Not what I expected, but Paris is great Past Review

By (Virginia Commonwealth University) - abroad from 01/10/2014 to 05/06/2014 with

CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Paris, France

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Why Not To Pick the Program and if you do here is some advice Hello, prospecting study abroad Victims of CEA First of all try and go directly to the school you want to attend it is a-lot cheaper and the city is not at all hard to navigate alone, this program is basically excessively over priced. They say that they offer great experiences like weekend trips and day trips, but what is the point when they do not even email you the meeting places in which you are to show up for these events that you have paid for. Also What ever you do, DO NOT take the career development class, it is the worst decision you will make, it is a one credit class but it works you like a 4-5 credit class and then your mentor does not even exist most of the time, and the response given when asked about this issue is “well this is real life and things like this do happen” it’s rubbish. Also the CEA building is not for studying, it closes early and the library is basically a lounge where people sleep because their student apartments are awful. but back to that in a second. The Building is so small and they have the worst technology problems imaginable, projectors blowing up and printers that do not work. Also the room stated as the library is actually a class room so forget using that when the wine class is meeting there. The building is basically a small private office with some classrooms. As for the apartments they are to die for …. literally, those of you looking at the small dorms realize that they are box sized rooms what did you expect you're in Paris they say, but if you are someone like me that is not accustomed to extremely small places then get your own place without the CEA the small dorm rooms are frequently robbed so if you value your stuff and life, this may not be the choice for you. Also if you were like me and decided wow an apartment all to myself in Paris what a great Ideal …. WRONG I picked the apartment and they crammed four people into a small two bedroom apartment, the place had mold issues the wall paper was all falling off and we had crazy neighbors in the apartment building who would lie about the day to day life in our apartment also they would blame us when it was our neighbors, but you know in Paris Americans in the building always get the finger pointed at them. Also if you are looking at a host family then also be cautious, some of them do not want you in their house or apartment at all, they just want to feed you do one load of laundry a week and have you out the door after you wake up. Also some students have also had issues with the small parisian apartment lifestyle issues with host families a.k.a you are living with your parents again as well as other household issues. The student walked into the apartment and it only had one bedroom a bath room and a living room / kitchen, turns out that the student had the bedroom and his host mother would have the living room. So just get your own housing to avoid these issues. You can arrange your study abroad experience on your own, save money and save your study abroad experience!

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

Finances

* 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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Nothing
  • Nope
  • zilch
* What could be improved?
  • Every thing
  • Awful building
  • Awful neighborhood
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? That my school did not have a library and that the program is overly priced and they even rub it in your face afterwords.