A Semester in Siena Past Review
By Sophia L (Music., SUNY - College at Geneseo) for
SUNY Geneseo: Siena - Siena Italian Studies
Yes! So much of life is what you make of it- although this program did not meet my expectations, you cannot go to Italy and not enjoy it!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The professors were knowledgeable and for the most part the classes were interesting, but many of the classes lacked structure and organization. The professors did not always show interest in the comprehension and development of the students and often the level of instruction and commitment from the professors did not correlate with the amount of work required of the student. |
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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? |
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| * Food: |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| 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? | 50 Euros per week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | keep the exchange rate in mind and anticipate higher prices. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | none- i did not study Italian before studying abroad |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Although i lived with a host family, and got opportunities every day to speak Italian, all of the students i had classes with, my roommate and my professors spoke English and i found that i used English much more often that Italian. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | My experience was that this program is not created to challenge the student- academically or culturally. If you want to have an easy, undemanding semester in a beautiful Italian city, its great. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Italian |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Marianna Bolognesi |
| Instruction Language: | Italian/English |
| Comments: | I felt that more should have been asked of the students and that in an Italian cultural immerision program learning the language should have been a priority. The class was extremely easy and i think taught in a more serious manner, I could have gotten a lot more out of it. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
