Being abroad was the best experience of my life. Past Review

By Nick P (Drexel University) - abroad from 08/27/2014 to 12/17/2014 with

The American University of Rome: Rome - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I learned a lot about myself and it taught me how to manage my stress and be calm. But it also taught me how to appreciate being on my own more. For example, I traveled by myself to a few countries and it was so much fun and very relaxing because I got to do what I want to do. I travelled with friends and family too and that was fun. I also learned about Rome's past and more about the language and I also learned about different countries culture as well.

Personal Information

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.	Overall, I was not very impressed with the academics at AUR for the study abroad students because not that many easier or intro courses were offered there. For example, I took SOC 300 but SOC 120 conflicted with ITAL 307 which is what I needed to take and SOC 100 wasn't even offered that term but it was in the Spring semester? I am not sure I understand why. However, I would suggest offering easier classes where study abroad students can learn but also do well rather than just not offer it at all. Also, I ended up with a 69.05% in Ferruccio Trabalzi's class and at AUR it's a D but at Drexel, it's a D+. I don't understand why the school doesn't give +/- for a D but the grade I think I deserved in the class was a D+. Also, Ferro was probably my least favorite teacher at the school because he was too hard and very unclear. Also, I don't think the president of the school is very organized because he should not have hired Ferruccio Trabalzi to teach the class. I think the academics are way to strict and I think that it should be easier for the study abroad students. For Professor Allen's class, he took points off for spelling which should not be allowed at all. He was a nice guy but should try to be more lenient and respectful to the students in the class. I liked him better than most people did but it could have been better in that sense. For my ITAL 307 class with Rosemonde Gurtner, I liked her a lot and I learned a lot in her class so no complaints there. We learned how to write Italian business letters which was cool and it was one of my favorite classes at AUR. For my CRI 201 class with Professor Graham, I LOVED HIM. He is my favorite teacher and I learned a lot in his class and it was my favorite class. Definitely no complaints there.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Good.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	It was satisfactory. I had an issue with 2 of my roommates from Northeastern because they were being loud and obnoxious and smoked and drank all the time in our apartment which was disrupting and rude but it's not the school's fault because it's normal.
* Food:	The food was GREAT. I love Italian food especially in Italy.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I felt pretty integrated to the culture as a I spoke the language a lot more compared to most kids. The student life office was so nice though. Edgar, Kathy and Claudia are the best. They really care about all the students and they also want them to have a good time. I would always drop by their office to provide updates and also to tell them if there were any issues as well.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I did have an allergic reaction in Italy after eating almonds but the doctor's at AUR took good care of me. I was sick with a cold for 2 weeks but I really appreciated the doctors help.
* Safety:	Personally, I felt safe but please take care. There are a lot of pick pockets in Rome so make sure you put your valuables (cell phone, wallet, etc.) and check your pockets constantly. Don't walk around by yourself at night though. It can get scary.
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)	I did spend $100 at most a week on food because the food in Italy is just so good. However, I did travel every weekend and it was quite pricy but not as bad as flights in America.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I would say $100/week at most with food but travel expenses would cover about $100/week at least additionally.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	My advice to the future study abroad students is to make sure that you save as much money as you can if you want to travel and try the culture's food.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	Intermediate
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Intermediate Italian
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	I would say try to get more people to actually speak the language and go to the language events hosted by AUR. It seems like a lot of the AUR students were completely Americanized and didn't want to learn the language which is quite sad. I understand that people want to come abroad and have fun but they should come abroad to also learn the language. Maybe also convince students to try to speak in another language like Italian for example. Even if one person is not good, the other person who is good can help that person learn more.

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university?	Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Travelling School Trips Learning about different cultures
* What could be improved?	Better academic program More basic classes offered Less rigorous professors
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I know more about the language and about Italy's history.

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 Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	AH 100
Course Department:	Art History
Instructor:	Timothy Allen
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Parts of it were challenging just because I am not an art history major and analyzing art or art in general is not my thing. I really like the fact that Professor Allen took us around Rome and I learned a lot after that. My main goal was to see as much of Rome which is what we did in the class. The teacher was pretty knowledgeable, however, sometimes he was not as prepared for his lectures. For example, there were a few times when we went over a quiz and it took 30 minutes to get it done. We are generally supposed to take like 15 minutes at most for a quiz. Also, there were a lot of things that we didn't get to do that was on the course syllabus. Some of it was him not being as organized but I think most of it was because one day of class was cancelled. I participated a little bit but I feel like I should have participated more. I was just there to listen to all the lectures and learn about Rome's past. In the class, I did pretty well on his quizzes and I did ok on his paper. Overall though, I did not do as well on his exams mainly because I think history and English classes are my weak classes since reading and writing is really not one of my strengths and I am mainly better at math and business classes. However, he was pretty unfair with grading the exams. For example, on my midterm exam, he took 2 points off because I spelled something wrong and I ended the term with an 82.7% and he gave me a B-. If it wasn't for that, I would have gotten a solid B. He was very picky about that stuff but personally, I think it would be fair to give students full credit because they knew what they were doing but just because they spelled things wrong does not mean that he should take points off. Overall, I liked him better than most people did and he was always nice to me but I feel like he could have treated some of the students with more respect. Let me put it this way, I definitely liked him as a person and his teaching was ok but I think he should try to respect students a little more.
Credit Transfer Issues:	The credit I got for the course at Drexel University was ARTH 465 which counts as my International Studies elective which can also count as a Humanities elective too. My advice to the students, if you really want to learn about Rome, then definitely take the class but check the professor ratings before you sign up. Also, if you take Professor Allen, be sure to spell everything correctly as he is very picky about spelling.

Course Name/Rating:	CRI 201
Course Department:	International Relations
Instructor:	Mark Graham
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Parts of the class were a little challenging and sometimes, Professor Graham's exam questions were a little tricky. However, this course is not hard at all. Just make sure you read the book (if you don't want to read the whole book, I would suggest you learn the key terms, read the summaries, go over the diagrams, listen carefully and participate in class, and take good notes). Professor Graham does tell you what to focus on for his exams. And here is my honest opinion about Professor Graham. I LOVE HIM. He is by far the best professor at AUR. Seriously, every student who had him in the past loved him. He is so much fun, he cracks me up, and he is a really good teacher. He really wants his students to learn the material and not blow it off but he wants them to have a good time too. He is so smart, very knowledgeable, and was so passionate about what he talked about in class. I did participate quite a lot in class because I did the readings before coming to class and I got a good grade for participation. On his exams, I did pretty well on them. He did give an extra credit assignment that raised my grade by 1 percentage point and I got an A- in the class which was my best grade at AUR. Because of Professor Graham, this was by far my favorite class at AUR. I think professor Graham should get an award for being the best professor at AUR.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I got credit for CJ 204 at Drexel University which goes into my Social Science Elective. My advice to the student, please try to take at least 1 or 2 of Professor Graham's class. He is the best.

Course Name/Rating:	ITAL 307
Course Department:	Italian for Business
Instructor:	Rosemonde Gurtner
Instruction Language:	Italian
Comments:	It was a 300 level Italian course so it was pretty challenging. The listening is what I had trouble with the most because when we listened to Italian tapes, it was hard because they spoke very fast. Even though the course was challenging, I still did very well in it. I ended the term with a B+ in the course which is quite good for an Italian 300 level course as I thought it was hard. Overall, Rosemonde was very knowledgeable and was well-prepared for class most of the time. However, my only suggestion of improvement would be to let us know when we have an oral presentation AT LEAST a week in advance. Other than that though, I liked Rosemonde. She was a very sweet lady and very easy going. She was very lenient with her grading too and was very supportive of me as well. She always told me not to worry and to be calm when I am giving a presentation. Now those are awesome tips. I also learned a lot too and it was so cool actually writing business letters in Italian.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I got ITAL 351 credit at Drexel University which goes into my Italian minor and Humanities elective if needed. My advice to the students is that if you have the intermediate Italian credits, then I would recommend taking the course.

Course Name/Rating:	SOC 300
Course Department:	International Relations
Instructor:	Ferruccio Trabalzi
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course in my opinion was way too challenging because I have never taken Sociology before and writing and reading classes are my weakest classes. My professor was sometimes prepared and is very knowledgeable, however, I did not like his teaching at all. He just was completely unclear in his lecture notes, instructions for the paper, etc. and everyone in the class had to redo his stupid writing assignment thanks to Ferro. He didn't even care that we were there to have fun and he also was too harsh at grading. For example, he gave me a D for participation and attendance. I attended all of his boring lectures and that is what he gives me for participation and attendance? Umm excuse me? Hello? We are study abroad students. So why is Ferruccio so harsh at grading? That is stupid. And I ended the term with a 69.05% and he gave me a D. He could have either rounded my grade up to a C- or he could have given me a C for participation at least and I would have gotten a C-. Really Ferro? He shouldn't even be teaching at a study abroad school. He should just go teach at a proper Italian University. Thanks for giving me a D Ferro. But guess what? I am doing so well here back in America. I am working at an internship at a big 4 firm and I got a 4.0 back at my school and my cumulative GPA is a 3.62. so I really didn't need to do well in your stupid sociology class and I really didn't need to sit down and listen to your lousy lectures. Although, I did learn a lot in your class and some of the material was very interesting and you were nice to me at the end, I still don't think the grade you gave me was very nice. Giving someone a D for trying is just absolutely unacceptable.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Since grades go into my GPA, I do get credit for the course. My advice to the students though, please GET OUT of the class because it's so much work for a study abroad student unless you are a sociology major or minor of course.