Choose another program for Paris, please Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

My biggest, #1 beef with the program is that it is its own universe. The IES Paris Center is located on a quiet market street in a completely different part of town than the usual university area with all the other schools. There are the offices, computer labs, and a building of classrooms out back. That's it! That's everything! That's where all your classes, or at least most of them, will be. That's where you'll be spending the majority of your time and that's where you'll be limited to meeting people, for the most part. You can take outside classes at French universities, generally one or two in addition to your IES classes, but the scheduling is so difficult to work out that it's almost not worth it (that turned out to be my case, much as I struggled to make it fit). I did take one outside class for Japanese, and it was such a great experience just to get me out of that bubble that I wish more of that had been my time there. But it wasn't. So basically, when you go to classes, you're not mingling with other French or international students. You're just interacting with other Americans--not who you came to Paris to meet, right? Sure, they're fun to get to know, but they're not going to help you improve your French, no matter how everyone attempts to natter on in badly-accented grammatically-incorrect French to each other. And yes, the IES classes are taught all in French by French professors, but it still felt terribly closed-off to only be in them with other Americans. It pretty much feels like you came to Paris to study abroad and ended up going to some special American school which has no connection to the French university life you supposedly came to experience. IES Paris and its classes form its own self-contained bubble, which it is very hard to break out of. What I would have much rather preferred is if, first of all, the Center itself was located where all the other French universities are (the Latin Quarter) so we have a much greater chance of running into other French students at cafes nearby or at least simply seeing them on the street, as opposed to old ladies lugging their rolly grocery suitcases to and from the market. Second, while the Center can offer its own IES classes, they should at least be held in the classrooms of one of the French universities, so we can go to school in the same building as other French students and have a greater chance of running into them and making friends with them.

On-site administration of your program

Maybe it's the French disposition, but the people at the Center often seemed brusque and unsympathetic when I came to them with problems. I would have appreciated more hand-holding.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I chose homestay first and foremost because I wanted my own room. I'd had roommates for the first two years of college, and while I got along with them, I was ready to move on and grow up and have my own room. I'd had my own room in Japan the preceding semester; I was not ready to give that up again. I also chose homestay because after choosing dorm the previous semester, I'd realized I was in a minority, and it was making it hard to fit in with the friends I was making initially (as they would have different meetings to go to, etc), and I wanted to be a part of the majority the next time around to minimize that awkward out-of-place feeling at the beginning. With IES Paris, the only way to be guaranteed your own room is to do a homestay. There are a variety of dorm choices, but they all involve a roommate. In terms of language immersion, of course homestay is one of the most encouraged routes, but sometimes that's just not what you want, but you also don't want to share a room and have to deal with any possible ensuing drama. Simply put, there need to be more options. Moreover, in those dorm options, your roommate is always going to be another American IES student. Back to the IES bubble--even in your housing options, you're only ever going to run into other Americans, never anyone outside the English-speaking world, which puts you at a MAJOR disadvantage and leaves you wondering if you ever experienced real French life at all. I found out from someone who did a different Paris program that her program had a MUCH wider array of options, and also that if you chose dorm/apartment housing, you weren't going to be placed with other Americans. You were going to be placed in an actual, non-IES-only dorm inhabited by OTHER foreigners from other countries besides America with whom your only language in common would be French, so you'd have to speak French with them. Wow! What an ideal option. When I heard about this, a wave of jealousy swept over me. It would have been perfect. And I only wish I could have been able to choose something like this. But I couldn't, because IES Paris keeps its students in a bubble.

The meal plan was the worst part. If you are in a homestay, you only get two dinners a week with your host family. You get breakfast every morning, but only two dinners a week. That is ridiculous. Apparently you used to get meals every night, but lots of students abused this privilege and would stay out and not tell their families they were coming back home, so the extra food went to waste, etc. That's great and all--but not all of us are flaky like that. Some of us want to have dinner with our host families every night, because here are our options for the off nights: 1) go out with your friends to eat. First of all, each person's host family has different designated dinner nights. So first you have to make sure your friends can even eat with you--and it often happens that everyone you ask is eating with their family, and you are the only one not. Second, you have to find a place to eat that is affordable. This is nearly impossible in Paris. 2) stay at home with your family and feel really really awkward as they all go to the dining room to eat, while you stay in your room. I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW AWKWARD THIS IS. And sometimes it's unavoidable that you stay home, because you need to write a paper or study for a test. Technically, yes, I could have made my own meals in the kitchen, but that would have also been very awkward, as I would have been cooking either before or after their meal. What I would end up doing is purchasing some pre-made lunch food (pasta cups, vegetable sides, sandwiches etc) from Monoprix grocery store, then eating it in my room. But it always felt so pathetic and I hated it, and I hated that except for two nights a week, unless I wanted to spend extra money and/or eat fatty yet cheap food and/or eat cheap food in a dangerous environment, the program itself was forcing me to feel anxious and crappy about myself. Both of those options suck, and I can't believe we couldn't just choose "I want dinner two nights a week" or "I want dinner every night" and have the price adjusted accordingly. But no, everyone has to suffer thanks to a few bad apples in the past. Great. Of course, in other Paris (and other) study abroad programs I heard of, and in IES Tokyo, dinner happened every night a week (with maybe a break on Sunday or the whole weekend). Of course! Anything, it seems, is better than what IES Paris offers.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

IES Paris keeps the students in a bubble. From housing to classes, you're only ever going to run into other Americans, never anyone outside the English-speaking world, which puts you at a MAJOR disadvantage and leaves you wondering if you ever experienced real French life at all.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Felt unsafe walking around the city at night, but that can't be helped.

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

Dealing with food was one of the worst parts. Eating dinner in a café/restaurant is going to run you about $15-25, and cheaper options such as buying a crepe or kebab on the street, or hitting McDonald's or a similar fast food institution, may be slightly cheaper (though not by much) but they will almost certainly cause you to gain weight if you make it a habit, and since it's a cheap option that wound up being one thing we did a lot (and I did, in fact, gain weight!). Early in the program my friends and I tried eating at university cafeterias, which are incredibly cheap, but the cheapness means you will be eating disgusting barely-edible food with homeless people. Wow! Thank you, IES Paris! This is indeed exactly why I chose to study abroad: so I could eat gross food with homeless people just so I don't go broke trying to pay for my meals. How did you know!!

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

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Translation course
• Facilities

• Housing/meal options
• Field trips
• Fostering interactions with locals

The Academic or Linguist