A busy semester January 02, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I was in the architecture program and although I wouldn't say that I didn't learn anything it definitely wasn't for me. I felt that in terms of conceptual thinking I was way above the level of the program I was placed in and I wasn't necessarily a fan of how they taught and thought about architecture overall. It felt like a school for people who could afford it rather than a school for people passionate about design and creating good architecture and public space. There was no support in terms of resources and we had to spend a lot of money which was not told to us prior to the program and with the way the classes were structured there was not really any respect for our time and it felt like a lot of the actual students didn't respect the classes either. My class with Middlebury was good.

On-site administration of your program

They all seemed like nice people who cared about their jobs and wanted to help us however they could. I didn't interact with them too much after orientation apart from saying hi when I would see them. I was frustrated with the person in charge of housing when I expressed my issues and she didn't seem to understand the issue because "that's just how it was".

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Apart from being really well located, I did not enjoy the living arrangements at all. There were already groups of friends formed around people who went to school together, or were all working, or were all from the same home country so although everyone was friendly I didn't really make any friends. On top of that, we were never allowed guests so it was really lonely. There was no laundry in the building which was difficult especially in the winter. The women who ran the foyer were extremely condescending and had no respect for our personal space. They would enter our rooms for "surprise checks" more than the monthly cleanliness check. I understand that it's in the rules but it becomes problematic when they walk in on girls sleeping, or changing, or doing interviews over Zoom, all of which did happen. There was also no WIFI which was appalling.

I had to cook all my own food, which was fine, but I had very little fridge space and it was very difficult to cook when the kitchen got busy.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Between classes at my host school, the Middlebury school and my internship I felt like I was split between three places but I was not spending enough time at any of them to really get to know the others and feel integrated.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

We had COVID precautions but other than that I didn't run into any health issues.

Obviously Paris is a big city with lots of tourists so things can happen at times but I never felt like it was particularly dangerous or unsafe.

Because of my host institution and my internship I had absolutely no free time while others in the same program were always traveling and exploring the city.

(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

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Restaurants
• Being in Paris with friends
• Walkable city

• Housing
• Transparency
• Student support

The Academic or Linguist