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Università degli Studi di Siena

Universtity of Siena, Via San Vigilio 6, 53100 Siena, Italy
3.99 / 5 based on 156 reviews.

Reviews
International Partners
Programmes
Accreditations
83% of students recommend
156 reviews
Housing
3.8/5
 All experiences (156)
Student life
4.4/5
 5 stars (36)
Academic
3.6/5
 4 stars (84)
Languages
4.5/5
 3 stars (36)
Expenses
3.4/5
 2 stars (0)
Overall
4.6/5
 1 star (0)
“Try and live with local students, and when you go to lectures do not sit with other English students, but start speaking to the locals around you, as you really have to be confident and approach them to make friends. Once you do so, your stay there will be so much more fun! Arezzo is a great place to travel from, as its well situated in the middle of Tuscany. Definitely worth going to is Cinque Terra (although stay in La Spezia, as it is much cheaper)and Cortona (great views).” Read Review
roannal, United Kingdom

Università degli Studi di Siena review by roannal

Review by roannal, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Language, Erasmus
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: Independently - I had no other choice
If returning, I would choose: student halls
Why? It is much better to live with foreign students in order to improve ones language ability.
Personal comments:
There is only one tiny halls of residence which is very hard to get in to. Appartments in the town are ok overall though, but are a little hard to find for foreigners. There should have been an accomodation office of some sort in order to help students find accomodation so that they do not need to pay out for an agency.
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 interact with the local community without much university involvement
Activities, Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal comments:
Most nightclubs are outside of Arezzo, so its best to get to know locals with cars! Our regular night spot was Gregory´s pub/bar which is past the train station. During the Summer the cafe at the very top of the hill is full of people, has a good atmosphere and has a good view, especially by night. Arezzo wave, a large festival in June is definitely worth going to. It usually has some good acts (eg. Moby when I was there)and its FREE!!
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:
Bigazzi is probably the best lecturer there. He is very charismatic and enthusiatic and has a good rapport with his pupils.



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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LEARNING ITALIAN    
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: Did not speak it
My level after: At ease in most situations
Personal comments:
At first it was very difficult, as Arezzo is not a very ´studenty´ town, and so living with other English students, I did not get the chance to practice my Italian properly for some time. However, once I eventually made friends with the locals my level improved dramatically.
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:
An ERASMUS grant
Other sources of funding:
An ERASMUS grant
Student Loan
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits:
Food and travel is a lot cheaper in Italy, however I spent more on trains overall, as I went to visit many different places. I spent less on going out, as the nightlife is a little more tame in Arezzo than a buzzing English University.
Travel, Telephone: was more expensive than at home.
Overall, Housing: was the same price as at home.
Food, Nightlife: was less expensive than at home.
Personal comments:
Opening a bank account is quite costly and complicated. Its probably best just to use your own card and get out reasonably big sums at a time and look after it.
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...
That Arezzo is actually quite small and does not have the same student life as the main part of Siena University in Siena.
In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.



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:
I personally would have prefered a larger University with more going on. If you quite like a quiet life and are there to study lots rather than meet people and speak the language, then it is probably a good place to go.



FINAL COMMENTS

Try and live with local students, and when you go to lectures do not sit with other English students, but start speaking to the locals around you, as you really have to be confident and approach them to make friends. Once you do so, your stay there will be so much more fun! Arezzo is a great place to travel from, as its well situated in the middle of Tuscany. Definitely worth going to is Cinque Terra (although stay in La Spezia, as it is much cheaper)and Cortona (great views).
This review is the opinion of an iAgora member, and not of iAgora itself
Was this review useful?   Yes · No


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