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Studies > France > Paris > Université Paris IV Paris - Sorbonne > Review by nightsfan 
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Université Paris IV Paris - Sorbonne

266 reviews
4.10 / 5 based on 266 reviews
Useful  |  1
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
Academic
Course recommendations
Don't do the comparative lit course in the French faculty: it's rubbish. Take the English faculty's Analyse de texte module, which is great. Litt$BqS(Bature g$BqOqS(Bale (aka Intertextualit$B!&(B is a dreadfully boring module.
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My academic experiences
Quality of courses
Variety of courses
Access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Teachers must talk more to pupils, especially in the French dept; the English- country educated staff are better teachers, as they know the 'Anglo Saxon' method (i.e., where you discuss, rather than lecture). Lecturers really should abandon the ridiculous (and arbitrary) demand that all presentations be tripartite - one teacher so much as admitted that structure was more important than content.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Useful  |  1
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
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: At ease in most situations
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Social
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Personal comments
Note: most people who claim to have studied at "Paris IV" in fact took the language course, which is not a university course but rather a separate department in the same building. French grammar classes were offered to the pupils who did worst in the initial French test; I received none, then, having done better than the bottom half of students.
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Useful  |  0
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
Overall
I wish I had known...
I wish I had more fully appreciated what an interesting challenge it is getting French office staff to do anything at all, ever. Even come in to work, say.
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In my opinion:
I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Academic reasons
4
Culture
3
Costs
2
Activities
3
Campus life
3
Party / people
3
Weather / location
4
Personal recommendation
Great for academia: there are hundreds of experts in their respective fields. Lectures can be truly enlightening. Seminars are silly: they are too long (3 hours sometimes), resulting in too long being spent in the class - it's not profitable spending 6 hours in the same room for a double period! But it'll certainly look good on your CV, and the teachers know exactly what they're talking about. Especially the English faculty ones.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
1
Traveled
2
Improved language skills
2
Met people from other countries
3
Became more independent
4
Partied a lot
3
Experienced a change in life
2
Advanced my studies & career
4
Final comments
Travel whenever you can: your workload will be extensive if you're actually studying at the university (most of the people here seem not to have, having instead studied for the language course). The language course makes you practise your French, and does not require that you spend great amounts of time in the university; studying as an Erasmus student will give you a great amount of academic experience, you'll hone your essay technique, but you will have less time for other things.
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Useful  |  0
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Government assistance<br> An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't want/need to work
Personal spending habits
Everything costs more in Paris - it's a capital city.
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Housing, Travel, Overall, Food, Telephone, Nightlife:
was more expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Personal comments
Buy a carte Imagine-R (the student rail pass): it costs half the price of a carte orange. Get it as quickly as possible. Shop at Monoprix if you have money, or Leader Price if you don't. I hate Franprix.
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Useful  |  0
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
Housing
Type of housing: a 'foyer' (CIUP)
Arranged by: Independently - I had no other choice
If returning, I would choose: With a family
Why?
You get to practise French more if you live with French people.
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Personal assessment
Cost
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Personal comments
Fine. I was in the Italian house, which is the most expensive. Nice building, but rather insular atmosphere; not always the case I'm told.
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Useful  |  1
nightsfan
University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Travel, Nightlife, Activities: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Activities
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Personal comments
Going out at night with a bottle of wine to the pont des arts is always nice. Likewise the Seine. Hanging out in summer is cool. Lots of good places for dancing, but alcoholic drinks cost a bomb. You can't go out and get drunk if you want to have money left over.
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