ICCS Rome: Teaching What Every Classicist Needs to Know Past Review

By (Classical Languages, Carleton College) for

ICCS / Centro: Rome - The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
This program affirmed my plans to go to graduate school in classics, and covered critical holes in my understanding of history and language.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: n/a
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Admirable approach to teaching and targeting different learning styles.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The staff at ICCS is incredible. They allowed a majority of non-Italian-speaking students to navigate Italy with ease.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing is very reasonable, and nicely connected to the classrooms, dining hall, etc.

* Food:

Excellent accommodation for vegetarians. Eating a vegan diet in Rome is very difficult.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

This program was highly academic, but some efforts were made to experience Italian modern culture.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

We stayed in a very safe neighborhood, and we all had Italian healthcare plans.

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? Approx. 20 Euro per week
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Travel in Europe is expensive with airline taxes and baggage fees. At restaurants, table charges, service charges, and bread and water charges can significantly increase the bill for a meal.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? none
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

With students only for ancient Latin and Greek, though Italian students practiced daily with locals.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Students interested in studying hard and learning a great deal will benefit most from this program. Skills in Latin and/or Greek are essential.