Semester in Paris: From Boston to a boulangerie Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took two courses with Tufts and two courses at l'Institut Catholique. All four were taught by French professors, but the two with Tufts were considerably better; the professors were clear-spoken and, considering that they were teaching to only American students, they were cognizant of our language abilities and limitations. Beyond this, the Tufts professors seemed to care significantly more about their students than those at l'Institut. In other words, they showed concern in our level of understanding and were willing to help us if we didn't understand. The courses at l'Institut were large and almost exclusively lecture-based. While some professors may show interest in their students' progress, this is not as high of a priority in France as it is at U.S. universities.

On-site administration of your program

Compared to some other programs in Paris I have heard about from friends, the Tufts-in-Paris program provides a huge amount of support for its students -- everything from providing us with a metro card on day 1 to helping us register for courses to calling us within the first week to make sure our family stays were going ok.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family lived in the 16th arrondissement in a beautiful neighborhood about a 20-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. From what I surmised, they were an affluent family, and I was given a large bedroom with a beautiful view and my own shower. I was very content with the living accommodations. As for the family, they were all very civil, but never particularly warm. I always felt more like a guest than a member of the family and never spoke with them much outside of dinner. For me, this was completely fine. I personally prefer to have too much private space than too little, and this is certainly what the family provided.

Food in France is EXCELLENT!!! The dinners provided by my host family, although smaller in portion size than in the U.S., were generally great. Breakfast consisted of cereal and bread and was sufficient. Thanks to our monthly stipend from Tufts, I found purchasing lunch everyday and eating out for dinner twice a week to be very feasible, especially if one takes advantage occasionally of the student cafeterias for lunch. These offer a large amount of food and are very inexpensive.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Field trips to see the chateaux in the Val de Loire, to drink champagne in Champagne, and to taste authentic galettes in Bretagne. I considered the weekend trips (I think there were 3 or 4 during the semester) to be excellent. We were also given tickets to several shows, including a couple plays and an opera, which was also quite a privilege. The Tufts-in-Paris student life coordinator made an effort to recommend different cultural events and sights to see in Paris, as well, and we were reimbursed up to a certain euro amount for cultural activities that we did. My favorite would be a French cooking class I took with a friend, which remains one of the best memories from the semester.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never encountered any health problems. As for safety, Paris is an urban area and there are a plethora of "sketchy" locations at night. My apartment, however, was about a minute away from the metro, so I thankfully didn't encounter any problems.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

All courses were conducted in French, as well as any interaction with the Tufts-in-Paris program administrators. Additionally, Tufts-in-Paris requires its students to do home stays, which also offer ample opportunities for language practice. Still, outside of the classroom, most of the Tufts students spoke English with each other.

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• Host Family
• Apartment

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• Host Family