Past Review
By Leroy L (International Relations and Philosophy, Tufts University) for
New York University: Paris - NYU in Paris
Worthwhile. I gained french, but could have been a little more rigorous. The professors were really good, as they are actually professors at science-po and the Sorbonne, but they had to "dumb" down their course material a lot to cater to the students. Many NYU students came in with a "do as little as possible" attitude which kind of ruined it a little. Also I became kind of fed up with the stubborn attitude of NYU students who had taken french since they were in high school but who refused to change their accents in french at all!! even after the professors would blatantly say to them "you sound like you are speaking english when you speak french". Tufts is much more academically rigorous. but the professors were definitely an asset. I would recommend taking like 2 in house courses, and 2 courses at the university
Personal Information
| The term and year this program took place: | Spring 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I achieved my objective of becoming fluent in french. However, i still felt i could have learnt more from professors if they were a little harsher and demanding of the students. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
they were reasonable. the problem for me was that I couldn't take any classes at the local universities because of the strikes!! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
very nice large house. had a room with attached bathroom to myself, and it was a little separate to the rest of the house. however i spent a lot of time relaxing with my host grandparents (they were about 60). We talked a lot, argued and corrected me all the time. However they were by far the biggest contributor to my french... neighbourhood: Boulogne, just outside the 16th arrondissement <br /><br /> location wasn't ideal as it was technically out of paris. but it was still on the "ligne 10" of the metro so i could easily get to the heart. |
| * Food: |
I made my own food so obviously i'm going to give it a 5 star rating! Occasionally host family would make me meals, but it wasn't part of the contract |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
they organized many trips and constantly gave us suggestions for what to do. socially very awesome. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Personally I felt safe because I am white, quite tall and of an athletic build. but I cannot speak for everyone. There is great racial tension in paris. Many of my friends had incidents of both physical violence, and of robberies. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 120 euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | try to be efficient with home meals because you will end up spending a lot going out in the city! |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I think my language skills went through the roof. But a lot of that has to be attributed to my host family who REALLY taught me french. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't expect the program to be too academically rigorous. Also check the political climate to see if you can study at the local universities because unfortunately i was not able to due to the "grèves" |
