D is looking to study abroad. These are two programs she’s considering that her college has on their list and will accept the credits.
Her “requirements” for studying abroad.
(1) Continental Europe - not England, Ireland, Scandinavia, etc.
(2) English speaking program - took French in high school through AP but no FL in college
(3) Wants to live in an apartment or dorm and not with a family (we have yet to find a program that can guarantee this so that’s a bummer!)
I’m concerned because I see a lot of info other websites about how lots of kids these days study abroad actually with their friend group and kids who show up on foreign campuses without a friend have a hard time making friends and finding people to travel with. D was hoping to get away a bit from kids from her college and meet new people but now I’m concerned that she might be left out if kids are showing up in groups with their housing and travel plans already made.
Does anyone have a student in either of these programs who could answer some questions? I know it’s a long shot, but thought I’d throw it out there! We know they work for her academically but I’m curious about the social/living aspects.
Do you know if students from your D’s school were able to get in to NYU Paris this semester? My D attends NYU and NYU London is the most popular program, with Paris a close second. Applications to study abroad skyrocketed and there were waitlists this semester for London and Paris, and maybe for other cities. Some NYU students got their second or third choice of cities, others just got waitlisted.
I am not sure how NYU prioritized non-NYU students vs. NYU students this semester? You may want to call their office to ask - they are helpful in my experience.
(Edited for clarity - I meant to say NYU Paris, sorry)
D is in a situation where her college can’t promise which semester the students can go away next year so D applied to NYU Paris for fall 2023 just in case that’s the semester that she’s allowed to go abroad. She hasn’t heard back yet. I believe the decisions come end of Feb. It’s not a popular program from her school but we do know that one student applied for this current spring (spring 2023) and is there now. Sorry I don’t have any more info!
not sure if this is helpful but my daughter, who does NOT go to Syracuse, could not go to Madrid on a program through her own college so she is on Syracuse Madrid this semester. it hasn’t been long yet but everything about it so far, including all the communication and logistics over the months leading up to the trip, has been excellent. she just met her host family today and the living situation is perfect. Syracuse abroad office seems to really have its act together.
How many students from her college will be at NYU-Paris or Syr-Florence? Both of these host students from multiple universities, so it’s not as if there won’t be other American students to meet (it will be mostly Americans she interacts with unless she makes a serious effort to get to know the local students)
What are her goals from doing this semester abroad, or is it mostly the glamour or lark of being in Europe for a semester? If so, she should pick the city (and if relevant) the course that is most interesting to her.
NYU Paris isn’t that popular from her school. Just one or two go. More like 15 go to Florence though. I agree that she needs to think about her goals for this semester abroad. I think she would say that it’s about feeling the independence of being so far away and experiencing living somewhere that she’s not likely to live after graduation. A kind of once in a lifetime kind of thing to do. I don’t think she’s looking for “glamour” just a new experience. I do not think getting to know the locals is a goal since she’s not fluent in French and knows no Italian. She will have to take an Italian class as part of the Syracuse program and I think she thinks that’s an interesting way to learn something new and be able to use that new language every day out and about as opposed to taking a language here and speaking almost exclusively just in class.
As for courses, her college will only accept one class for credit towards her major and the others will be for elective credit so she’s not that limited on what courses are available but, yes, she has looked at both options and they have classes that interest her that wouldn’t be available at her school.
she actually requested to be in her own apartment or in dorms but wasn’t given a choice and didn’t meet her host or see the apartment until she got there. she was able to request her roommate though.
she was terrified the host family would be far from the school or in a boring neighborhood or whatever. it’s amazing, though. it’s a single woman, very hip, each of them have their own room with their own bathroom, and it’s only about a mile from school and in a cool neighborhood close to the main park.
I can’t assume everybody’s host family works out that well, but hers did.
when did she find out that she’d be with a host instead of a dorm? And she’s with the friend she requested?
This part of these programs kind of bums me out. So expensive but the student can’t outright choose how they want to live. So glad it’s working out for your D.
Agreed. The downside might be that a large percent of students are from NYU and are going to Paris with their friends and it would be hard for D to break into those groups. I keep hearing stories about how kids study abroad with their friends, book their excursions in advance and then don’t really invite anyone else to join along!
Yes. The Syracuse program will be mostly Syracuse students, and NYU’s program will be mostly NYU students. But, SU and NYU are both huge schools. Some students will know each other before attending, but many will not know anyone.
Not sure about NYU Paris, but my D was looking into NYU Florence and the housing situation seems conducive to meeting people. Something like 8 or 9 girls sharing an NYU-owned flat. The flats are all a bus ride to campus. Plus, there are organized program-wide dinners and excursions.
Would your D reach out to the student from her school who is studying with NYU Paris this semester to get more info on the social scene?
yes, she is with that friend (who is a Syracuse student). most of the kids on the program are Obviously from Syracuse but not all.
she found out a long time Aho she would be with a host family- over a month ago. maybe 2 months. just no other details.
I’ve never heard horror stories about host families but I am sure they are out there.
great idea. She will reach out to that student for sure.
I just talked to Syracuse and they said it’s really a mix of kids and not overwhelmingly from Syracuse. Made it sound more like 50 percent, not like 80 or 90.
There will probably be some of that- in any program- but it seems unlikely that 100% of the kids will arrive with pre-formed groups that aren’t open to new people.
But: it does take some personal oomph to be the one who puts yourself forward, introduces yourself, asks if there is room for one more- not just once but over and over again, and does not take it personally when they answer is ‘sorry, no’. It takes oomph to be the one to say ‘hey, anybody want to go see the tulips in the Netherlands this weekend?’ and then when there are no takers come up with something else.
These are good conversations to have now (for both of you): whatever way you go, there will bumps you can predict- and ones you can’t!
D20 is on study abroad this year, with a host family (no choice in the program she went on). When she was filling out her request for housing there were very specific questions about what expectations she had in a host family situation, ranging from “I want to be part of the family” to “I want to treat my accommodation like a hotel”.
Some of the students in her cohort really bonded with their host families, others barely had any interaction (beyond pleasantries).
There is a really good travel company Bus2Alps that has planned weekend/weeklong travel trips they offer for students abroad. Each trip has like 20-40 students I believe and they do a ton of trips leaving from Florence if I remember correctly. So that might be another way to meet other students abroad and have travel mates.
wow great advice on that Bus2Alps company. Thanks! I’ll also have her check and see if there are any questions she would be asked about living with a host family. I think the key with housing is that she’s really just going to have to make the most of whatever it is. They find out their housing too late to cancel and find another program so need to be flexible. It is what it is.
I know this program doesn’t fit her location preference - but putting in a plug for DIS in Copenhagen and Stockholm. Students from all different schools, great activities to find your people and interesting classes plus a travel piece. Guessing Colgate approves this program.
One of my kids did their summer program and made a lot of new friends. She is an introvert and loved the independence of living in Copenhagen and meeting college students from all over the US. No one school dominates the program.
Actually both of those programs are approved by Colgate and looking at them more makes me think she needs to consider at least Copenhagen since it offers classes in both of her majors. Looks like they also do NOT let students request a roommate which keeps big friend groups from showing up together and living together. I think she was trying to avoid serious winter weather for that semester LOL but I’m going to suggest she look at it. When I mentioned it to her in the past, she said the study abroad dept told her it’s highly competitive for Colgate kids and only students with a 4.0 generally get accepted. She’s close and has As in her majors so she can always apply, see what happens, and then make a decision once decisions are in. Good suggestion!