Loved it. Would do it again if i had the money. Past Review

By (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Truman State University) for

College Consortium for International Studies (CCIS): Annecy - Institut Français des Alpes

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Yes indeed.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was a little difficult to asses my initial performance with respect to my own university, but I don't believe that to be a problem with IFALPES. Truman State and other US universitys should give their study abroad students a chart of conversion based on european grades because the faculty at IFAPLES made students aware of their scores consistant with the time of examination. The teaching method was immersion and quiet enjoyable after a few weeks of getting used to the logic of the language and building vocabulary. This style is much different from our university in the sense that during the summer program I was working on French for four hours a day, five days a week. At my host university, I do a maxium of four hours a week on campus for language. So it was very different, also, the french professors were much more akin to the subtlties in the logic of the language then my American instructors. The workload was generally mild in Annecy, many in-class activies that ranged from lecture to class participation and discussion.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Good people.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

It was really nice, but the appliances in the apaprtment could be updated as well as the matresses and sheet situation. The house was a beatiful place though, wonder space and the landlord was extreemly fair and reasonable. It did seem a little expensive compared to the residences of my fellow students, but not too costely to where I felt I was not getting what I paid for.

* Food:

Tres Bon!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I met so many wonderful people.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Never felt like I was going to get robbed. Exept one time. But I ran. Went to some "bad" neigborhoods in Paris with a group to which my Irish campanian mentioned, "This isn't like the film" reffering to Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Lot of students were safe because we were always together. I saw a few fights after a big concert one night, but that happens everywhere you go.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About $10,000 total, if you count: IFALPES plus the cost of my university in terms of tuition, eating out every day, going to Paris and Lyon, two nights in Geneve, transportation (bus, metro, taxi when i got there, trains). Could have spent more if I had more.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Buy what you can when you can. What you saving for? A yacht or a coffin?

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? Oral Communication, and French Intermediate II
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

I could practive langauge with my professors, my roomates, people i met in bars, other travellers, other students, basically anyone that was around. It was a good environment because while some people would want to improve their english, i.e. if they came from a non-english speaking country but knew that i was american it was harder to practice french initially; but once i was in the spirit of my enviornment I began to rattle off French phrases and resort to english only when i needed to explain myself further. The people around me were constantly speaking french, so just by listening, I gained much more vocabulary and improved the structure of my grammar.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Classes
  • Peers
* What could be improved?
  • Price Tag
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Get out of the country as fast as you can, that being the US.