Okay May 11, 2022
By A student (Advertising, Syracuse University) - abroad from 01/26/2022 to 04/14/2022 with
Syracuse University: Florence - Syracuse University in Florence
Not to do SU Florence Abroad.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Unnecessarily difficult, work intense, lack of awareness or care for student free time. One professor really ruined a lot of it for me. The rest of the professors I had were good. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They had people in charge of student experience, but they didn't help much besides simple advice like where the post office is. The school also had a mandatory mask rule, but one of the directors never wore their mask. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We had a good apartment, but I had to fight for it. At first the four of us were given Sub-par living arrangements, especially in comparison to our peers (even the people living next to us). When we voiced complaints to the school, because we did not speak enough Italian to communicate directly to our land lord, they would just forward our emails to the said Italian-speaking landlord. The school's favorite response was "you should talk to your landlord about that.". For the discrepancy between housing: the school should tier out their living arrangements, there's no reason someone sharing a small apartment with 4-5 people should be paying the same as someone who is sharing a multi-story loft with one other person. |
| * Food: |
I cooked my own food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt moderately included. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Healthcare was good, but the school did not assist me. They provided me with international SOS at the beginning of the semester and i was responsible after. |
| * Safety: |
Florence was safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
It was not a great experience. Compared to other programs in other location, the school did not care about students' abroad experience, just that they went to class. |
Finances
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* 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) |
Could have used a bit more cash, I never ate out and still ran out of cash. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | £70 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't eat out |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | N/A |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Don't go to SU Florence |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
HST 355 |
| Course Department: | History |
| Instructor: | Matteo Duni |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The Prof is a condescending, self-absorbed narcissist who doesn't care about the education of his students. He only cares that he can hear his own voice. He is also the only prefessor in the program (not including mandatory Italian and engineering program classes) who has a final exam during our last week. He doesn't respect his students, and he doesn't care about their abroad experience. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
