Fun in France! Past Review
By Travis D (Apparel Design & Development, University of Wisconsin - Stout) for
University of Wisconsin - Stout: Paris - Color Studio France
I could definitely see myself traveling abroad again, or choosing a job that offers international travel as an option. Possibly working abroad could be an option for me as well, depending on career choices.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Our program was faculty-led, and our advisor was very informed on showing up what was important to see relating to our class. And as much fun as we had as a group, and individually-we were still learning and discussing along the way the entire 2 weeks. |
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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? |
our housing was hotels in the different cities in France, overall I was very satisfied with the choice of hotel and the locations |
| * Food: |
breakfasts were provided by the hotels, and overall were decent-depends on the hotel choice |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Our trip was amazing! There were so, so many parts of our trip that I could recommend to anyone considering our trip |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Be very careful about someone you don't know approaching you, when it comes to anything related to money or your personal things. Do NOT take out your wallet or purse in front of anyone if approached in a heavily-populated area. And try to have it in the back of your mind that most scam artists can pinpoint you as a tourist and will use that to their advantage. |
| 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? | The amount of personal money listed on the program descirption should definitely be increased, and students should be encouraged to set aside more than expected because of the exchange rate. I spent on average 10-15 Euros for every meal, lunch and dinner almost every day. Our advisor was EXCELLENT on giving the students options and allowing us to stop at markets to just pick out frest food versus going to restaurants. I would suggest listing the out of pocket expenses at the very least at $750 and possibly more if you have yet to purchase your passport. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I feel the train to Giverny should be included in the tuition paid, just as a courtesy to the students-that money spent out of pocket was the amount of food for a day or two. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | a semester of French |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Yes, we had people speak French to us every single day multiple times a day. |
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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