Excellent experiential learning that one could not gain in any other city. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The classes at the Institute were a wonderful experience. Being able to take graduate classes that offers such a depth of knowledge, in a truly global setting that offers such a breadth of perspectives was extremely valuable. The rigor of class content was high, and there were fewer and larger assignments as opposed to regular, small ones (one long research paper at the end of the class / one individual or group presentation in a seminar/ two problem sets in the econ class / one midterm etc.). The course on Macroeconomic Policy for Open Economies was constructed specifically for undergraduates, and we received very close attention and a rich learning experience, while also having one central class that all of us took together.

On-site administration of your program

Extremely well-tailored to each individual students' interests and needs.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

While I personally had a wonderful renting experience through one of the options given by the Institute themself, it did not work quite as well for everyone in the program since it really was a matter of luck. Housing options were also given fairly late in the semester, which meant most student housing options in the city were already exhausted. Each student was in a different part of the city, with options ranging from entire studio apartments to renting a room within a larger house and sharing common areas and within the range of $600-$1000 per month. While I was personally quite lucky, the arrangement as a whole could be improved upon.

Food was not incorporated into the program, beyond the presence of a student cafeteria at the Institute for which we paid out of pocket. If you are on Wellesley Financial Aid, you are given living expenses which is expected to cover this. Food can get extremely expensive in Geneva - most of us on the program did the majority of our grocery shopping across the border in France or upon returning from holidays from other cities, and eating out within Geneva was extremely rare due to costs.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Since students in this program are the only undergraduates at the Institute, and since the group was not big in itself, the program felt slightly isolating and not as socially immersive at times. Socialising really fell on personal initiative, which was difficult when the Institute is not exactly a residential university, and peers are graduate students who are often much older and may have jobs or spouses. The efforts made by the institute to make sure we were familiar with Geneva were plentiful and very well appreciated (first day walking tour and fondue lunch, cocktail evenings with Smith centre, trip to museum, final dinner)

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* I did not have any health related incidents and therefore can not attest to this at all.

Geneva is an extremely safe city. We were also extremely well taken care of and looked after by the Institute, who would constantly be touching base and following up with us.

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

1.5 - Geneva is extremely expensive and there wasn't really much the program could do about it. While I remained within budget, I only managed to do so by really spending a lot of time and effort on budgeting and rarely eating out in Geneva. I also stopped eating at the student cafeteria after realising how much more expensive it was (even with the student discount) than cooking yourself with groceries bought across the border

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

There was only a once a week course for French, with people from the Institute who placed into the same level as yours. Especially in intermediate level, this still meant that there were a wide range of level and ability in each class room, and since French is not a graded class for students of the institute, the course was not taken as seriously and material felt dilute and inconsistent

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• International Students

• The Mentoring program - meeting professionals from INGOs or any organisation I expressed any interest in
• Graduate Classes

• Housing - More taken care of
• Integration with the graduate students

The Outright Urbanite