Mixed Feelings Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Study at Bordeaux Montaigne provided excellent French language immersion, but could provide for a frustrating semester depending on which subjects or courses one took. Although the Middlebury program personnel discussed general differences between French and American University systems, they didn’t warn of the vast difference in workload between academic departments or individual courses. The literature courses I took required what I felt was a reasonable workload and were quite interesting. Suggesting I take a bevy of courses in the history department, the program failed to mention that those courses have much more work per week, and as a result I spent most of my time in Bordeaux in my room trying to catch up with French students who had been studying these historical periods for years. This stressful experience seemed at odds from what I heard from the Middlebury program students at Sciences Po and I felt it somewhat limited my cultural enrichment opportunities.

On-site administration of your program

The Middlebury teaching assistants (French graduate students hired by the program) were very helpful and attentive, and the excursions that they led to other French cities were a lot of fun. The rest of the administration, however, was at times disorganized and unhelpful. Bordeaux Montaigne students in the program didn’t even receive student cards (which were necessary to find out the location and times of our classes) until a week after classes had started. I missed several classes in my first week as a result. Middlebury, instead of pursuing the matter with the host university, chided the program students for not being sufficiently “independent” and set the task to the program T.A. Again, the Sciences Po portion of the program seemed more organized.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I enjoyed living with my host family in Bordeaux. They were very friendly and welcoming, helping to make my semester more immersive.

The food in Bordeaux was good, with a variety of restaurants and supermarkets in town. My host family made good meals as well. The food at the University itself was not stellar, but it was easy to find alternatives (bringing food from home, etc.)

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It was difficult to integrate at Universite de Bordeaux Montaigne. French students, having already established friends in the fall, were generally indifferent to us. The few friends I made at Bordeaux Montaigne were all Erasmus students from other countries. It was hard to believe that we were in the same program as the Middlebury program students at Sciences Po, who had a variety of activities and associations they were invited to and plenty of friendly and outgoing French classmates.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The health insurance provided by Middlebury was satisfactory when I had an illness and had to go to the University clinic and the pharmacy.

I felt completely safe in Bordeaux. Although it is a city, it is small enough to be completely safe with basic precautions (traveling in groups, etc.)

I would do this program again IF all the students were able to register at Sciences Po. As it is, a student can have a different experience based solely on their major at their home university.

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

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

We were completely immersed for this program, and thus were always speaking French. Some of the foreigners I met at Bordeaux 3 didn't speak English, so with them I also wasn't tempted to fall back on English.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• International Students

• Full Language and Cultural Immersion
• Complete involvement in French university system
• Host Families

• Bordeaux 3/Sciences Po divide
• Course advising and information