My most Unique and Best Loyola Experience Past Review
By A student (International Studies and Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago) - abroad from 08/27/2012 to 12/14/2012 with
Loyola University Chicago: Rome - John Felice Rome Center
It was absolutely worthwhile! I learned how to adjust to and live according to a foreign culture. I learned how to plan and budget for my own trips.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The internet access was very frustrating, unreliable. The classes were the right amount of challenging and included the right amount of work for this experience. The teachers all encouraged students to travel and also to apply what they were learning. Teachers were also very personable and available to all of the students given the small community. I particularly liked this and the small class sizes. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration encouraged a lot of Italian involvement (ie community service and els program) and also provided students with a lot of resources like tickets (ie papal audience, bus,banquet), personal availability and advice (ie directions and career help), and our second home! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The walls are super paper thin in all of the rooms. The rooms should also have more dresser space. The bathrooms are small and NEED to have bathroom mats because it is too slippery and dangerous when people get out of the showers. The library was my favorite place to be and I also liked the communal sense that Rinaldos provided. The workout room needs equipment. It should also be encouraged to leave the building at least once a day. |
| * Food: |
Although the food options were much better than the dining arrangements in Chicago, there was not too much variety over the weeks. The pasta was always good, but the meat was not often cooked all the way through, and the veggies were too cooked. The salad bar needed to be re-stocked more often during mensa hours and I think there should have been more dessert options. It was also hard to adjust to Italy's dining hours when our mensa hall continued to serve meals at US times (ie dinner at 5 rather than 8) - this should have been eased into though of course. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt pretty interested in Balduina because of pretty regular visits to Simply and other Tabacchi and places to go. I had a speaking partner in the neighborhood too, and we still keep in touch. This was a wonderful experience because I was able to see how people in our community about my age lived first-hand. I also partook in a community service event that involved planting a tree in a park nearby. This was also integrative. Now I also feel like I left a mark on this community. Students should be more encouragde/ forced to speak Italian on campus though to help with this (outside of Italian classes)!!! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Luckily, I did not have any health issues during my time at the Rome Center. I was aware of my resources though and a lot of my friends received treatment reasonably (time and cost). Prescriptions were very accessible to my friends that needed them. |
| * Safety: |
I felt safe almost always. |
| 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) |
3 I planned according to me budget. I often did not go out during the week in effort to save time for studying and money. I also did not buy too much stuff I spent more money on traveling and experiences. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $2,500 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save before you go so you do not have to miss out on anything for this reason! Plan ahead, but don't book anything ahead. Coordinate with your roommate to buy shared items. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | High School Italian |
| 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? | Participate in the ELS program. "Pretend" to be Italian when you are with friends especially during interactions with vendors, taxi drivers, at restaurants (and if you are not that advanced at least in Mensa or TRY to order without an English accent/attitude). Listen to Italian music on youtube and watch Italian movies with/without subtitles. Try and speak Italian over the phone when ordering food or speaking with family/ speaking partner (much more difficult than in person) |
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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| 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? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It gets pretty cold in the months of November and December (and people may consider traveling to places with snow). Also, that I should have brought a water bottle to bring on trips. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
