Best four months of my life in my new favorite city Past Review
By A student (Vanderbilt University) - abroad from 01/23/2019 to 05/11/2019 with
CET Florence
I learned so much about a different culture and I think it really taught me to be more empathetic and understanding of different backgrounds. It was absolutely worthwhile, it helped me grow more than any other semester in college.
Review Photos
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. |
Classes were not extremely difficult but provided enough challenge to keep us busy |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone was extremely kind, friendly, and helpful |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Access to non-Italian food is limited, but that's just by nature of living in Italy |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
CET set up a few events to help with integration but overall the program was set up for us to spend 95% of our time with other Americans. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Florence feels pretty safe, but more so in the central areas of the city where there are always people |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
CET made the transition to a new country relatively easy, which was greatly appreciated. My only complaint is that it was not at all an immersive experience, because we lived and studied with other Americans. |
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) |
Groceries were fairly inexpensive, especially pasta, but eating out cost a lot. If you want to spend very little, it's absolutely possible, but you miss out on the restaurants. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 60 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Cook for yourself, buy wine in bottles and not glasses, travel more in Italy and less to other countries |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I was able to speak to the faculty in Italian, which helped me learn better, but most other students could barely speak any Italian so all program-lead activities were in English |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Italian Conversation |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Find an Italian friend and talk to them about your day, just fun conversations that help you learn how to converse in Italian outside of the classroom |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I realized that I would need to go out of my way to immerse myself in Italian, so that I could start finding ways earlier on. The staff was always super helpful with everything, so I should've asked them for more help in immersing myself. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
