Falling for France Past Review
By A student (French Language and Literature., The College of William and Mary) - abroad from 06/21/2012 to 07/21/2012 with
William and Mary: Montpellier - Faculty-Led Summer in Montpellier Program
Very worthwhile! I learned that I adore France and it solidified my choice to complete a French major.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Paul Valery |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The head of the program at Paul Valery knew what he was doing, but it did not seem that many of his colleagues did. The resources like the library at Paul-Valery were very limited considering that the library was open an hour a day. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved living with my host family! |
| * Food: |
I wish we had more family dinner because they were fun and delicious. However, we were often busy with other things. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I wish we had had more time to bond with our families and experience Montpellier. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was only one incident that made me feel uncomfortable but usually Montpellier was very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
1. food was expensive and I barely ate any decent French food because I did not want to pay for it! I ate many salads and sandwiches |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | well breakfast and 2 dinners were included a week. i spend ~150/200 a week |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy more groceries and fresh fruit! |
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 |
5! |
| 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? | 300 |
| 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? | spend as much time with the host family as possible. converse with merchants and what not. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| 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? |
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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? | bring more shorts. not to stress the research project as much before hand, because I could have chosen something that I was more interested in if I had not worried so much about the depth of the content |
