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1055 BIF
515 East Gregory Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 244-7245
Emergencies: (217) 333-6322
Fax: (217) 244-9992
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Comments about BOCCONI UNIVERSITY from Past Participants
for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH
Useful Advice
"The most valuable thing I've learned on the trip is to have an open mind and try to embrace whatever that is new to you. Also another important lesson is the importance of having the knowledge of your own culture because when meeting new people, especially people from a completely different culture, it is crucial that you can talk about your own culture. Overall I had a fantastic time in Italy, despite the notorious and inefficient Italian bureaucracy. Dealing with the bureaucracy was very frustrating, but having patience usually paid off. Not everyone speaks English in Italy; so don't expect every single waiter/waitresses, concierge, or taxi drivers to be able to communicate with you in English because you are in ITALY. So don't complain when you find it frustrating. Try to learn the language instead, even if it's only something simple, or body language sometimes works pretty well too. " - Jessica Huang, Fall 07
"The most valuable thing I learned on my trip was how to be self sufficient and about globalization. I had the most amazing time in Milan. Though the exams were very challenging I got to see so many incredible places in Europe and meet so many amazing people." - Rachel Johnston, Fall 07
"Being abroad was probably the best four months of my life. To future abroad students; make the most of it while you're there and don't wait until the final days to fill things in. Do as much as possible. As far as money goes, it is going to be expensive, there is no way around it, but don't miss out on something solely because of money." - Brett Veronico, Fall 07
Location
"Milan is a great metropolitan city. After spending 3 years at U of I, it was nice to experience going to school in a big city. There were many things to do after school other than movies and barhopping. There are great restaurants, museums, and shopping. Traveling in Italy/Europe was also very convenient from Milan. There were a lot of great cities to go to. Florence and Nice were only 4 hours away by train; Venice was only 3 hours. There wasn't much to complain about living in Milan. I had a great time. The only thing is that Milan is not a pretty city. There is a lot of pollution and ugly graffiti on buildings and public transportation." - Jessica Huang, Fall 07
"The best part about Milan was the incredible night life. There was always something to do and it was affordable too due to student deals. The Navigili street is pretty close to Arcobaleno and had some awesome bars and restaurants and outdoor ice skating. Downtown Milan is beautiful the piazza duomo and the duomo are incredible. The only undesirable part was that you couldn’t walk to class or the clubs or downtown because we were so far and the public transportation was often unreliable or sometimes went on strike. And that it took so long to get to the airports because you had to take a tram to a bus." - Rachel Johnston, Fall 07
"Milan is a great city and is very central as far as traveling through Europe goes. It is very easy to get trains and flights to all over Italy and Europe. One could say it is somewhat of a dirty city in that there is graffiti all over and nearly everyone smokes." - Brett Veronico, Fall 07
Courses
"My favorite course was Fashion Management, which was not offered at U of I. Professors in this course actually worked in the industry and were very knowledgeable about fashion. We learned about the fashion industry from a managerial point of view, which was very interesting. Some professors didn't speak English very well, so it took them longer to explain something simple. Sometimes they didn't explain project instruction well, which was a little confusing." - Jessica Huang, Fall 07
"The best course I took there was International Marketing; it was pretty interesting and very manageable." - Rachel Johnston, Fall 07
"The professors overall are good, and I heard a number of prestigious guest speakers over the course of the semester, and it is very easy to schedule classes avoiding Monday or Friday class.
the class periods are all 1.5 hours or longer, some 2.5 and i think some 3. The entire grade for each class is based off of just a final, a midterm and a final, or a project and a final." - Brett Veronico, Fall 07
Housing
" Although there was a tram stop near the residence, it was still pretty far from downtown. It took some time traveling to school and other fun places. Our residence was very new and well equipped. The location was also close to the tram stop and supermarket." - Jessica Huang, Fall 07
" Living in Arcobaleno was my favorite part. It was like freshman year all over again but with your own private room and a kitchen. I met so many people there that I keep in touch with. It was also really nice having 2 train stations and 3 airports at our access." - Rachel Johnston, Fall 07
"For the most part there are frequent trams going to and from the campus and the city, so it is easy to get to both. The dorms were in was about 20 minutes away from the class and about 30 from the city" - Brett Veronico, Fall 07
Costs
" I spent about 100-120 euros per week on foo and about 250 euros on books." - Jessica Huang, Fall 07
"I probably spent about a max of 75 euro a week on food because when we traveled almost every weekend we went out to eat a lot. I spent about 100 euro on textbooks" - Rachel Johnston, Fall 07
"Weekends involving travel got very expensive due to eating out for every meal, but during the week one can cook and eat for very cheap. Meals at restaurants average about 10 euro or more for dinners or around 5 euro for a small lunch." - Brett Veronico, Fall 07
