Go for the experience and the art, but not as a student. Past Review
By A student (Photography and Art History, Kansas City Art Institute) - abroad from 08/26/2013 to 12/13/2013 with
Paris College of Art: Paris - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
While I guess this review will probably seem pretty negative, I don't regret anything. Overall I still accomplished a lot and experienced many of the things I wanted to do, but I felt bogged down by my school life. I was able to travel to four new countries around ten new cities. I got to live in one of the biggest, most amazing cities in the world. I did make a few great new friends that were fellow study abroad students, and we remain in contact. I learned the basis of a language that has broadened my understanding of art history and that I will continue to build upon. I tried tons of new, delicious foods. One of my favorite things was living in the most multi-cultural city I have ever been in. That mixture of race, culture and language in Paris is unparalleled anywhere in the US. Going to school with people from all over the world provided many interesting perspectives in class as well.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Paris College of Art does not have the same academic rigor as the Kansas City Art Institute. The faculty does not always make the same efforts to establish relationships with the students, and in general I did not feel as connected to them and supported by them. Some of that may have been a shortcoming on my part, but it definitely does not foster the same atmosphere as KCAI. In my liberal arts classes, the overall level of academic achievement among the students is lower, therefore the expectations of the faculty is also lower. For instance, in one class the teacher gave "due dates" but then did not stick to them, then saying that they were assigned just to "get students to start their papers." In this same class, I was surprised to hear that many of my fellow students had not written an academic paper before. Additionally, in one of my studio classes, I was asked by the teacher to continue adjusting an assignment over a week after the last day of class. I felt that I went above and beyond to do work in that class exactly as my instructor asked, but then received a mediocre grade (by my standards). I was also often asked by teachers to visit museums and exhibitions which had a high entrance fee (10 euros or more) without prior warning of this expense. This happened on at least 4-5 occasions, which is frustrating for someone like myself who is not as financially comfortable as the usual students at PCA. There seemed to be lots of poor communication all over the school; between administrators, faculty, students, etc. Maybe this is due to moving to a new location, but it was frustrating. In several of my classes I felt like the teaching style was very ineffective: watch Linda.com tutorials to learn a program, and then in class just listen to the teacher talk and show reference materials, while not really connecting anything. A lot was left up to the student to figure out themselves. I think there is definitely a gap in the expectations and atmosphere between schools in Europe and the US, making the temporary transition for students only attending the school for a single semester fairly awkward. I will say that the full week of orientation activities were very fun and enjoyable, and it was a nice way to ease into the city and meet my fellow study abroad peers. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I chose to live in a home stay for a more complete and immersive experience. While the woman I lived with performed all of her duties to the best of her ability and did nothing wrong, at the same time I did not get out of this experience what I had intended, and in the end wished I had done something else. Also, over the summer PCA moved its location, but I was still placed according to its old location, and therefore had a long commute to and from school. |
| * Food: |
Paris is expensive and not vegetarian-friendly. This does not mean it's not also delicious, but it's hard to enjoy all the food when you have to constantly worry about money and not being properly nourished. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Parisians are not known for being warm and friendly, and this is true. It's not that anyone is particularly cruel or rude, but they just mind their own business. I felt most of my time there feeling very isolated. As far as my peers at PCA who were not study abroad students, while they were friendly enough in class, no one went out of their way to interact with me outside of school. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no health issues. |
| * Safety: |
I never felt threatened or scared for my safety at all in Paris. Despite its many bums and drunkards and often staying out late at night, I always felt safe. I think this is especially important, considering I am a small female and often traveled alone, and I don't know French that well. Actually, there were two instances where I stopped someone from pick-pocketing me, but that's something anyone has to deal with in the city, and no harm came from it. |
| 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) |
Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I spent a ton of money on food each week. Supplies were also more expensive. The Euro/dollar conversion rate really gets you. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably around $100 at least, but it depends. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save as much money as you can! I wish that I had done an indiegogo campaign or something like that, but I didn't even think of it until it was too late. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
It's not that it was or wasn't encouraged; it was more of a necessity. Especially for myself, because as someone who wants to pursue art history I need to have a solid knowledge of foreign languages. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None; I studied the very basics on my own before I left, which gave me a huge advantage. |
| 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? | If you know nothing about it, before you leave try to learn as much as you can. If not vocabulary, then the structure of the language itself and pronunciation rules, so that once you get there you can pick up the vocabulary you need quickly. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Well pretty much everything I've said so far. I tried to go into this with an open mind and as few pre-conceived notions as possible. My mind has now been filled with a genuine experience full of negatives and positives. I know I grew a lot and learned a lot. In the end, I think doing something like this is vitally important. Each person will have different things they wished they knew before, but you didn't. That's part of the experience, is learning these things. The main thing I would stress is money. Having money in Paris can really change your options. So save, save, save. Raise as much money as possible. Make being broke when you get back worth it by doing as many things as you possibly can abroad while you are there. |
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 Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
