French culture in Paris= the best summer of my life! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was fair. One class was light and the other I wrote a ten page paper. So I'd say it was medium. The grading system was nice, its a little easier than the American system. The teachers abroad were amazing. they were enthusiastic and had a passion to see students succeed. More so than the US.

On-site administration of your program

I loved this program. It exercised the right balance of control and freedom. There were times where I thought youre just leaving us? and it would show us that we could get along on our own and other times they held your hand and showed you what to do. It was about 40 Americans so I was very at home in a place that was very different. This I think made this experience a lot less stressful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The rooms were very small or some had no air conditioning but that comes with the territory. I actually loved living with Americans. It may not have helped my language skills by all that much but it was a lot more comfortable. The neighborhood I lived in was very safe, the partner hotel however was not. Both were fine proximity to the school and you did have to travel for night life but it was manageable. There was a store just a one min walk away so it was very convenient to buy necessities and food to cook.

Going out is expensive but so worth it. You dont realize it but you walk a lot so the first two weeks I was there, I was always and consistently hungry. But once you get used to the smaller portions, it calms down. the food in Paris is amazing and you only get this experience once so go eat out. But they did provide breakfast everyday and lunch at the center. As poor college students we did take advantage of those options everyday! Treat yourself to a nice place very once in a while.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We visited Versailles, Rouen, the beach at Trouville and some other little places. These were so fun to get out of the city and visit places. Again here the program did a good balance of freedom and together time. The beach trip was the best though!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Safety was not a problem. As a girl, you do have to deal with men calling on you and in France they hiss. That was weird but usually if you kept walking with your friends and walked quickly, they were harmless. Avoid train stations at late hours but the metro was never sketchy.

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

The french class I took was all in french and the teacher was brilliant! If I had that teacher for all my school days I would be fluent in no time. Everyday whether at restaurants or shopping or anywhere we used french. But this was not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. The people were nice and nothing is more satisfying than when a french person speaks back to you in french because they think you are. Most people spoke english, we were in a big city though.

Select all that apply

• Apartment
• Hotel

Select all that apply

• Americans

• The amount of time balanced
• Just an amazing program
• Interesting classes

• orientation program
• pre-departure planning