<p>I'm looking for the best program to study abroad - one with better housing and travel. I keep getting suggestions for each of these (since my school doesn't offer a trip). What are the differences between these programs? Thanks.</p>
<p>Is anyone familiar with Colleges that have opportunities for students from other colleges? Which would you suggest? I do not want to live with a host family.</p>
<p>Hi Jeramy. I am not the original poster but my daughter is a sophomore at UCLA and has applied for their study abroad program in Paris for Fall 2010. It is at a UC Center and she can live in a dorm or a homestay. I am encouraging a homestay to get a better immersion type experience. I recently found out about API and talked about the Paris program with her over Christmas break. She is an intermediate French speaker and is very concerned about taking all classes in French. She currently has a 4.0 UCLA gpa and is concerned about keeping that up. With the API program at the Sorbonne how do they accommodate students who are not fluent in French? How do those students typically do? Any other advice is appreciated. There is a chance that she will also submit an application to the API program</p>
<p>My S just started in an IES program in Spain last week. He is staying in a dorm at a Collegio Mayor - there are 12 IES kids on his floor, out of 30 on the floor and 215 in the dorm, I assume the rest of the kids in the dorm are Spanish. His roommate is an IES student. Like Jeramy said, he takes his classes at the IES Center in English (even though he’s in the Advanced Spanish class). The Center is in a great location near the tourist and commercial center, he has about a 20 minute commute (bus) to get there. He thinks most of the other kids are in homestays, although some are also in apartments. His IES program also offered the option of taking some classes thru local universities, but the academic calendars don’t exactly match up so he would have had to stay 2-3 weeks longer. So far he is loving it. </p>
<p>S’s college actually transfers students’ grades back from study abroad programs and includes them in a students’ GPA. S is the only person he’s found so far at his IES program whose home college has this policy - everyone else just needs to pass the classes. We’ll see if S ends up being the only one in the library while everyone else is out enjoying the nightlife!</p>