A flexible, independence-building experience--and the best year of my life! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

On the academic end of things, the Faculté de Lettres at Aix Marseille Université was a bit of a disappointment. For the most part, students and professors alike did not seem to want to be there (with a few notable exceptions). I was told by several French people that this fac was widely known as the worst in France. However, Sciences Po Aix, where I took several other courses, was EXCELLENT. Great resources, professors, courses, campus culture, etc. As things stand students are required to take courses at la fac with the option of taking up to two courses at sciences po. I wish it were the other way around. I'm not even a political science major, and I deeply benefited from the courses I took at Sciences Po. Finally, I just want to say that the most educational aspect for me, and the reason I give this program four stars, was the cultural learning process. Without too much hand-holding, I did feel guided through the academic system in France as well as some other important aspects of life abroad. My experience was richer because I did not focus strictly on academics, and I deeply appreciated this program's more holistic vision of what constitutes an educational experience (and no, this is not code for "I drank like a fish and smoked like a chimney").

On-site administration of your program

The administration was attentive but pretty hands-off for much of the experience. I had the feeling I could have changed that pretty easily had I wanted to, but I wanted to do things my own way. I appreciated the flexibility of the program in this respect. I also liked that there was a house reserved just for Wellesley students where program administrators were always present. I felt like I could easily contact them if I needed to.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I can't speak for everyone's experiences, but I got to live in with a family a beautiful hôtel particulier in the center of the medieval town, right next to the cathedral. Insanely convenient and very beautiful!

I liked the arrangement with the host families where I ate breakfast and dinner with the family and lunch on my own. It provided me with a lot of cultural (and literal) nourishment, because my host mom is a genius in the kitchen and I am not, but I also had the flexibility to go out and explore the town on my own for lunch with friends. Market lunches were the best!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved, loved, loved my host family. They practically adopted me as one of their children, and my host mom and my real mom have started exchanging cards. Because of them, my French went from pretty good intermediate level to near-native fluency. They took me places and introduced me to people, but they also kicked me out of the house and told me to go make friends, which I did. I had to take a lot of steps on my own, but that was so, so good for my personal development as well as my cultural education. I can't speak highly enough about my host family, nor can I overemphasize the importance of living with one versus living in an apartment.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had a number of freak health issues during my time in Aix, from an intestinal blockage that required a 2 am trip to the ER (I have a temperamental digestive system that acts up whenever I travel) to a badly twisted neck that prevented me from holding my head upright. The administration was responsive, but I really wish they could have accompanied me to the doctor's office at least the first time. Navigating a foreign medical system is terrifying, and even more so when you're sick, exhausted, barely fluent in French, and it's your first week in the country. I had a number of mental health issues in the beginning stemming from some unfortunate circumstances back home, including the death of a friend and a bad break-up. The administrators to whom I spoke were generally quite sympathetic and kind, but I would have appreciated a few more check-ins, especially given that my parents were so concerned about me that they wanted me to come home. That being said, the French health system is fairly straightforward, cheap, and high-quality. My visit to the osteopath for my neck only cost 5 euros!

I had been warned about cat-calling in the South of France, but I can honestly say that I didn't experience too much of it, nor did I ever feel particularly unsafe when coming home at night in the dark alone. The center of town was very well lit and lively even on weeknights, so I usually felt pretty secure. That being said, I look European and was able to blend in pretty well with the locals. My friends of color and my queer-presenting friends did not have the same experience and were harassed a lot more, unfortunately.

Absolutely. I had an amazing experience with this program. I liked that it pushed me to do things on my own while still being linguistically rigorous. I learned so much that goes far, far beyond any class I've ever taken.

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

Wellesley's lunch money was more than enough. The travel stipend was great too.

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

We were required to speak French at all times in the program center, and we were highly encouraged to do so amongst ourselves. Courses in English were not allowed. This was definitely reflected in the level of fluency I saw in my program friends by the end of the trip compared to those in English-speaking programs.

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