Hardest Experience of My Life Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This school is beyond difficult for no reason. One of my professors used the same course requirements for his summer class that he used for his full semester classes. This means I had to complete two 12-page papers in the span of 6 weeks, 12 pages being the minimum requirement--I wrote two 18-page papers. Even my friend in the ARANAS program complained to the Dean on numerous occasions about the course load during a time when weekends are meant for exploring, not school work. I remember them telling me they had a mandatory Arabic film to watch at 10:30 pm due to Ramadan, and a test the next morning.

On-site administration of your program

The administration is an utter mess. Nobody knows any information or how to help you out, on any occasion. I was sent to 7 different offices to get printing services I already paid for and nobody could figure it out. I had to ask other students in the library to print my 18-page papers and my mandatory check-out form. I am still unsure why the burden of printing the leaving form falls on students without printing capabilities but that is the epitome of AUI. The only reason I have given the administration one-star is because the student advisors were so amazing. They were very passionate about helping us with anything we needed and I found it much easier to rely on them than anyone who worked for AUI.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had major problems with bugs while living on campus. I left for a weekend to go to Barcelona to visit a friend and came back to a room covered in little bugs. I went to get help and was met with a very condescending male who did not understand that I was complaining about bugs, not bags. After, I was told to sleep in another room where the student was not there, but came home to another person living in their room at midnight--imagine the freight. This all occurred on a Saturday so nobody could help me until Monday. The problem persisted but I had to take matters into my own hands and spray the problem areas with bug spray. I was finding 20-30 dead bugs around the room every night. Also, my roommate slept with me only 5 nights out of 7 weeks that I slept there. There are so many rules at AUI most of the student body sleeps off campus. I was extremely lonely.

I went to AUI during Ramadan however, they did not have anything opened during breakfast or lunch hours for international students. Even though the Facebook page said there would be breakfast in the International cafe, there was never breakfast. We were left to eat food out of the cafe, which means for two weeks we survived on bread and pastries for breakfast and lunch. The food in the International cafe also gave many students, including me, food poisoning to some degree. We were all very scared to eat the food a majority of the time.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I was stared at the entire time, on and off campus. I have never felt so out of place. There were no programs or activities to get to know AUI students during the summer, or even the other international students in the ARANAS program, as I was a plain exchange student. I found that I would go days without seeing a foreign student because I was on such a different schedule to the ARANAS kids as an exchange student--they are very different things at AUI.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I was able to see the doctor on campus very easily. However, I had food poisoning for close to two weeks and nothing I was prescribed helped. I went back a second time to complain about not feeling well again and the doctor asked me why I looked so nervous--maybe because none of the medicine was helping?

I never felt unsafe at AUI because of the front gate. Any time you left campus they asked for your ID upon return.

I struggled immensely with this program at every turn and started counting down the days until I would return home after two weeks.

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

Morocco is very cheap because the exchange rate is 10:1. I would rank it a 3/4.

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