Best place to study abroad in Italy - not live in host family but w/other students

Applying to College
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<p>I know I want to spend a semester in Italy (my dream). I also know I prefer not to stay with a host family and would like to stay on a campus or share room/apartment with other students. I also want time to travel.</p>

<p>My college does not offer a program. They recommended the various 3rd party ones. However, I've seen some programs under the college consortium and suggestions to apply directly to schools or go thru other universities.</p>

<p>Any suggestions on nice programs, decent lodging, and where would you base yourself in Italy and why. Thanks very much.</p>

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<p>my daughter just completed Middlebury’s program in Ferrara. It requires fluency in Italian; students find places to live independently or with assistance; Ferrara is a university town so my daughter lived with a group of Italian (plus a Bosnian) students. Italian Universities are difficult for Americans to segue into; best is to get into a program that does the red tape for you.</p>

<p>Syracuse University has a well-established program in Florence; but you don’t take classes in an Italian University.</p>

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<p>My D is leaving for Florence to study with the API program second semester. They organize everything for you and get you an apartment with other students. Obviously, we don’t have feedback for you yet on the experience but, so far, it has been very well organized and planned with excellent support from the coordinators. They even include overnight excursions to other parts of Italy and give you an international cell phone. I would recommend looking at their website. Good luck!</p>

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<p>FSU in Florence:</p>

<p>[International</a> Programs | Italy](<a href=“http://www.international.fsu.edu/Types/College/Italy/Italy.aspx]International”>http://www.international.fsu.edu/Types/College/Italy/Italy.aspx)</p>

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<p>nyu in florence</p>

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<p>So, that’s 2 for Florence. I’ve heard many people say to stay in Rome. Why pick florence over Rome.</p>

<p>Is going thru a college better than an independent company? Thanks</p>

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<p>I stayed in the center of Rome this past summer for a month through a program with my college. In my opinion, if you want to go to Rome look for a program that will give you housing in Trastevere or a bit outside of the city. Overall I felt like I had a very tourist experience and I would have liked to be a little bit more off the beaten path.</p>

<p>Two of my friends have done API and both of them have enjoyed it- the trips that they organize for you look really fun, but I suppose a downside to that would be not being able to choose where you want to go yourself. </p>

<p>good luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks. Are you glad you stayed in Rome, or would you have done something outside the city? I’ll look into API. That sounds like the best program to go through.</p>

<p>Which program offers the better housing? Is that API too?</p>

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<p>I did two summers in Italy. You can go to either an Italian university that has international programs for foreigners (Italian language and culture classes) or you can go to a language school.</p>

<p>I put up a few posts today for someone with a similar question. To get an idea: Universita Italiana per Stranieri di Siena has month-long courses throughout the year. You can do 1 or 3 or 5 or whatever. </p>

<p>Each month-long course costs 470 euros for tution, and you’re probably looking at around 250 euros for a student apartment. Trimester courses tend to be discounted.</p>

<p>I would recommend Siena (where i went) – beautiful medieval city with one of the most fantastic historical city centers in all of Italy, safe, easy to get to other cities in Italy (Florence and Rome are each just a few hours a way, and Siena is well-connected to the rest of Italy via bus and train).</p>

<p>Rome I find to be too hectic, even though I like big cities. Florence, I read, has around 15,000 American students at any given time, and I also found it to be kind of hectic cause it’s a medium sized city, but gets uber crammed with foreign students. Also, I keep hearing about up to NINE students in a shared apartment in Florence! That’s too much for me!</p>

<p>If you go to Milan or Torino, in the north, the + is that you’re close to France, Switzerland, Germany, and can even take an overnight train and be in Barcelona by the morning. The - is that you have to travel a bit more to get to Florence and Rome – both of which you should visit even if you don’t study there.</p>

<p>Here’s my fav site for language schools. I found a couple on this site, went to them, and had good experiences at all:</p>

<p>[Language</a> School Links. Learn Italian in Italy at an Italian langauge school or Italian university program for foreigners.](<a href=“http://languageschoollinks.com/italy/index.html]Language”>http://languageschoollinks.com/italy/index.html)</p>

<p>And here is a link for the Italian Cultural Institute (it’s in New York):
[Italian</a> Cultural Institute of New York](<a href=“http://www.iicnewyork.esteri.it/IIC_NewYork/Menu/Imparare_Italiano/Corsi_per_stranieri_in_Italia/]Italian”>http://www.iicnewyork.esteri.it/IIC_NewYork/Menu/Imparare_Italiano/Corsi_per_stranieri_in_Italia/)</p>

<p>On that page you’ll find links for the following Italian universities that have international programs for foreigners. Anyone can attend. There’s usually a minimum age requirement and maybe proof of graduation from high school, but no minimum GPA requirement:</p>

<h1>Universit</h1>

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<p>Temple Rome-one of the oldest study abroad programs in Italy. My daughter is an art student, but they have other curriculum areas. She lived in student apt housing -great location, right near the Vatican- 3 to an apt-small kitchen, internet access included. There are laundry facilities-no overnight guest permitted when she was there-Fall 2005, so things might have changed in that regard. She was happy in the end to be in Rome…she visited Florence but felt that as glorious as it is, it was frequently overrun by tourists. Other than visiting the Vatican, Rome is a city so tourists are more spread out…plus good transporation to airport and train to all places in Italy and beyond.</p>

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<p>Hi Claudette,</p>

<p>Here is a post that I had for you some time ago. I accidentally sent it to never never land. The moderator was kind enough to bring it to my attention. I hope it helps!</p>

<p>======
Hi Claudette,</p>

<p>I spent 2 summers studying in Italy. One in Siena, which is really beautiful – and it’s easy to get to everywhere because there are good train and bus connections.</p>

<p>The other was Perugia. I don’t know how to say this, but for me, Perugia had the koodies. I wouldn’t recommend it. A great place to see for a day, but otherwise…well, let me keep this all positive.</p>

<p>If you go on your own, you’ll cut the cost down big time. And the language schools (I wrote about this earlier elsewhere in the forum) arrange housing for you. (If you chose a language school).</p>

<p>Housing is pretty modest – I lived in a 600 year old building that had been renovated. The rooms were small, but fine. There was a small shared kitchen and a shared bathroom, as well as a small living room.</p>

<p>It was amazing! I know what you mean about the “dream” part.</p>

<p>If you go to Italy, you’ll have to visit Florence. The second you see the Duomo from the train (from I don’t know how many miles away), you’ll get so excited you’ll flip.</p>

<p>I chose not to study in Florence (I had visited before) because I found it to be kind of crowded. And I read in an article that at any given time there are something like 15,000 US students there. 15,000! So I chose something a little more out of the way.</p>

<p>Here’s a link for the site where I got my school info –</p>

<p>[Language</a> School Links. Learn Italian in Italy at an Italian langauge school or Italian university program for foreigners.](<a href=“http://www.languageschoollinks.com/italy/index.html]Language”>http://www.languageschoollinks.com/italy/index.html)</p>

<p>I have done the language school thing a few times, and I have to say that Spain is my favorite country – but I don’t think I was ever as thrilled as I was when I first got to Italy. Feel free to pick my brain for info if you want…</p>

<p>Oh yeah – living with students. Sometimes a pain in the butt, sometimes totally family-like heaven. When I was in Siena, living with other students made the experience incredible. With other students you’ll have more independence, and it’s also less expensvie.</p>