Never slept because my room was blisteringly hot with drunk students everywhere Past Review
By Doris L (Sociology, Harvard University) for
Boston University: Padua - Italian Studies Program, Summer
I should have chosen a different program. Waste of money.
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. |
The Beginning Italian course had students who had already taken Italian and were only taking it as an easy A whereas I was actually a beginner Italian student who didn't speak Italian so I had a hard time. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program acknowledged its flaws but only said they couldn't do anything about it. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The room was tiny and blisteringly hot so that I couldn't sleep at night because I had a hard time breathing in the extreme stuffiness. Went most of my program without getting much sleep at all. |
| * Food: |
I didn't have dietary constraints. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The few chances I got to travel to better cities was good. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Had to walk through a sketchy area to get to the dorm. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | To give you an idea, it cost 12 euro for just a plate of pasta without meat or vegetables. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to France where you can get more food through their prix fixe menus. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Everyone spoke Italian. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Look elsewhere |
