Trinity Rome: A great experience Past Review
By Meghan C (American/United States Studies/Civilization., Providence College) for
Trinity College Rome Campus: - Study Abroad in Italy
Studying abroad definitely made me more independent. It was also great to be removed from the fast paced,competitive, anxiety filled atmosphere that can often consume you on a college campus.
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. |
Two of my classes required minimum to moderate amount of work and two required a huge amount of work. The intro to Italian class was taught by someone who spoke little english which made it difficult at times. My two class with walking tours were extremely interesting but were almost over the top in terms of how many notes we took and how demanding the tests were. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Overall, in terms of housing, academics, organization, general assistance the Trinity Rome program was great. I felt the classes were generally interesting, not too difficult, with good/nice professors. Some obviously had more difficult work loads than others but that's no different than any program. There were classes on Friday (they were done by 12:30) but I found this to be a huge bummer. They made it so you couldn't skip your friday classes which sucked because it made it hard to travel on the weekends. There were only about 65 kids on the program which had its ups and downs. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Half the students lived in a convent in dorm rooms they had bathrooms and were provided with towels and sheets and cleaned weekly. Half lived in a hotel down the street. I lived in the convent in a double room (most people were in singles). It was in a great location in the city, I felt safe, and my room was cleaned once a week. But.. I think the hotel was cleaner. Since classes and meals (breakfast & lunch (m-f)) were held in the convent, it was very convenient. However, having talked to other people studying abroad, I definitely wish I had been living in an apartment with more people and my own kitchen. |
| * Food: |
Breakfast was pretty basic- cereal (granola, corn flakes, cocoa puffs), yogurt, fruit, bread, coffee, water... Lunch was pasta, some kind of meat, vegetables, bread. I am extremeley lactose intolerant and I got sick everytime I ate the lunch so I had to buy my own food which was a bummer but the majority of students ate the lunch and felt it was good. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trip to Venice was well organized and a lot of fun. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I was lucky not to have gotten sick but from what I heard the healthcare issues were treated differently every time. As far as safety I felt safe where we lived. |
| 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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Be prepared to spend a lot of money. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Used Italian in everday interactions at retaurants, stores, with public transportation, etc.. Most people did speak english, and would often do so when they realized I was American. If you don't speak italian I would not let that stop you from going on this program or to Italy in general |
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? | I learned a lot while studying in Rome with Trinity. I met tons of nice people and made some really good friends. The experience was challenging as will be any study abroad experience. A lot of people will tell you that studying abroad was absolutely the most amazing time of your life and I would agree but I wish someone had told me that it wasn't going to be easy because it's not, espeically in the beginning. I went as the only PC student so that definitely made it more challenging but still I think everyone should keep in mind that yes, it's going to be aweomse but it's still tough to go live in a new place with new people, but if you have a good attitude you will have an amazing time no matter what! I thought Trinity Rome was great: great classes, great people, but I do think the housing situation was a downfall and I think classes on Friday is sucky. For those two reasons I would seriously consider going on a different program, but that is not to say that you won't have a great experience at Trinity. |
