How to be an American in France Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The science classes at the Université de Poitiers SFA were quite rigorous and very comparable to classes at Middlebury College. They required an immense amount of preparation. Additionally, I enjoyed the independence of the Poitiers program. Because there was not a Middlebury campus in the city, students were able to create their own study abroad experience without having to abide by pre-planned activities and classes prescribed by the college. However, classes did not have a set schedule every week, and the time and place could change up to the night before. This was difficult to keep up with and required constant observation of the schedule online.

On-site administration of your program

The University itself (NOT Middlebury college) provided plenty of helpful resources for international students, including helping us find living spaces, providing us with activities, helping us find internships, and helping us build our language skills. Sabrina Delb, the international student adviser, Emmanuel Simmoneau, the international student adviser within the SFA, and Paule Siete, the international student adviser within BBMCG (my parcours) were very responsive to emails and questions about living and studying in Poitiers.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved my studio apartment in Roche d'Argent. I had a functional kitchnette in my room, all of the facilities were very clean, the secretariat was in the same building (which made it easy to pay rent), and there was laundry in the basement. The building was a three minute walk from the center city and a 15 minute bus ride from the science campus. It was full of students, which presented an easy opportunity to make friends. It was also attached to a Crous-owned restaraunt that was open for lunch, so it was easy to obtain food if I didn't want to cook for myself.

The Crous dining facilities were clean and the food was very standard cafeteria fair. I mostly cooked for myself because I had a kitchen in my apartment; the grocery store was walkable and there was a supermarket on the bus route home from class that I frequently stopped at. There were some very good restaurants in town as well.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The Poitiers ERASMUS program was a great resource for international students at the beginning of the semester. They held a lot of meet and greet type events during our first week, which is where I met the majority of my friends. It was very difficult to make French friends at the university. Student life was not a priority, possibly because it was large commuter school. It was difficult to attend on campus events because I lived relatively far away and the buses stopped running at 8 PM.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had quite a few experiences with health care in France, as I unfortunately contracted Epstein-Barr virus in March. I took myself to the emergency room the first weekend that I was sick, which was difficult because public transportation on the weekends is infrequent. Once there, the visit was quick and efficient, and I got great directions for accessing a pharmacy. However, I was misdiagnosed with strep, and eventually consulted a physician at the campus health center. He was very patient with me and communicated slowly. He told me it was most likely mononucleosis, so he wrote me a prescription for a blood draw at the CHU de Poitiers, the community hospital. I had my blood drawn a week later, and had a positive experience at the CHU. The facilities were very clean and the services were comparable to most major US hospitals and medical centers. The staff and faculty were very kind and patient. I was not required to show proof of insurance; instead, I was sent a bill for each visit in the mail afterward that I payed either online or in person with a credit card. I am in the process of being reimbursed by the insurance company that Middlebury requires.

Poitiers was very safe; I never felt threatened even while walking home from town late at night. My best advice is to avoid people who seem intoxicated.

I enjoyed living in Poitiers. It was a charming, small town, which was comforting to me as a student at Middlebury and having been raised in small town Ohio. However, living there still challenged me by immersing me fully in French culture. The quality of the university was high, and it challenged me enough that I do not think of my experience as a blow-off semester.

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

I would rate spending at around a 4. My rent was around 350 euros a month, which was pretty affordable for quality of the apartment, the location, and the amenities. The town of Poitiers itself was very affordable, especially compared to major metropolitan hubs like Paris or Bordeaux.

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

I was required to use the language 100% of the time. This was of course because of Middlebury's language pledge, but also because hardly anyone spoke English, possibly due to the provincial nature of Poitiers.

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• Apartment

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• Local Students
• International Students

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• Local Students

• Independence
• Language Pledge
• Science classes at the university

• Middlebury's involvement with the students in Poitiers