Florence- a beautiful city that is FULL of american students studying abroad Past Review
By Ila H (Architectural Studies and Art History, Tufts University) for
Syracuse University: Florence - Syracuse University in Florence
Yes. I made amazing friends. I developed a strong relationship with my host family. I learned to be more independent especially because I couldn't talk to my mom as often.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Because it's run by Syracuse university, all the classes are taught according to the American educational system so there were no surprises in that sense. As I mentioned already my workload was very rigorous because I was doing the pre-architecture program although it seemed much for manageable for the rest of my friends. The workload for the arts and sciences was no more rigorous than it is at Tufts. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The Syracuse in Florence program is a very well-established program that has been around for a long time. Overall, they really seem to know what they are doing and are well-organized. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had an amazing host mother who was extremely welcoming and generous. In general, I felt like a family member although I did have to make sure I was always on my best behavior because I never wanted to offend my host mother. The university made the housing arrangements. I lived right next to the campus because I was doing the architecture program and we work in the studio late at night. The neighborhood where the school is located is a very nice neighborhood and felt very safe. |
| * Food: |
The food in Italy really is amazing and my host mother was a fabulous cook. In general, dinners were very late so I was often hungry again in the late afternoons and bought snacks to supplement my lunch. I always got plenty of food at dinner. (actually too much!) italians love to force feed people as a general rule. We always had at least 3 courses during dinner. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Florence is a great city for culture and for entertainment. Syracuse does a great job organizing trips that take you to all the important cities. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Syracuse had a doctor that made visits to the campus who could examine you. In general, always felt safe but we were constantly reminded to be careful walking home alone at night and to be vigilant about pocketbook snatchers |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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? | Food is not cheap in Florence unless you are only buying sandwiches. I generally tried to save money on food during the week so that I could afford to eat out over the weekends. My only expenses were food and alcohol in general. The alcohol was quite expensive if you went out to clubs/bars a lot. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I kept my shopping to a minimum and tried to save my money for food and cultural stuff. |
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? | Italian 1 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
The majority of the students are required to live with host families which I really enjoyed. I thought this was especially important because all of my classes were with American students and it was very difficult to develop relationships with italians our own age. I, therefore, did get to use my italian during everyday interactions through my time spent with my host family. We had long dinners together 5 times a week and we only spoke in Italian. My host mom did speak some English but she stopped using English close to when we arrived in the interest of helping us learn better 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 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? | If you are seriously interested in architecture, this is a great program. |
