Angers - wonderful town with a not-so-wonderful school Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I was not very happy with this program. The department that worked with the international students did a sub-par job of working with the exchange students, leaving us mostly to our own devices and not telling us about pertinent information, leaving me and many of my friends to suffer for a good portion of the semester not knowing that we were completely missing some of our classes because nobody told us that they existed. I also dislike the fact that they brought us to orientation after classes had already started, which disadvantaged us even more than an international student already is. That being said, the classes were not very hard and most professors were kind and worked with you when you needed it. Honestly, I would not and do not recommend this program to anyone, as much as I loved studying abroad and Angers as a town. The school is not prepared to take on exchange students in my opinion, although some slight adjustments would make it much easier and a better program overall.

On-site administration of your program

The admission were nice. But they were also a bit intimidating because, well, they are French. They will tell it like it is to your face, and blame you for not understanding whatever problems you may be having. I personally never had any big problems with the administration, and liked the main woman very much as a person.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The family I was housed with was extremely sweet, compassionate, interested in me and my life, and very willing to help me improve my french. They also make wonderful meals for me 3 times a week which I was so appreciative of. The location of the house was great, the daughter was a sweetheart, and the worst part about it was just the bit of awkwardness of living with a family that is not your own. Otherwise, totally satisfied and highly recommend doing a host-family housing over dorms!

The food at the University was not good but not horrible either, depending on what you got. The sandwiches were awesome, but the hot foods were almost worse than Sodexo here at Truman.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I was one of the locals and felt pretty at home in Angers.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Healthcare was great but I also never had to utilize the resources so I don't have much to comment on it

I personally felt decently safe in Angers, but I heard multiple stories of kidnapping and creepy stalking on the streets at night. Advice to future students would just be to not walk alone at night unless you absolutely have to- and take the most well-lit path that you know of. Try your best to go with friends if possible, but in the day you should be totally fine.

I was not happy with the way the program itself was ran. I would however study abroad again in a heart beat.

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

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

French was the only language spoken (except for amongst friends and other exchange students)

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Host Family

Select all that apply

• Local Students
• International Students

• The friends I made
• interesting and plentiful courses
• a lot of free time to do other things

• the start time and duration and information given in orientation
• the amount of time spent explaining how to choose classes and what the classes consist of
• more organization for the class schedules

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer