Sciences Po Paris for Spring Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I really enjoyed my academic experience. It was not as good as Wellesley, but I had excellent professors, small classes and interesting coursework. The French system is definitely different, and I felt like the exposé routine was very dry and did not really foster intellectual curiosity, but I had professors who tried to work around that.

On-site administration of your program

Sciences Po has a lot of international students, so most of their materials were available in English and French. Otherwise, there was a lot of bureaucracy to navigate, and since it is a university not a study abroad program, there's not too much individual help.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Finding housing was very difficult, I was very lucky to get my apartment because I arrived in the city with no place to live. I rented a room in a gorgeous Parisian flat from a retired woman who spoke no English, and I could use her full kitchen, internet, laundry machine, etc. so I did not have to buy anything, but the rent itself was very, very expensive, as everything is in Paris. I was very happy with the arrangements, she was sweet, it was a perfect neighborhood and within walking distance of everything.

Eating out is incredibly expensive. My advice is eat lots of falafel on Rue de Rosiers, buy fruits and vegetables at a market, cheese and drinks at FranPrix and bread at the closest bakery. It's not too bad when you do your own cooking.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Nothing was arranged for me, but I loved living on my own and attending my own cultural events. I traveled with friends to London, Prauge, Bologna and other parts of France, I attended a lot of the ex-pat community events, memorably some author talks including Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston, took advantage of my student card and went to museums for free, and spent a lot of time reading in gardens.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I think there would have been health assistance had I needed it, but Sciences Po did not really offer anything in the way of health or safety advice. Paris is a pretty safe city, and I never had any problems, though I have friends who were mugged in some of the farther out neighborhoods.

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

My French improved some, particularly reading and comprehension, as I had to keep up with classes. But it's easy to get by in Paris in English, and especially at SciPo, as a large portion of students are international. It wasn't until my summer in Morocco that my conversation really improved.

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• Apartment

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• N/A

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