Florence for the Artist Past Review
By Kelly S (Integrated Studio Arts - Photography, Iowa State University) for
Lorenzo de' Medici – Florence
I loved my course instructors and learned more from my one month courses in drawing and photography than in semester equivalents at my home institution. I strongly recommend the courses for students who do not need rigidly structured course material and are more open to being more independent. My only complaint is that I found it hard to meet many real Italians as almost all of the students were American and several of the clubs only let in study abroad students and not locals. I would have liked more of a language immersion, which is required for the program during the semester studies but not during the summer.
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. |
My drawing class required a lot of additional outside work, but we worked from on site studies of all of the famous sculptures, museums, and locations in Florence. I usually stayed at the location to continue working for around an hour after each session had ended, not because I had to, but because the assignments made you want to keep working. The photography course was incredibly beneficial for those who wanted to learn more about what each main component of the camera does and is responsible for. I found that a lot of the work I did for the course happened while I was just out wandering the city and therefore didn't take much additional time strictly dedicated to the course. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program did not provide us with a course syllabus before the program, which would have saved me several hundred dollars in art supplies that I had in the US and did not bring to Italy as the course description online did not indicate I would be using that type of media. Many of the supplies I didn't even use but had to purchase anyway. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our landlord was very prompt and responsive to us. Our first day one of my roommates broke her key and he had a new one to her within an hour. Our program states that no overnight guests are permitted in our apartments, however I felt that as it was an apartment and not a home stay, it was an unfair request and inconvenient when my roommate from the United States came to Florence. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Field trips arranged by the school were not included in the tuition as I had originally believed, and only lasted for a day and a half. I travelled separately from the school with my roommates, which was much cheaper for the same trip. The best cultural experiences that I had in Florence were part of city holidays and were not arranged by the school. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Always cover the keypad when entering your pin number at an ATM as we were told that many of them have been manipulated by people to steal your card information and record you entering your pin number. We were also told never to leave our windows open as people were known to climb up a building to get into your apartment. We never had any safety issues in Florence. |
| 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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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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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
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Email the school before you arrive for a course syllabus so that you are aware of the additional costs and materials to bring. Traveling makes it a very expensive trip but worth it if you are willing to pay for it. Eating in at your apartment helps to lower the cost substantially, however it takes away from the experience immensely if you stay in your apartment a lot. Bring comfortable walking shoes and under pack! |
