Bienvenu en France! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The academic rigor of this program is intense because of its immersive nature. Since the majority of your classes are at a French university, you need to be strong in your language skills to succeed. Difficulties arose from navigating the French educational system, which is very disorganized and a totally different style of learning than what American colleges stress. The program did offer support, which was useful, with a tutor available to meet with students one and one. I did most of my learning outside the classroom. The universities are almost impossible to deal with (examples that happened to me or other students): the hours and location of one of a class switched one month into the semester, a midterm exam scheduled for the Saturday of the university's fall break, and courses randomly cancelled or added for a makeup a different day of the week, the professor emailing students to come in an hour early for the first day of class.

On-site administration of your program

The majority of participants in the program took issues with either the Director and/or the Assistant Director. Neither were particularly warm and welcoming, and students often wouldn't approach them with problems or issues because the condescending tone they adopted with students. It depended on the situation, but I never found meeting with them to be particularly helpful- in terms of issues with classes or help finding a cultural activity. Also had issues of administrative staff committing micro-aggressions against students of color- consistently confusing the two Latina students in the program or the two black students in the program (both of which look nothing alike). I wish I had been more comfortable approaching them and am confused as to how there are so many positive reviews about the program administration.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family was the absolute best part of my experience in France! Without them, I would have had a really hard time. The program is very intentional about where they place students, and holds host families to a high standard, which I really appreciated. It was because of my host family that I felt at home and my French improved.

French food is so good! Very heavy but you can always find other options to eat.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I did not feel very integrated with local culture as the program did not end up helping me find a cultural activity. It was hard to make French friends, which would have helped with cultural integration. What helped me the most was being really close with my host family

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Access to healthcare was easy and affordable. When I needed to go to the doctor, the director referred me to someone. Although I did not seek it out, mental health care could be a different story. The bilingual therapist that works with the program left students with a bad impression during the program's orientation.

Aix felt super safe to me, I felt a lot more at ease than I ever do in Paris. Would walk back home alone to my host family late at night and never had any problems.

I honestly don't think Wellesley's French Department would have approved me doing another program. I think I would choose WIA again because of the amazing connection I made with my host family, but without them, I think my experience would have been totally different. I had heard incredible things about this program even before coming to Wellesley, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I am still thankful for my time here because it really pushed me to grow and be resilient, as well as improving my French.

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

Stipend helped to cover food, which was nice. We also had access to a cultural stipend of 200 euros, but it was up to the assistant director to approve our activity for funding- I wish there were clearer guidelines about what counts as I found her approving/denying to be kind of arbitrary.

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

The program really emphasizes you to speak French all of the time, especially when the group is doing something together or you are at Tavan (the program center). Language immersion is the focal point of this program.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Host family
• Stipend
• Traduction class

• Program staff
• Program activities (need to do things young people like to do- like going to a football match instead of an outdated band with the program's money)
• Cost effectiveness (we had to pay the price of Wellesley tuition but I have no idea what the money goes to, we should have gotten more in return for the amount we paid)