Mediocre program, lots of independence. July 28, 2025

By Anonymous A (French, Mount Holyoke College) - abroad from 08/28/2024 to 05/14/2025 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Paris

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

My experience was amazing, despite the program. I became very independent and had a more than worthwhile experience. My French developed rapidly and it unlocked the possibility of moving back abroad for me. I loved my classes at the university, I had a very unique experience there which was so so cool.

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.	The actual coursework at the program was not rigorous, however the courses at the local university certainly were. The program did provide some resources for adapting to the new system.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I really liked everyone in the program administration; they were all very helpful and kind to me. However, I heard and saw some issues with how they treated students from Middlebury versus other universities. Additionally, there seemed to be little to no enforcement of the language pledge, even within the center. The level of French required on the program application and what the level actually turned out to be were vastly different which made enforcing the immersive program pretty difficult to execute.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I loved my homestay, my host mom, and my house mate. It was the best learning environment for immersion with French and my host mom was so kind and helpful. The location was great, not far from any of my classes.
* Food:	It's not her fault, but my host mom wasn't the BEST cook in the world and we ate pretty basic stuff. It was hard because both my house mate and I had dietary restrictions that are tricky with "traditional" French food so considering that, we were eating pretty good. I did get food poisoning once but I survived and it's water under the bridge. My host mom was super flexible with the food which was great.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	My school situation made it tough to find French friends my age and so I was hanging out with mostly Americans who spoke french. I did feel quite comfortable in my neighborhood and getting around the city. Linguistically, everything was a challenge but also a great learning experience.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I got access to what I needed, I was sick A LOT. I found the system easy to navigate and it was easy to get what I needed on short notice. Navigating pharmacies was a little complicated with what medications are available over the counter versus prescription. However, overall I used the health system often and had overwhelmingly good experiences and I got all my refunds through the health care no problem.
* Safety:	Paris is super safe as far as I'm concerned, people complain about it but I think that's usually unwarranted.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I would say MAYBE. I would actually look into other programs if I did it again. Everyone said Middlebury was the gold standard so I just went with it. It's possible that its the better option, but i was severely disappointed with the program and it felt like a big waste of money at some points. I really thought it was a serious program and maybe its more serious than the others, but it's not great. The majority of students last year were not the most motivated and did not care at all about the language. The Middlebury students in particular were terrible. Did not care about the language, failed classes at the university and got the program to change their grades to pass, just really brought the whole vibe down. I wish I could say I would've done a different program but it's possible the others are even less committed to the language.

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)	I was certainly spending a lot of money, first from savings, then from my paychecks. Working helped me to not come home totally broke which was great. I don't remember exactly how much I was spending, but it was mostly on going out like for drinks, some food, travel, and a little on groceries.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I didn't count, I was scared to know the number. I would ballpark it around 150 maybe more depending.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I think it really depends because a lot of people in my program were very wealthy and so it was hard to find a reasonable benchmark for like how much you're supposed to be spending and on what. I would say there's something to be said for spending what you need to really do the experience but also I know very well that it's tough to keep up sometimes if you're not on your parents credit card.

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	Well theoretically it was supposed to be just in French and everyone was going to be speaking French all the time, however that's not what happened at all. They encouraged us to speak in French but there was like zero follow up or enforcement on that. Most people in the program just spoke English, even in the center and in class.
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?	I had taken the highest level of thematically courses at MHC (300 level)
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?	You just have to do it, there really isn't any advice to be given besides put a little effort in. More than a little would be great, too.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students International Students
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?	Independence technical support with local univ. Host family placement
* What could be improved?	The language immersion The majority of students It's worth mentioning language again
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew how much I was going to dislike the other people in the program and how the language portion was not really enforced. I only wasted a few months trying to engage with the program, if I knew what a waste it would be I could've saved a little time and used it to be out in the community or engaging in my host university.

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 Outright Urbanite A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Advanced French - Low
Course Department:
Instructor:	Claudia Fontu
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	The professor was nice and knowledgable but the course itself was far too basic and the instruction style was just like my classes in high school. It didn't feel like there was much translation between the course work and everyday life in Paris. I participated in the class a lot, it was small, but there wasn't a ton of contribution from the other students. Overall it was not challenging and super, super boring.
Credit Transfer Issues:	No, credits were fine.

Course Name/Rating:	Conflicts, Revolts, Social Movements
Course Department:
Instructor:	Nicholas Roussellier
Instruction Language:	French
Comments:	The material itself was interesting but the mode of instruction was super boring. It was only lecture for like 3.5 hours with minimal student participation. We did some presentations but those were short and usually really basic and unengaging. The exams were pretty easy, a minimal amount of effort was required to get a good grade.
Credit Transfer Issues: