A Transformative Time Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I truly enjoyed the way that Middlebury integrates you into the French education system. This offers a wholesome experience during which you receive a quality education. The course at the Middlebury Center are more similar to courses I'd taken at Middlebury in Vermont. The classes I took at the French university definitely followed a different pedagogical style. While this can be frightening at first, I found that this offered me more academic freedom and space for intellectual development. If you struggle with any of your classes, Middlebury offers free tutors for each academic area. Although I never worked with any of them, many of my friends did. The help that received was extremely useful.

On-site administration of your program

The coordinator for the undergraduate students in Paris is Amy Tondu. Amy was incredible. She offered support, listened to feedback, and genuinely showed interest in the success of her students. The director of student life is Lucy Kingo'o. Likewise, Lucy was wonderful in ensuring a high quality of life for her students. I am a student who received a lot of financial aid. Both of these women were the first people in my college career who asked how I was doing financially and offered tips and tricks for budgeting. Knowing that they were understanding of my socioeconomic pressures gave me a piece of mind and helped me ease into living on my own for the first time.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had an incredible host parent experience. I really hit it off with my host mom, we are in regular contact, and I really became a part of her family. There are definitely cultural differences. So, it is important to be respectful of these differences. I would suggest that people get host families over dorms. But, that being said, sometimes people are just not matches with their host families. It's important to voice that to the program as soon as possible.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Yes! I only had to access the healthcare system for a minor incident, it was incredibly easy and not costly. I had friends who (at no cost) accessed therapists, physicians, and psychiatrists. The Middlebury program will help you; you just need to ask.

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

I lived very while on a low budget in Paris. It's possible. I put four stars because did have a little help from my parents. If I had babysat or tutored a few hours weekly, I definitely would've been able to live extremely comfortably.

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

There was the language pledge.

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Language focus
• Cultural immersion

• Preparing minority students (specifically LGBT) for cultural differences -- coming from a small liberal town, going into a city can sometimes be shocking... the world isn't a liberal academic bubble