Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

Sono gia davvero italiana August 19, 2025

By (Architecture, Sarah Lawrence College) - abroad from 09/01/2025 to 07/04/2025 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Florence

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned Italian, lived in Italy, and learned the culture. It was absolutely worthwhile.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This is an amazing program if your goal is to learn Italian and do not care about anything else.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Difficult, impossible, and the director places the blame for anything and everything on you rather than wanting to work with you. Even when she decides to work with you, she will still berate you before doing so.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had problems with my first homestay but they made it easy to leave.

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

It's what you make out of it. The school creates the circumstances that push you to integrate, but the culture that surrounds Florence pushes you the other way.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Never had a single problem

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

I loved the program for the language element, but deadlines are last minute which makes it difficult to know what you're going into. It felt like a waste of money and a year since nothing was made clear to us until you were already there. Also there was an internship opportunity available, but I was immediately shut down due to the subject of my study, which was also never mentioned or made clear.

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)

Groceries once a week were always around $30/$40 and outings cost about $25 each time

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 60
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? You can save money cooking for yourself, but the advantage of having your host family cook for you and having that cultural integration is worth the extra cost and ultimately priceless

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 signed a language pledge

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? Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? none
How many hours per day did you use the language? 10+
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? Practice with your friends and strangers

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Language
  • Middlebury Program Classes
  • Small Program
* What could be improved?
  • Grade Transparency
  • Course Transparency
  • Understanding and Lenience from Director
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? You will not know what you are getting into once you are already there, so be prepared for nothing to go your way.

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 Linguist
You 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!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Beginner Italian
Course Department:
Instructor: Elisa Terrazzi
Instruction Language: Italian
Comments: The teacher is absolutely incredible and the best language teacher anyone can ever have. She makes the program complete.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Urban Infrastructure and Design
Course Department: UniFi ADA
Instructor:
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It was extremely challenging and I would not recommend taking intensive technical courses at the university as an expat as the program makes it impossible to receive a good grade without a perfect score.
Credit Transfer Issues: