364 reviews
4.03 / 5 based on 364 reviews
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Academic
Course recommendations
Most enseignment d'ouvertures are not taken seriously by either the students or the professor, and therefore it's a little disappointing that two courses are wasted on them.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Exposés are mainly useless for expanding anyone's knowledge beyond those doing the exposés themselves. French students are, in the majority, very clique-ish and unhelpful. Access to resources is ridiculous limited (you can only check out three books, 7 days max...the library isn't open for very long, etc.). Sciences Po as a bureaucratic structure is useless, and might as well be under anarchic dogma with the way it's run. Overall a highly, highly disappointing academic experience. You can learn if you put intense effort into doing independent study...but why should I pay money to learn everything myself?
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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Languages
Language of instruction: French
Was learning French a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my French
How much did you improve your French?
My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
The Sciences Po orientation...and you may be sensing a theme here...was quite useless as far as language-instruction goes. So are the French courses at Sciences Po. However, sitting in class for 15 hours a week greatly improved my ability to comprehend French and, while I'm definitely not fluent, I feel fairly confident about my academic capacity in the language.
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5
M H
Overall
I wish I had known...
That Sciences Po is not as good as it reputation maintains that it is.
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In my opinion:
Stay home.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Paris is amazing, and French is a beautiful, challenging language. Sciences Po is none of these things, and this opinion is quite literally unanimous among international students. I cannot speak for other universities in Paris or in France, but Sciences Po is to be avoided.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
As I mentioned above, I absolutely adored living in Paris and there are limitless things to do there. However, academically the city isn't very conducive to heavy study (lines to get into libraries, no library is open past 10 p.m., etc.). Sciences Po, naturally, compounds this. I have spoken to about 40-50 students in the international program at Sciences Po, and the BEST response I have ever received is that they thought Sciences Po was a "mixed bag." The feelings tend to be more along the lines of, "I can't wait to go home" and "It's horrible," etc. Everyone eventually drops into indifference because they can't stand to put effort into something so pointless...the university is truly counterproductive to the academic experience.
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Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
Exchange rate sucks for Americans, but such is life...
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Travel, Food, Nightlife, Overall:
was more expensive than at home.
Housing:
was the same price as at home.
Telephone:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Avoid travelers checks. It's easiest to use the ATM with your bank from home and open up a French bank account.
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Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
Living on your own in Paris is great, and it's always nice to have your own space to come back to.
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Personal comments
I didn't use the housing services offered by Sciences Po, thus I can't really comment on them.
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Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Activities, Nightlife: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Travel: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
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