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Comments about ESCP-EAP from Past Participants

for more complete comments, please check out the binders in 1055 BIF

General

"I think that the most valuable thing that I learned on the trip was that it's good to embrace change and differences. I truly enjoyed learning about and experiencing different cultures throughout my travels. It made me appreciate my own culture and also question things about it at the same time. Studying abroad was one of the best experiences of my life. I really don't think that I will ever get the opportunity to live in another country again, so it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It really opened up my eyes to many different cultures and ways of doing things. I would highly recommened studying abroad to any student that is interested. " - Tara Tometich, Spring 09

"I am very happy overall. I was able to improve my French, create new international friendships and lean more about the European culture. I recommend an experience abroad to anyone, undergraduate or graduate students. Particularly ESCP-EAP Paris, if you are interested in improving your French or taking classes in French. I had the opportunity to take one Marketing class in French and it was challenging, but very rewarding." - Pablo Barreda, Fall 07

"I loved my study abroad experience. It is a great way to see the world and right now is really the only time before you retire where you are able to go to all these historic places without having so many responsibilities in your life. Going abroad was probably the best decision I ever made and I feel bad for my friends who chose not to do so. To future students, I would want them to know that Parisians are not the jerks that everybody makes them out to be, most were very friendly and they didn’t hate me because I was American. In fact, my dry cleaner happened to love America and would give me a discount on my clothes just for being American. I would also tell future students to once again, while you’ll want to see many things in Europe, make sure to spend enough time in Paris, which is what I didn’t do and is my biggest regret from the trip. The city has a great nightlife and there are just so many things to do and see, so many that I know I have to go back one day because I didn’t get to them all." - Michael Jacobson, Spring 09

"I think the most valuable thing I learned while abroad is that I am capable of more than I ever knew. I can learn and adapt to a culture, use public transportation, find things for myself through research and exploration, relate to people from all over the world, etc. I was scared at first, well moreso worried, but I learned that I can break free from my comfort zone and be happy, and the key part of the statement is being happy. I value everything I have here in the U.S.A. and my family and friends, but there are a lot of things out there that I still need to experience and use to help myself grow, and learning that I am capable of doing them and being happy was a crucial lesson in my life.
Overall, I would say that my experience was one of the best and most positive of my life. I learned more than I ever expected and a big part of me misses Paris everyday. I look for opportunities to use the knowledge I acquired while abroad in my everyday life and I try to share my experiences with anyone willing to listen. The advice I would give to students going abroad is don’t take anything for granted while abroad, especially time. There is so much to do and see, friendships to build, things to learn and experience, and you need to really take full advantage of being abroad. Do not say that you will see something next week because there is no time like the present and tomorrow turns into next week and then next month, and before you know it you are saying next time I visit France I will go to so and so monument and then life catches up with you and you realize that it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"My overall experience was all over the place, from great times, to really bad times, but overall it was a good experience and I’m glad I went to Paris. I want future study abroad students to know that the courses are a lot more difficult than we think, and to be prepared to take up a lot of the extra work that French students do not want to do. Also, I hope that they can all be fluent in French, or at least advanced, so they can enjoy it all the more. Bring rain boots and an umbrella, since it rains A LOT, and budget well or else you will be spending too much money, as we all did. Be safe too, it is not a good place especially for women. Carry mace or something around with you at all times and always have a buddy with you, no matter what. Don’t let anyone who doesn’t speak fluent English into the residence; if they don’t speak English fluently, you know they should not be there. Also, don’t pack too much, since you’ll be buying a lot of clothes there!" - Jeanne Liu, Fall 07

"I think it's really hard for students to pull themselves away from our campus for a semester, but it was worth every second. If there is one piece of advice I could give for future study abroad students is that in order for you to take full advantage of your opportunity, you can't get sidetracked. Don't get sidetracked about what your friends are doing at home (Kams will still be there when you get back), don't sit in your apartment and watch a movie, don't worry about spending another 70 euro on a train ticket to London, or another 10 euro to eat out on a Saturday night. Go out and experience the country (and continent) for all that it's worth. You never known when you will have the opportunity to go back!"
-Erin Sahly, Spring 07

“It was great; everyone should study abroad. I gained so much independence and a broader view of the world. Being able to travel around Europe was amazing, but make sure you budget money for traveling!” – Angela Reische, Spring 06

“It is an unbelievable opportunity and I encourage people every chance I get to study abroad. Also, people should not be intimated if they are the only person going, as was my case. In my expereicne, (which may be different in other locations, since I went to such a large city) I was able to meet tons of people, Americans and other international students, as well as French students. So I didn’t feel alone for long. It was an absolutely amazing experience.” – Melissa White, Spring 05

Location

"Paris is without a doubt “the city of lights”, the city of love, and a cultural hot spot for young, chic adults. It is an absolutely gorgeous city with a never-ending list of things to do (shopping, dining, visiting historical sites, monuments and museums, relaxing in Parisian gardens, clubbing, etc.). In fact, it will be difficult if not impossible to walk away from Paris feeling like you have seen all there is to see. I know I didn’t, and that is why I plan on returning as soon as I can!" - Sara Phelps, Spring 09

"I cannot even begin to describe to you everything I enjoyed about my time living in Paris. I knew very little about the city before leaving but I came home with a lifetime of experiences and memories. The city is always going, full of life and culture and most importantly food. The French take their food very seriously and it is some of the best in the world and you’ll never go hungry either because every single street has a plethora of cafes where you can sit down for coffee, wine, or a delicious meal. The city is really easy to travel around too which I liked. Paris has one of the best metro systems in the world and you hardly have to wait for a train and there are so many maps and directions around so you really can’t get lost. One more thing I liked about the Paris location was how easy it was to travel from there to other European destinations. It is centrally located in Europe and has two airports that offer an incredible number of flights to a variety of places at very reasonable prices." - Michael Jacobson, Spring 09

"We experience two strikes during the time we were there. It was almost impossible to go anywhere far away. Paris was great. As any big city, the transportation was good and there were many opportunities to practice French. Particularly the school was located centrally and it had all the resources we needed. (Wifi, Sports, Gym, Doctor, newspapers) I particularly like that we receive the WSJ and the Financial times every day for free." - Pablo Barrado, Fall 07

"Paris is a beautiful city that I feel like a person can never spend enough time in. There are so many things to see and do--4 months went by like 4 days. There are museums, shopping, theaters, memorials, monuments, clubs, etc. that allow a person to experience every aspect of culture to the fullest. Another great part of this location is that it is such a central region of Europe, so I had easy access to other countries and was able to do a lot of traveling. The weather was very rainy, but other than that, very mild. Another less enjoyable part of the location was all of the strikes. In 4 months I experienced 4 transportation strikes and that was something very foreign to me." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"The school was in a good area, and walkable from our dorm. I liked the fact that we were located close to the Bastille and the Seine, and especially that we were 5 minutes away from Gare de Lyon, as it is a main station."

“I like living in big cities so Paris was a great fit for me. I also felt that the population was more diverse, probably due to its size, and there was also a lot of English spoken.”

“Paris is a very expensive city, mainly due to the 20% sales tax.” – Angela Reische, Spring 06

Courses

"Due to the fact that I am not completely proficient in French, I chose to take my registered courses in English. Understanding the language in which my classes were taught was important to me because my course grades transferred back to U of I and contributed to my major GPA. In addition, understanding my professors allowed me to better grasp course material, and as a result, I performed very well during class presentations and on final exams. The courses filled up very quickly during registration. As a result, I did not get into two of the classes I had put at the top of my preferred courses list." - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I took all of my courses in English which was very nice as I am not fluent in French. The classes were very laid back and consisted of a 3 hour lecture once a week. We hardly had any homework, and most classes just required students to take a test at the end of the semester, and follow along with lectures during the year. We also got a break in the middle of class to split up the class time. I had a couple professors who did not seem to be fluent in English, which made their lectures and handouts very hard to understand at times. Also, you never get grade updates or really know how you are doing in a class until you get your grade at the end of the semester. Furthermore, ESCP-EAP uses a numbering system from 1-20 as they give grades and teachers rarely (sometimes never) give high numbers. Therefore, when you get a grade back you may think that you did poorly when in reality you did very well. " - Tara Tometich, Spring 09

"I really liked my courses. I think the best part about it was that you could design your schedule in a way so that you only have class Tuesday thru Thursday, leaving time for travel on Friday and Monday. The courses I did take were both interesting and challenging but overall not terribly difficult. The professors did not give out homework assignments or quizzes and your grades were mainly based on your attendance, the final exam and either a midterm or a project you had to do in that class. You aren’t solely limited to taking business classes either. I took one course on American cinema, which I loved. Each class we watched a different, classic American film, which was the most fun I’ve ever hard inside a classroom." - Michael Jacobson, Spring 09

"Due to the fact that I am not completely proficient in French, I chose to take my registered courses in English. Understanding the language in which my classes were taught was important to me because my course grades transferred back to U of I and contributed to my major GPA. In addition, understanding my professors allowed me to better grasp course material, and as a result, I performed very well during class presentations and on final exams.The courses filled up very quickly during registration. As a result, I did not get into two of the classes I had put at the top of my preferred courses list. " - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I was able to get into the classes I needed. The school was flexible about changing classes, even after I requested to change/add class a couple of times. Great quality, great professors, good material, I am happy overall." - Pablo Barreda, Fall 07

"The courses I took were very informative and easily transferred back to UIUC, so that was a huge plus. The professors were all very nice. The courses had very little homework and reading. One really nice aspect of the courses was that they only met once a week for 3 hours. This allowed me to plan my schedule so that I could travel for longer periods of time and experience the city as well. One of the negatives about the courses is that the system was a bit different than what I am used to. For one class we had one big project that was the only grade. For another class we had a test consisting of 2 essay questions and that constituted your grade. While this was good in the sense that it reduced the level of work throughout the semester, it put a great deal of value in one specific piece of work, and I feel this is not necessarily a good representation of your work throughout the whole semester. Another somewhat negative aspect was working in assigned groups with international students. This double as a positive and negative to be more exact because it helped me learn how to work with different people, but it was undesirable because at times other students were not as interested in doing well in the classes and one group member went as far as plagiarizing their part of the paper after displaying sub-par work throughout the course of the project." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"The courses were very enjoyable, with great professors. I learned a lot. It came to my understanding, through talking with Professors and with French classmates that their grades do not matter (as long as they pass) while studying at ESCP-EAP because it is such a prestigious school. Employers never look at their grades, but just the fact that they are from ESCP-EAP, and their experience. This became a problem for me because many of the students would not contribute much to our group work, and expected me to do much of it. Also, the grading scale that was decided for how ESCP courses would transfer in weight to UIUC grades is unfortunately weighted incorrectly, and in speaking to the professors, that we at least needed a 14 to get an A (really, barely an A), earnered looks of shock and dismay. A 14 is already quite difficult to achieve, as it is not a percentage of whatever points you get out of 20, but really their own understanding of how far apart these numbers (1-20) are. Though the weights may not be able to be changed for the semester that my classmates and I were there, I hope that this can be considered for students to come."
- Jeanne Liu, Fall 07

"Some courses that I took were extremely interesting and I learned a lot from taking them. My favorite course was probably 'Customer Relationship Management' and 'Does the European Construction lead to a European Model of Doing Business?' Another good thing about courses is that they were all in English, so there was no miscommunication between the professor and myself. I got the chance to work with a variety of international students from throughout the world. It was awesome getting to learn a little bit more about their culture and I made some really good feinds along the way. However, I would say that the BEST part about classes was that each one was 3 hours long and only met once a week. Some people may like this, and some may not, but I LOVED it. I only had class 2.5 days a week (12 hours worth) which left a lot of open time for travel and fun. The bad part about some of my courses was that my entire grade for the class depended on the final. Another challenging part of classes there is that professors are not as guiding as professors are in America. In America, the professor gives you a syllabus, assignments, details about assignments, specific instructions on what they want for projects, and details about the layout of the exams. The professors in Paris were not so helpful. It would be as if they gave you a subject and said 'present this subject to class next week' and it was up to you to figure out what exactly you were supposed to do. I found this to be EXTREMELY frustrating, because soon after you gave your presentation the profesor would say 'I would have liked it if you had done XYZ' and gives you their expectations AFTER you have already done your presentation. If you take challenging classes at ESCP, then you have to learn to think for yourself and really take initiative"
-Erin Sahly, Spring 07

"A negative aspect about ESCP is that the course registration process is not as user friendly as the one at the U of I. To register, you rank the classes that you want to take, but you don't really have as much control as at Champaign."
-Mark Haller, Fall 06 and Spring 07

"There were many different courses that I enjoyed. ESCP offers a wide range of both English and French classes. I took the finance specialization there and learned a lot."
-Mark Haller, Fall 06 and Spring 07

“There were many courses offered in English and the course had an international focus that I couldn’t get here. Also there was a very diverse student population with a lot of international students from all over the world which added to the international focus.”

“The courses had a different style than in America and were harder in a lot of ways. There were fewer grades in most of the classes, which gave less feedback and made the final harder too.” – Angela Reische, Spring 2006

“The courses were interesting. I had professors from many different countries which was very cool. I had 2 French professors, a German professor, an English professor and an American professor.”

“I did fine in most of them, but was surprised with one of my grades in a European Construction class. I had worked hard in the class and it was actually my favorite. I assume the discrepancy is due to the difference in French vs. American grading scales. Also the class was composed of about 90% Europeans. The topic of European Construction and the EU was something that my European classmates were far more familiar with since it was a part of their everyday lives whereas the topic was basically new to me.” – Melissa White, Spring 05

Housing

"I lived in the 12th arrondissement in a student housing facility called ACCENT. It was a great location! I was within 5 minutes or less walking distance from two metro stops (line 1 & 14 and line 8). The apartment building was also 5 to 10 minutes from the Bastille area—a popular neighborhood for nightlife, dining and shopping. The main grocery stores--Monoprix, Franprix, and Ed--were also within walking distance of my apartment. While the location of my housing was ideal and it enabled me to get to know the other students on my program, I would have preferred living in a facility with students from other countries. U of I does offer such a facility (Vivaldi), but it does not come highly recommended due to its location. However, I know several students from ESCP who lived here and enjoyed their stay immensely. Also, ACCENT was a little on the pricey side given the size of our rooms and the amenities provided to us. I would suggest researching all other alternatives (including apartments!) before settling on ACCENT." - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I stayed at the Accent housing which was in a pretty good location. I only had to walk about 2 blocks to get to the nearest metro station and grocery store. The Accent Center was also very close (about a 5 block walk). The Accent dorms are located in the Bastille area which has a large street full of shops and restaurants. The housing was also only about 5 metro stops from ESCP-EAP which was convenient. Furthermore, the housing is located in a more residential rather than commercial area, which I liked because it was quieter and helped me to understand what it truly felt like to live in Paris. Accent housing was nice because it was in a good location, and also in a safe area. You need a code to get into the housing gates at night which made me feel a lot safer while staying there. The rooms also come furnished and with bedding and kitchenware, so you don't need to buy any of that once you arrive in Paris. I was in a double room and the rooms are not very big for the amount of money that you pay. I didn't really think that you got your money's worth. Also, the internet was down a lot, and it is very difficult to get it fixed. I went for 2 weeks without internet one month, even though I had been constantly notifying the people in charge of the problem. " - Tara Tometich, Spring 09

"There are a few housing options available, I chose to stay in a private dorm offered by a company called Accent. The best part about Accent was they have an English speaking staff available most everyday, there to help you with any question or concern about the dorm, finding and getting to some place, or things to do and see in Paris. The actual dorm is quite nice too. I lived in a single, which came with a bed, desk, kitchenette, shower and bathroom. They also provide you with all the kitchen utensils and dishes you need as well. The location of the housing was fantastic as well. We lived in an area that offered great nightlife just around the corner and we were only a quick 15-minute metro ride from our school. The last perk was that about a block away there was a bakery that had won an award for each of the last 9 years for having the best baguette in Paris, so what’s not to like about that? Another thing that Accent does, which is great, is upon your arrival they know you are a business student, but they give you student cards that say you are an art student. If you present this card to any museum or gallery, you get in for free. A big money saver there.What I didn’t like about my housing would have applied anywhere I would have lived. France is very environmentally conscious and they try to conserve energy, which means that you are only allotted a certain amount of hot water everyday. That means I had to be careful when using hot water so I had enough to shower, do the dishes, etc. I lived in a single too, but there are doubles as well where you’ll have to be even more conservative to divide the hot water between two people. Also, and this one is specific to Accent, while each room came equipped with internet, the connection was very slow and it was not wireless, which became problematic at times. " - Michael Jacobson, Spring 09

"Our apartment/dorms were located in the Bastille area of Paris. The area was very close to a main train station in Gare de Lyon as well as other metro stops and banks. Nearby was a open market selling fresh produce during the day and several grocery stores that you could choose from. The Bastille area is also a great place for night life. It was easy to find and in a safe neighborhood. It was easy, you did not have to deal with finding an apartment and did not have to deal with french utility companies. I also met people I might not have met at ESCP if I was not living in Accent. Our dorms building were next to other buildings with families and had a courtyard that tended to echo and make noises louder than they were.The dorms given to us through the Accent company were small and way over priced. We paid way more than the housing ESCP offered as well as what people paid to live in apartments for the semester. Previous students told us that Accent provided us with metro tickets for the semester and a museum pass. We received a museum pass, however not the metro tickets. We did not receive the metro tickets because Accent did not want to go through the trouble of getting them with the new ticketing system Paris was using. This significantly increased the amount of money I was planning on spending and made the Accent housing less desirable to live in. I think Accent is too costly for what it provides. Other American students studying at ESCP who had obtained apartments for the semester and were playing significantly less with quite larger living areas." - Michael Zaun, Spring 09

" The location where I stayed was great. I was at Residence Vivaldi. I was close to school via the Metro and the bus. The Residence housed students from all over the world and outside Paris. It was a great way practice French. My decision was base on having visitors coming from the US and staying a few days. I don’t think I was able to do this with Accent. The building was supposed to have a recreational area, but it was not working. " - Pablo Barreda, Fall 07

"I lived in a dorm facility in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. One of my favorite things about this housing is that it was right by the Viaduct des Arts and all the shops in that area are subsidized, so they are very artsy and unique. It was interesting walking home and seeing pieces of art, furniture galleries, and clothing exhibitions. The housing was all American students, and while I made a lot of very good friends, I would have liked to be with more international students or French students. Also, the rooms were very small with limited closet space and hot water. For the amount of money we spent for this room and small kitchenette, we could have rented an apartment that would have been much larger and private." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"The facilities were good and the cleaning lady very nice and thorough. I did not feel very safe as a female in Paris, though I enjoyed it very much." - Jeanne Liu, Fall 07

"For future study abroad students, I would say that if you want to truly immerse yourself in the culture and language that you should do a home stay as opposed to ACCENT housing. However, if you want more of a "college" type feeling in Europe, then use ACCENT housing. If I had to do it over again, I would still use ACCENT because I LOVED living in the "glorified dorm" and because I had contact with American students, I didn't have to get over a language barrier."
-Erin Sahly, Spring 07

"A problem with the housing in Paris through Accent is that it is very expensive, at approximately $7000 for a semester. While this includes monthly metro passes, it is possible to find cheaper, bigger apartments in Paris, especially with multiple people."
- -Mark Haller, Fall 06 and Spring 07

“There wasn’t any Internet available in the housing, though they were in the process of installing Internet when I left. Laundry was expensive, 3.5 francs and 1.5 francs to dry (about $6 a load).” – Angela Reische, Spring 06

What future students should know...

"Specific to Paris, I wish I would have known the extent to which Parisians are unwilling to speak languages other than French. I definitely would have brushed up more on my French if I had known this to be true. Also, due to the circumstances of my stay (living with Americans and taking my classes in English), I wish I would have taken a French class at U of I during the fall semester so that I could have felt more comfortable in striking up conversations with local Parisians, thereby helping to better improve my French while abroad." - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I had the absolute best time of my life. I will be returning to Europe ASAP; it is at the very top of my priority list. My advice: Live it up! Don’t hold back on anything. Be spontaneous. Spend money where it counts (you don’t need to spend your entire budget on shopping for new clothing). Budget wisely, but splurge from time to time (especially when it comes to food…it’s totally worth it). Have fun!! - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I wish I had known French before this trip! Paris had not been my top choice to study abroad originally and I had not previously studied French so it was a big transition moving to a country where I did not know the language. Eventually I was able to pick enough of it up to get around, order food at a restaurant, and I could understand it if I were to read something in French or someone was speaking slowly to me. I also wish I had a better understanding of spending your time wisely abroad. There were so many places I wanted to see and I wanted to spend a lot of time in Paris too and it’s hard fitting everything into your plans. You have to know that you will not be able to get to every place you dreamed of going, but you do have plenty of time to travel and you really should try to get a lot of weekends in Paris too so you can experience everything it has to offer." - Michael Jacobson, Spring 09

"I thoroughly enjoyed my study abroad experience. However I wish I would have stayed in Paris more and not travel as much. If you don’t travel that much you really get to learn the ins and outs of the city. This makes it that much more to enjoy the city. Knowing French is a huge plus, not knowing it makes it very hard and frustrating at times. " - Michael Zaun, Spring 09

"I would have liked to know more information about technology while there so that I could bring a laptop. I would have also like to know more about the difference between the ACCENT facility and the actual housing because I was under the impression that they were the same, so while there were computers available for use, they were about 10 minutes from our dorms and only open between 9 am and 5 pm." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"I wish I had known that the transportation companies in Paris often had strikes, as this meant we often had days or up to a week where no transportation other than by taxi or foot was available." - Jeanne Liu, Fall 07

“Get a Bank of America checking account. They have a partnership with BNP Paribas (a main French bank with locations in a few other countries) and you can withdraw money from your bank account for free. If you set up a joint one with your parents they can put money into it from home for you, which makes it a lot easier to get money.”

“Get international phone cards. They tend to be cheaper at home (you can thank the Parisian sales tax), just make sure you check for the country access codes before you leave. Also, they are easy to recharge and you can even give the numbers out to friends and family so they can use them to call you.”

“Get Skype. If you get Internet in your room, this is a great thing to have to keep in touch. You can get a local US phone number that calls your computer so people from home can call you in Paris for the cost of a local phone call. You an also put money on your Skype account and call out cheaper than phone cards. Make sure you get a microphone before you go (a headset works great).”

“Get a laptop with wireless (w. insurance). It was great for getting on the Internet and then you can easily transfer pictures from a digital camera.”

“Get euros. It was great to get to Europe and not have to worry about exchanging money right away. If you don’t want to plan ahead there are exchanges in O'Hare and Charles DeGaulle airports.”

“Get a Eurail Pass. These are great for travel; you pay a flat rate for the pass and then you use it for a certain number of days and countries. There are a bunch of different ones available, but it needs to be sent to a US address, so you can get it after you’re over there; someone will need to mail it to you in Paris.”

“Check weight/size requirements for your luggage; you may need to pay overage charges. Also, make sure you leave room for souvenirs; you’ll be surprised at how much you can accumulate in four months.”

“Get a cell phone over there. They aren’t too expensive and you can get one where you pay as you go and don’t need a plan.” – Angela Reische, Spring 06

Costs

"I spent about 20 euro on groceries and 20 euro eating out. However, the amount was variable to my weekend travel plans. I spent nothing on texts during the semester." - Sarah Phelps, Spring 09

"I spent about 30 euro each week at the grocery store. I spent more on food during the weeks that I travelled, but that was to be expected.The classes that I took did not require any textbooks, and the professor gave us any articles or handouts that we needed. " Tara Tometich, Spring 09

"It depended on if I was traveling or not and if I went out to eat. On average I would say I spent 100 Euros a week on food." Michael Zaun, Spring 09

"Including going out to eat during the weekends once or twice, I probably spent an average of about 100 USD. Restaurants were certainly expensive. (I am excluding going out to clubs or any night life)
I only purchased one book for 80 USD. The rest of the classes provided extensive notes and most of the other recommended books were available at the library" - Pablo Barreda, Fall 07

"I would say I spent approximately 30 euros a week on groceries, but that does not include eating out and lunch at the school, so probably approximately 45 euros a week on food. I did not purchase any textbooks because many of my classes either had online articles to read or course packets that were supplied to us by the school. For the one class we did need a book, I was able to find the book in the school library on reserves and read the chapter there." - Star Xinos, Fall 07

"I spent weekly anywhere from 60 to 100 euros. Nothing was paid for books, all was included in the fees. (which was definitely refreshing from the 500 dollars and up we have to pay at UIUC!" - Jeanne Liu, Fall 07

"I would say I spent anywhere from 50 euro to 80 euro a week on food. the 80 euro a week would be eating out for two or three meals. The 50 euros would be if I ate at home for every meal. It is possible to find food for cheap but you really have to look for the bargains. And while eating out was expensive, it's a part of French culture and was worth every euro. I did not spend anything on textbooks. The professors provided the course packs and the one book I needed was given to me by a student who had taken that class the previous semester. It all depends on what classes you take, but for most of them the materials will be provided to you"
-Erin Sahly, Spring 07

"I spent on average about 30-40 euros a week on groceries. Then I ate out once or twice a week, which would be another 30-40 euros. Thus, I would guess that I spent about 80 euros or so a week on food. ESCP has a good library that has the textbooks needed for classes. Additionally, exams are more based upon the notes and cases given in class, so textbooks aren't used as extensively as at the U of I. I believe I spent around $300 on textbooks for my entire year abroad."
-Mark Haller, Fall 06 and Spring 07

Useful Websites

Discount flights

www.cheapflights.com

www.skyscanner.net

www.easyjet.com

www.ryanair.com

www.expedia.com

www.flycheapo.com

www.edreams.com

www.kayak.com

www.bravofly.com

www.studentuniverse.com

Lodging

www.hostelworld.com - hostel reservations

www.booking.com - hotel reservations

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