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Experience Paris, France with API

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9.33 Rating

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Location

France
- Paris

Term

Academic Year, Fall, Spring

Subject Areas

Art History English Film Food Science and Nutrition Geography History Linguistics Literature Psychology Sociology Sports Science Theater +2

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Program Details

Program Type

Provider

Degree Level

Bachelors

Housing

Apartment Host Family

Language

French

Pricing

Price Details

Pre-Departure Services:
- Advising, @api Online Resources, Orientation Materials and Support, Peer Mentors, Social Networking, and Scholarships.

On-site Services:
- Airport Reception, Resident Director, API Center, On-Site Orientation, Housing (Including Meals and Laundry with Some Options), Tuition, Tutoring, Language and Culture Tools, Medical and Life Insurance, Excursions (Overnight, Day and International in some locations), Social and Cultural Activities, API Learning and Engagement Badge Program, Welcome and Farewell Group Meals, and Volunteer Opportunities.

Re-entry Services:
- Re-Entry Materials and Support, Post-Program Evaluation, Transcript, Alumni-Network, and Development Opportunities.

What's Included

Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Classes Some Meals Travel Insurance Wifi

Last Updated: Dec 02, 2021

Last Reviewed: Mar 14, 2013

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1 traveler is looking at this program

About Program

Paris is well known as one of the most intellectual and intriguing cities in the world. The city maintains its status as the premier city in France and a leader in politics, art and fashion; every section of the city has its own unique charm and makes Paris a city like no other. For the history lover, the tour should begin in the heart of old Paris, the Ile de la Cité, which lies in the middle of the Seine River. Here one can explore the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Paris, the Palais de Justice and a hidden jewel, Sainte Chapelle. For the art lover, the city holds countless museums, all boasting incredible collections. Some of the most popular include the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin and Centre Georges Pompidou. Tucked away in the city’s twenty arrondissements, or districts, are many more amazing sights and sounds waiting to be discovered.

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Study Abroad with API & UMass in Paris, France

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Scholarships

API Scholarships and Financial Aid Information

API awards approximately $500,000 in study abroad scholarships annually ranging from $250 -$1,000 per student.

Value

$250 - $1,000

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Program Reviews

9.33 Rating

based on 3 reviews

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Academics 9
Support 9.7
Fun 9
Housing 9
Safety 9.3

Showing 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

API Paris is wonderful, regardless of which school you choose to attend. However, if you are a language major or very familiar with the language prior to arrival, I highly recommend a direct enrollment program. It's like you're a real French student, a native, going to class with everyone else. Classes ranged from easy to difficult, but the API RDs were always there to help when you needed it, whether writing a French paper or extra studying. At Diderot, I was able to take fun courses like gymnastics and judo, and still take challenging courses like literature and translation.
Staying for a whole year was an amazing experience, and unlike some other programs, API allows you to revisit excursions that you may have gone on in your first semester. During my stay I attended a high-profile concert, lazed in parks, enjoyed many museums, and ate lots of great food. Some of my favorite memories are the simple things: my apartment with a monument view, visiting with the wonderful API Paris staff, and spending time with new friends.
I had fellow students from my university abroad in France the same time that I was overseas, and none of them were as well prepared for their stay as I was with API. API helps you in so many ways: airport pickup, housing arrangements, city integration, class registration and more. The other people I knew had to find out how to get to their cities from the airport, arrange their housing, and sign up for their classes.
It was so easy being abroad with API, and it's an experience I plan on doing again and again!

Read my full story

My study abroad experience in Paris was wonderful. It allowed me to grow as an individual and to make decisions on my own. Direct enrollment is great because you are in classes with French students and you make a lot of progress learning the language in a short period of time. It also allows you to get a feel for the culture because you are able to make friends with French students and socialize with them outside of class. Joining the soccer team at my school was another great way I got involved. The API Paris staff was very friendly and approachable. I could come to them with any problem or simply for advice. Paris is a great city with lots to do and see. For people with a strong foundation in French, I definitely recommend the direct enrollment program!

What would you improve about this program?

There should be a way for API to pick up late arrivals from the airports. We were told that if our flight arrived late, we would have to either take a taxi or the metro to the API center because the van would not wait. This can be scary for people that have never been to Paris and are just arriving after a 9 hour flight.

Read my full story

I had a great experience with API. The API staff in Paris were extremely helpful in helping the students get used to the Parisian lifestyle. They helped us sign up for classes. This was a direct enrollment program, so we were assisted throughout most of the enrollment process.
The classes ranged from easy to challenging. It's good to take a couple easier classes along with a couple harder ones. The most difficult part, in my opinion, was learning how to write a French paper. The program RD helped us understand how to write one, but without her help I wouldn't have known how different it was from a paper I would have written in the States.
It's great to just be able to live in Paris and experience going to boulangeries and fromageries. The food is delicious and it's definitely worth spending a little more money and going to a nice restaurant for dinner once in a while.
There are also so many museums to visit, and most of them are free or have a discounted entrance price since we have our student IDs.
I definitely got a lot out of living in Paris for a couple months. I learned my way around a new city, made new friends and had experiences I wouldn't have been able to have back home.

Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

View of the Notre Dame Cathedral at Night

Highlights: The biggest highlight of my trip was the ease in which I was able to travel all over the country. Nearly every other weekend API arranged for a day trip outside of the city; Normandie, Versailles, Loire, and Perpignan were some of the regions we visited. I can proudly say that every time we were near a body of water, I put on my bikini and jumped in, regardless of the season! I didn’t travel much outside of the country, but it was so wonderful to be able to explore so much of my host country.  

My favorite part of Paris was the brunch served at the Crous at Port Royale on Sundays. It was a weekly gathering amongst friends and other students with bottomless coffee and traditional breakfast foods like croissants, pain au chocolat, eggs, ham, and potatoes. The only thing that disappointed me about Crous in general was that they were usually were out of Sauce Pomme Frites, a mayonnaise-like sauce in which Europeans dip their French fries. Clearly, the lack of Sauce Pomme Frites was an absolute tragedy since such magnificent sauce doesn’t exist here in the States.

Morning: I didn’t necessarily have early morning classes, but I would wake up around 9am or so to buses honking their horns at people blocking the one-way street, or pigeons flying into my sky lights. I would start my day off right with a bowl of Pépites Croustillantes, a granola cereal with dark chocolate pieces (although pain au chocolat aux amandes was my guilty pleasure from time to time). After making myself presentable to the world, I would head down to the metro and begin my 45 minute commute all the way down the line 14 to Université Paris Diderot; most of the time, I used the commute as a good MCAT study session. I was always rather humored by the people I would see sprinting to catch the train in their business suits and briefcases, despite the fact that during rush hours, you can catch the 14 every minute and a half.

Ashley Visiting the Louvre Museum

Afternoon: Most of my classes were in the afternoon, so when I got to campus, I would stop by the Crous Caféformule midi, which consisted of a delicious baguette sandwich, fruit or yogurt, and a drink (I usually got Orangina, because I’m a huge fan). As a direct enrollment student at Diderot, I was in regular classes that French students took. I could speak French pretty well before I arrived, so the language barrier wasn’t an issue. Actually attending class was the big shocker for me: every lecture met only once a week, but for about three hours. If I had sizable breaks between classes, I would usually stop at the API center to continue working or socialize with the API staff and the rest of the students.

Evening: Having quite a few three-hour lectures throughout the week, some classes would get done in the evening. After class, I’d meet up with a fellow API and Diderot student and we would head to the Crous at Port Royale for our filling 3€ dinner. Most nights, I would stay in my apartment and study, while simultaneously enjoying the view of a beautifully lit Sacré Cœur on the top of Montmartre. Other nights, I would meet up with friends and simply just wander around the city, whether it be passing by the Louvre, La Tour Eiffel, or Notre Dame. Because what’s more serene than walking around at night in the City of Light?

Mélanie Vistelle

Location

Location:

Paris

Currency:

Euro

Weather:

Jan-Mar

54 F / 36 F

Apr-Jun

73 F / 45 F

Jul-Sep

77 F / 54 F

Oct-Dec

61 F / 37 F

Airports:

Paris Charles de Gaulle

( CDG )

Paris Orly

( ORY )

If you talk to anyone that has ben to Paris, they will likely tell you that it felt magical. There is something exceptionally different in Paris; it could be the twinkling of the Eiffel tower every night, the smell of fresh bread wafting through the streets at all hours, the abundance of art, or the sheer beauty of Les Jardins. This city will leave you awe-struck.

About API

College students may study abroad with API in over two dozen countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. With a wide variety of courses offered in almost every major discipline and in various languages of instruction, it is easy for students to find a program that suits their academic interests. API offers high quality...

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