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Istituto Lorenzo de Medici (IDM)

Instituto Lorenzo de Medici, Via Faenza, 43 - 50123, Florence, Italy, Firenze
4.03 / 5 based on 150 reviews.
Description:
Located in the heart of Florence, the Lorenzo de' Medici school has been providing Italian language and cultural instruction to foreign students since 1972. With 24 years of experience, the Institute has perfected a method of teaching Italian not only to students from all over the world, but also to those whose professions require a special knowledge of Italian.
The School is a member of FEDE (Federation of European Schools ) and was one of the first schools to become a member of the ASILS (Association of Schools for Italian as a Second Language).


Reviews
International Partners
Programmes
Accreditations
86% of students recommend
150 reviews
Housing
4.1/5
 All experiences (150)
Student life
4.4/5
 5 stars (48)
Academic
4.1/5
 4 stars (66)
Languages
3.9/5
 3 stars (36)
Expenses
3.6/5
 2 stars (0)
Overall
4.5/5
 1 star (0)
“Go out of your way to meet Italians and don't just stay with the majority of Americans that you are studying with at school. You will be able to learn a lot more and make even more friends” Read Review
anonymous, United States

Istituto Lorenzo de Medici review by Erika

Review by Erika, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
Language, Independent
HOUSING    
Personal assessment
Cost
KEY:
Couldn't have asked for more.
Pretty good.
Could've been better, but didn't lessen the overall experience.
Disappointing.
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why? I missed having the chance to learn the language in my home. Living with other study abroad students was a small disappointment.
Personal comments:
They varied greatly. I knew some people that were not as lucky as I was.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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STUDENT LIFE    
Personal social experience
Activities
KEY:
Amazing! Hardly had time to study.
Plenty to do when I had the time.
So-so.
Did not get involved.
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Describe host city: Students equally interact with the local and student community
Activities, Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal comments:
Just walking around the town and finding what you find is best. I found you met more natives that way then going to places that you saw in adds or that people at school talked about
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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ACADEMIC       2.0 / 5
My academic experiences
Quality of courses
KEY:
Fantastic.
Pretty good.
Could've been a bit better.
Disappointing.
Variety of courses
Availability/access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with other international students
Interaction with local students
Course recommendations:
THis is a great school for art but studying language seemed to be a secondary factor.



My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
KEY:
Liked it.
It was alright.
A bit annoying.
Didn't like it.
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course.
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Personal comments:
none

This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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Language difficulties
Social
KEY:
No problems.
I coped pretty well.
Sometimes it was difficult.
It was a constant struggle.
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Language of instruction: Italian
Was learning Italian a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Italian
How much did you improve your Italian?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations
Personal comments:
The classes were taught both in English and in Italian so you could technically go and not learn the language excpet for one basic grammar class which was a disappointment to a language major.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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EXPENSES    
The accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
KEY:
Very easy.
Minimal effort.
Accessible but required effort.
Almost impossible.
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits:
The cost of living compared to the American cost of living is much different which is why I spent less on the basics but I had the opportunity to travel more which is why I spent more on travel but it was still relatively less expensive.
Travel: was more expensive than at home.
Food, Nightlife, Overall, Telephone, Housing: was less expensive than at home.
Personal comments:
In Italy going out to eat can be a lot more expensive. I would recommend eating at home if you have a kitchen and when you travel buy to go items from the grocery store to save money for more exciting things.
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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OVERALL    
Important to choosing this university...
Academic reasons
KEY:
Very Important.
Important.
Not really important.
Unimportant.
Culture
Costs
Activities
Campus life
Party / people
Weather / Location
I wish I had known...
I wish I had known who my roommates were before I went. I assumed all would be American but one was Danish and we had problems initially in terms of culture shock though not with Italian culture but with each others. Eventually it worked out but it would have been easier to learn more before I went.
In my opinion:
Most people loved it.



During my experience abroad, I ...
Became familiar with another culture
KEY:
Happened all the time.
Happened quite a lot.
Happened a bit.
Didn't happen.
Traveled
Improved language skills
Met people from other countries
Became more independent
Partied a lot
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies/career
Personal recommendation:
Definitely give it a try if you are interested in visual art but the other areas are lacking and I am sure there are more schools with better qualifications.



FINAL COMMENTS

Go out of your way to meet Italians and don't just stay with the majority of Americans that you are studying with at school. You will be able to learn a lot more and make even more friends
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
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