (Industrial & Systems Engineering, SUNY - Binghamton) for
Italy Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
Yes this program was worthwhile. These men have been doing this program for thirty years, they have a great program! I rarely traveled when I was younger so this program made me want to travel even more.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Stony Brook's way of teaching was extremely similar to Binghamton University, so that was comforting. When you only have a month to teach (14 classes) you must cram a whole lot of information in. Grading was fair for my two classes since there was only a midterm and final (no homework). My Italian class had an oral/written final while my business class was all written. Also my business class emphasized current events a lot and I liked that a lot. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
We were located in a hotel so it is hard to discuss about the host country. I believe that the program would be better if it was a little smaller. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Since we were in Rome for a month we stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Rome. <br /><br /> Classes were in our hotel, which was very convenient. The pain was to get to downtown Rome but we just took the metro and were good. Also the hotel took care of two meals and cleaned our rooms. |
| * Food: |
People were bugging about the meals because they are picky eatters, but I thought the food was pretty good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
My favorite part of the trip was our weekend get away to Florence and Venice. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There were a couple of incidents where my friends had splinters and what not and the hotel/professors helped every way they could. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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? | I spent atleast 15 euro on dinner each night. Also, it depends if you want to spend money on souvenirs and gifts for your family/friends. I spent 200 euro on a leather jacket for myself in Florence and spent probably 80 euro on my family/friends. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Nightlife is pretty costly. Most places were 10 euro for drinks so spend your leisure money accordingly. |
Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Do more research of the places in the itinerary before you get to Italy. There was limited time in some locations and if I knew the jist of the place before going there I feel like I would have been able to see more. (For example, there were only a couple hours in Capri) |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Elementary Italian |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Professor Battista |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was my favorite class. It may have been because my professor reminded my of my grandfather, or because I truly love taking language. It was at a perfect rate and during a 14 day course we had 5 quizzes and a final. Battista has been doing this program for many years and he knows how to teach the language, there is no doubt about that. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I did not receive a grade from Stony Brook yet. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
International Business |
| Course Department: | BUS 440 |
| Instructor: | Palermo/Lakowsky |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was very interesting but taught extremely fast. We covered 19 chapters in 14 classes. I am an engineering major with my interest in getting my MBA so it was a good taste of business. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Did not receive a grade yet. |
