Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

The best experience of my life Past Review

By (Illinois State University) - abroad from 01/25/2012 to 05/12/2012 with

Lorenzo de' Medici – Florence

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned a lot about different cultures and learned to be more independent. I think I also gained more confidence in myself after studying abroad and learned a lot about myself. It was very worthwhile and I would do it all over again if I could.

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.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

My advisor was very helpful and always answered any questions we had about anything.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The housing was good, I never heard many complaints from anyone about their housing arrangements.

* Food:

I didn't have a meal plan or anything but the food for our welcome and goodbye dinners were good.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I mostly hung around with American students but I was able to get cultural experiences on school trips and through activities/programs the school offered.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had health care problems but from what I know, the school was very helpful about that.

* Safety:

I felt safe the whole time I was there and the school was good about educating us on safety issues.

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)

It was hard because I wanted to travel a lot and having to buy groceries every week made it hard to live on a cheap budget. Also, everything was a little more expensive over there.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? between $100 and $200 mostly due to traveling expenses.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Try to have a budget when going abroad because it is really easy to spend money & save up as much as you can before you leave.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

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

We were encourage to try to speak Italian, especially when going to stores or museums and places.

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Beginner
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? 3 years of Spanish in high school
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 learn some words before you leave. When you are with your friends/roommates try to speak the language to them and practice when you go places. The locals like when you try to speak their language, even if you don't know it that well.

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Other
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?
  • I liked all of the activities and events that our program offered while we were there.
* What could be improved?
  • The schooling could be improved- a lot of times it was very hard to understand that teachers and follow what they were saying. Sometimes no one knew what was going on in class.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I can't think of anything besides the fact that a lot of the products I used like specific brands i use for my hair or makeup was hard to get there or more expensive than it is in the US so I wish I would have brought more of that stuff.