W&M in Prague Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload for my two classes (European Integration and Czech & Central European Politics) was very similar to W&M. That said, it was nearly a semesters' workload crammed into only 5 weeks of class in the Czech Politics class, which felt quite stressful at times. In that class, however, I did manage to learn a lot, and both classes were very educational.

On-site administration of your program

Our Program Director was very helpful, yet not overbearing which was great. I didn't come into contact with the administration often, but they seemed to be very helpful with putting things for our trip together (e.g. setting up rides to and from the airport, living arrangements, etc.).

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The dorm, although not luxurious by any means, was still a great space that included an ensuite bathroom. I liked the suite-style of the dorms, and they weren't horribly small. The dorm was also in a decent location, not great but still within very easy-to-access distance of most of the main areas of the city. The only item that I think almost everyone ended up buying within a couple days was a towel -- although they did provide "towels", they were more like small dishtowels and made it very difficult for drying off after showers.

There was a very basic breakfast included. For lunch, the options were very limited since we only had a half an hour and there aren't many quick places to eat around the school (most are sit-down). The options in the direct area of the dorm are also fairly limited; it's better to make the trek into mala strana for more dining options.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The side trips provided by the trip were all great (Terezin, Lidice, Krakow, and Pilzen). I would definitely recommend them for the program again.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Prague appeared to be a very safe city. The areas were all very well-lit, and there weren't any questionable people around late at night that I recall (although these were areas mainly with other tourists; areas on the outskirts or farther from the city probably have different issues). One girl on our trip believed she had her blackberry pick-pocketed at one point though, and apparently petty theft can be a problem.

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

The program included a 2-week Czech intensive. The class was good for learning basic Czech phrases that were helpful in everyday conversation and for politeness. Although we didn't learn too much, the course receives 3 stars because the professor (Zuzana) was amazing.

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• Dorm

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• Americans