Better Because of Illinois

Undergraduate Business program ranked #14 in the nation US News & World Reports
#5 university for helping graduates getting top salaries; ahead of all Ivy League, private, and other Big Ten universities Smartmoney.com
Students who study abroad through the College of Business typically pay about $1,800 in tuition during their semester abroad

Bocconi Report - Milan, Italy

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

Sites

“In Milan, there really isn't that much crazy stuff to see, although the rest of the country is gorgeous. There are a few things though, like the Duomo, a humongous church in the center of the city, the Galleria, an outdoor upscale mall, Montenapoleone, the fashion capital of the world, Navigli, which is an area of restaurants and bars which lie along a set of canals, the Last Supper, Da Vinci's famous painting and La Scala, a beautiful opera house.”

Transportation

“I mainly took the trams to and from class; they're above ground trains that run all over the city. I also used the metro, which is the underground tracks, there are 4 in total. It was really easy to get around after I got my monthly pass, which you can pay for with a student discount, but it was an incredible burden working through all of the bureaucracy to make that happen. I suggest getting that process started as soon as you arrive (or as soon as possible), because it takes a couple of weeks and during that time you will be purchasing individual ride tickets that are incredible inefficient / expensive. If you get caught without a tram pass, you also get fined, so it's kind of hard to travel without them. You can fill out the paperwork for a monthly tram pass at the Duomo underground station.”

Jargon

Gratzie mille = thanks a million
Ciao = hello / goodbye
Perfecto = perfect
Per favore = please
Gratzie = thank you
Permeso / scusi = excuse me

Attire

“They really dress it up in Italy. Everyone is decked out in their best outfits, complete with luxury accessories almost every day. I didn't really buy into this, so I for sure stood out as an American, but as it turns out, I am an American, so I didn't mind or worry too much. If you go there and want to fit in, take nicer clothes as a guy (button downs, sweaters, leather shoes) and start smoking cigarettes. They all do that too.”

Dining

“I know it's cliché, but I ate a lot of pizza over there. It was cheap and delicious. At Bocconi, they really don't have a food plan similar to anything at U of I, so I did a lot of cooking on my own at the dorm. I would make things like pasta and fish and stuff, whatever I could buy for cheap. When I went out though, I ate Pizza Margherita (basically plain cheese pizza) wherever I could. Like I said, cheap and delicious. Also, it wouldn't be Italy without wine. The wine selection there is fantastic and again, very low prices on bottles.”

Cultural Differences

“Italy is a pretty developed place so nothing really shocked me too much. They dress much nicer, smoke cigarettes like it's their job, and seem much more relaxed. This can be frustrating in terms of lines and bureaucratic stuff however. For instance, I wanted to tear my hair out when it came to filling out a Permit of Stay (something you have to do if you are going to be in the country more than 90 days). The lines are chaotic at the airports and it seems like they are pretty bad at formal organization systems. Now that I think about it, the customer service is really kind of bad too. It's almost as if there isn't the sense of urgency with simple tasks as there is in the U.S. “

Entertainment/Nightlife

“When we went out, it was usually to a bar or club, generally that which was hosting the international students for the evening. Similar to campus drink deals, certain bars in the city would play host to international students each evening, and a typical deal would be 10 euro for entrance and 2 drinks. This wasn't that bad, since after that, full price patrons pay 10 euro a drink. The drinks were really strong too, which was nice. There's a movie theater, I never went, and like I said, a world famous opera house. I went in to the museum, but never got to see an actual show there, but I hear that it's fantastic. There are also 2 incredibly popular soccer teams in Milan, AC and Inter, and they have games once in a while. I'm told those get pretty riotous. I never went though.”

Housing

“I lived in the international students dorm known as Arcobaleno. It was great because I got to meet people from all over the world, but it was also expensive and kind of strict. I almost got kicked out for playing guitar on my balcony one evening (I was asked to stop 3 times however… oops). I think I probably would live there if I could do it again, although if I knew people who I was going with, getting an apartment in the city would probably be a much cheaper and closer option. Arcobaleno was quite a few kilometers from school, so I would generally travel 20 minutes each way by tram. That got to be tiresome as the semester wore on. “

Budget

“I kind of set a budget, but really I just paid attention to my finances and tried not to overdraft. I said including housing, food, going out and traveling, I spent around $10,000 over the course of the semester.”

Classes

“At Bocconi, I took Public Management, Fashion and Luxury (fulfilling a U of I business finance major elective), International Marketing, and International Project Finance (fulfilling a U of I business finance major course).

I think that school in Europe is much easier than over here. There were few assignments, typically 1 to 2 group projects per class, no midterms, and so most of the grade was based on a 1 hour final exam. If you go to class and take notes, you don't really have to do that much more to succeed except study the day before the exam.”

Preparation Before Studying Abroad

“I didn't. I just made sure with my counselor that I could go abroad and still graduate on time. She told me what I needed to graduate and I made sure that I got some of that done while abroad. It worked out.”

Travel

From Milan, students traveled to:

London, UK
Dublin, Ireland
Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Tarifa, Granada- Spain
Munich, Germany
Zermatt, Switzerland
Florence, Cinque Terra, Venice, Naples, Sorrento, Como- Italy
Paris, Nice, Cannes- France
Monaco
Prague, Czech Republic

Cheapest place to travel to:

“Traveling within Italy was the cheapest, but if you do it a lot, I recommend buying like an Italian train pass. Prague, being in the Czech Republic, had the best exchange rate, so was probably the cheapest, but going to somewhere like Venice by train was easiest for me.”

Airlines:

“Ryanair.com, easyjet.com, skyscanner.net. Book flights through these websites, use hostelworld.com to book your hostel and you're golden. Just make sure you know where the airport you're flying into is in relation to where you want to go. Sometimes the budget airlines fly you to a secondary airport that is far away from the city.”

Hostels:

“Just go on hostelworld.com and pick out something that's cheap, with a high overall rating, good customer reviews, and a high location rating. Simple, simple.“

Fun things to do in the other countries:

“Snowboarding the Swiss Alps out of Zermatt was one of my absolute favorite memories. It's kind of expensive, but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I was so glad I went. Watching the sun set over Florence from the steps of Piazza Michelangelo is also awesome.”

Favorite Memory

Snowboarding in the Swiss Alps or my 22nd birthday at Oktoberfest.

Advice

“Enjoy yourself. It's an incredible opportunity and you will do pretty much what you want to do. Planning ahead is always best, but not how it always works out. Make sure you know a few things that you absolutely want to do and right when you get there, start figuring out how to actually do them. I knew I wanted to go to Oktoberfest, so I figured out a way to do it, and on my 22nd birthday I was sipping suds with 8,000 other tent partiers. It was sweet. Have a good time and take lots of pictures. That's it.”

***While in Milan, you definitely need to eat a Panzeroti at Luini Panzeroti's (next to the Duomo)!

All answers provided by:
Josh Williams