Much more representative of real-life than American Universities are. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On-site administration of your program

Giuliana DeMeo and Nella were SO WONDERFUL! They made the whole program work. Christina was also a fantastic addition to the staff, because she was a great transition between the American students and the Italian staff (because she was a student our age and had studied in the states). But the director of the program, Ellen, was very cold and didn't make any clear effort to do an ounce more work than she had to for her job description. She didn't seem to care about us genuinely, but was more interested in getting to live in Italy for a year at the cost of having to manage us students. She seems like a really dynamic and interesting person with a great sense of humor whom I would like to get to know, but she was not a good choice as director of the program.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I loved my roommate and suitemates. The only problem was that Ghigi, the dorm I was in, was about a 30 minute walk from the city center, which could make life unnecessarily difficult very often. Perhaps Ecco could select a dorm slightly closer.

I made all my own food. It was great! I also ate lots of delicious stuff at restaurants!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program did a GREAT job with integrating cultural activities into our studies. I really appreciated this and benefited from it. THANK YOU GIULIANA!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had occasion to use the services of the doctor available to us, but he seemed nice, and Ecco did a good job of outlining very clearly what health services were available.

I LOVE Bologna SOOOOO much, but I cannot pretend that it is a safe city or that I didn't feel very fearful frequently. I had the most frightening experiences of my life so far in that city. You have to look out for yourself and your friends and be very smart about when and where you walk around and what impression you give off to people who might want to harm you. I wouldn't say that this is a reason not to go though.

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

It wasn't too bad. I just had a major weakness for buying brie, prosciutto, and wine though!

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

They encouraged a lot but didn't enforce that much.

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• Dorm
• Apartment

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• Local Students
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The cultural activities planned for us
• The helo with getting us through all the beurocratic loops in government and the university system
• The security blanket it provided for whatever problem we were encountering

• Make sure the director isn't just qualified, but personable and invested in the students
• Not have a bunch of Americans spending all their time in a little office and then be surprised when they start speaking English!
• Give us a week or so at the end of the program after final exams are finished so that we can enjoy the city. It was awful having finals the same day we were leaving! It was a terrible way to end a beautiful experience!