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Comments about ESCP-EAP from Past Participants
for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH
General
"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 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
“Overall, my study abroad experience was amazing. It was better than I ever expected. There were definitely some difficult times, but the good far outweighs the bad. I think that, most importantly, future study abroad students should prepare themselves to be open to new things. Things will not be the same as they are at home, and that is ok. You learn to deal with it, and often end up preferring the European way of doing things!” – Lauren Mueller, Spring 04
“Overall, I think I had a wonderful experience. I would tell future students to go into the experience with an open mind…Basically, your time is whatever you make of it. Also, I would advise students to save as much as they can before they leave. It is hard to fathom how much money you can spend there. It is easy to have an affordable time, but in all reality, the more savings you have the more places you can visit. It isn’t everyday that students get the chance to live in a foreign country so you definitely want to have the resources to live up the time to the fullest.” – Beth Bauman, Spring 02
“Everyone should study abroad. Don’t be afraid to go to a country where you don’t speak the language. Make the most of every minute because the time will fly. Keep an open mind, and realize you’re in someone else’s home. Learn as much about the country/city you’re studying before you go. Plan to travel and experience as much as you can.” – Michael Mitchell, Spring 02
“My overall experience turned out to be good, but I expected much more from it. It is better to go with an open mind and no expectations…you must make your own experience and make it up as you go. Second semester I did more traveling, which I highly recommend!!! There is so much out there, so go and explore!” – Patricia Domanus, Fall 02
The experience is great. I got to meet a lot of different people and learned much more than what is brought into the classroom. I would suggest taking time before or after your SA semester to do some traveling and sightseeing. You’ll regret it if you don’t. When you’re in another country, there are so many differences from your everyday life that you end up learning more about yourself than you do about your host country. What was most helpful to me during my experience was expecting that the very day patterns I have here in the U.S. would not be the same in France. So when something bothered me, it was easy to overlook it, and use it as an opportunity to learn.” – Anna Sullivan, Spring 01
“I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The school is phenomenal and this exchange program is by far the best at Illinois. It allowed me to feel truly in touch with French people, their language and culture. The school is so prestigious it was an honor to study at such an institution. Also, living on my own in Paris was an experience in itself. I loved meeting people that I will call my friends for life that live all over the world. I grew so much in such a short time. Everyone needs to venture into a new society and see things from a new perspective. As Americans especially, we think so much less globally than the rest of the world, it was wild to see things from afar.” – Cara Killackey, Spring 01
“My experience was wonderful because I was able to travel every weekend. I would recommend to every student who studies in Europe to study in Paris because of its location: Paris is central to every travel destination in Europe.” – Jennifer Pitts, Fall 00
Location
"We experience two strikes during the time we were there. It was almost impossible to go any where 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
"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
I thought the location was absolutely wonderful. I loved exploring the different neighborhoods in Paris. I really liked being in a big city because there was never a shortage of things to see or do. Also, it was very easy to travel by plane or train out of Paris.” – Melissa White, Spring 2005
“I would never complain about living in Paris. It is a great starting point for travels. Also, it is a central point in Europe to travel to the majority of cities students want to visit. I noticed that with exchange students who studied in small towns that they were traveling every weekend, but living in Paris I did not feel the urge to leave every chance I got.”
“I did not have any complaints about Paris.” – Beth Bauman, Spring 02
“The Accent apartments are located very near (about 1.5-2 blocks away) the Gare de Lyon which is a main Metro stop, about 4 Paris lignes connect…and the European train to the south of France and Italy can all be accessed from la Gare de Lyon. It is also kind of near la Bastille, which is kind of hip and has a bunch of clubs and restaurants. It is also near the Accent Center (about four blocks away) which is important because that is where you can check your email for free (attn: Internet cafes are expensive!).
“The twelfth district is pretty dead and there are so many other, better places to be living in Paris. Nothing famous, no landmarks, no “classic” Paris sights are within eyeshot…prepare for a hike or a crowded Metro ride.” – Courtney Collins, Fall 01
“ESCP is located in a good neighborhood in Paris, away from all the tourists and near areas where rent is very affordable. The metro service to school is very good and there is much to do within easy walking distance. Paris is a transportation hub of Europe, so traveling to any other destination is fairly simple. If you like art, history, and cultural attractions, then I recommend an experience in Paris. “
“Paris had a horrible cloudy and rainy winter the year I was there. It rained every single day for two and a half months… The metro stopping at midnight can lead to long walks or expensive cab rides home after going out to the bars.” - Benjamin R. Newton, Fall 00
“I loved the school. It was so nice to be in a small school environment where everyone you meet you see on a regular basis. The city has much to offer in the way of entertainment, historical sites, museums, art, shopping, lost of different types of people who you can learn a lot from. Also the night life is great. I am from a small town so it was so much fun to go out and get a real city night life experience. I love dancing and in Europe when you go out to the discothèque you go out to dance, so that is a fun environment to be in!”
“I did not like the metro. At first it was fun, new and convenient. After about 4 months it had become the daily grind that took almost 2 hours of my day.”
“Paris is amazing. The public transportation is one of the best systems in Europe, and fairly cheap to use. Paris has some of the best museums in the world. There is just so much to do; I was there a year and still did not do everything.”
“The only negative thing I can think about Paris is that things are a bit expensive.”
“When we moved into our second apartment in Paris at the beginning of November, we were located in the 12th quarter of the city right by the Bastille where there are tons of restaurants, shops, and pubs. This location was wonderful! Everything we needed was nearby: groceries, entertainment, Gare de Lyon (one of the four main train stations in Paris), and the ACCENT center.”
Courses
"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
“What was good about courses at ESCP is that they were offered in both English and French. I am a French minor, but business classes are a bit more complicated than the typical French class, and obviously use a different set of vocabulary. It was a relief to know that I was able to take my business classes in English. Actually that turned out to be an advantage, because I was one of the few in my English-speaking business classes that was actually a native speaker of the language. Also, classes typically only meet once a week at ESCP, which is great because I was able to arrange my schedule to be able to have long weekends for traveling and visitors.
“The only bad thing about courses at the ESCP is that they ask you to register before you get there, but provide very minimal explanation of the courses beyond their title. I felt sort of like I was blindly guessing which courses I would like to take. You are able to change the courses after you get there, but there is very short window of opportunity to do so and often classes are already full.” – Laura Mueller, Spring 04
“My courses were fun for the most part. The thing I like the most was interacting with the exchange students from all over the world. The classes weren’t that difficult, but I do wish there were a greater variety of business courses to take in English, such as finance and accounting.”
“The teacher student interaction was poor. Teachers were not available outside of class hours. Also, a lot of the classes were not well structured. Most of the classes did not follow the syllabus, and a lot of the time professors would cancel the classes without notifying students.” – Michael Mitchell, Spring 02
“Over the summer you will receive a letter from the school to register for classes online-DO THIS!! I did and got most of the classes I wanted that semester. Other people ignored this and ended up with whatever was left in September…This is especially important if you are only there one semester and need to ensure that you get in certain classes…Grades are based on one paper or test at the end of the semester, so there isn’t much work for the first month or so. This is good for traveling and whatnot. ”
“I really felt that there weren’t very many courses offered my spring semester. They have this thick course book, but then they offer about 20 classes. That was a disappointment. There were some classes in the course book that were not offered either semester, which I thought was strange.” – Helen Butters, Fall 02 and Spring 03
“Courses were about the same as those here. Some were tough and some weren’t. Group work, weekly homework, no strict attendance policies…I was in an international business focus, so a lot of it was learning about economic issues and challenges in different countries. What I did appreciate the most was hearing other people’s experiences or perspectives on different issues. The class was made up of 50 students, 25 French and 25 internationals. It was also taught in English, and we had various professors from all over teaching on different subjects.”
“What I didn’t like about the courses was that there were not enough computers. Much of the research, or even looking up books in the library, required use of a computer, and they were fairly scarce.” – Anna Sullivan, Spring 01
“Coursework was much less demanding than it is at the University if Illinois. Most of the work is done in class or in groups with very few exams. Most of the professors are professionals who work full-time and then teach classes in their spare time. I found that to be very interesting and felt that I learned so much from them because it was useful knowledge and not all theory. Also, the professors brought real life examples to the classroom. The administrative staff at ESCP was very helpful in allowing us to rearrange our schedules.”
“The only difficult part about classes was that they were 3 hours long. It is very hard to get used to sitting in class for 3 hours. I just think that it should be mentioned that classes are really long so that the exchange students are prepared for it.” – Meegan Huyser, Fall 99 and Sp 00
“One of the best things about the courses at ESCP was that the 3rd program that we participated in allowed guest professors to teach many of the courses. For my major concentration we had a total of 5 different teachers from 5 different countries teach us different aspects of International Business; it was incredibly interesting to see the many different point of views.”
“The courses were extremely useful and for the most part pretty interesting, but being the youngest students with the least education in the class at times was a drawback because our opinion was sometimes not regarded as highly as others in class.”
“I found courses were more interactive and interesting than here at the University of Illinois. They put a greater emphasis on learning by doing, meaning you have a lot of classes that you have to apply the concepts you learned to a real life business situation, which is great because I now have a greater understanding of what it means to be in business and what it takes to remain competitive. I also gained a greater understanding of how cultural aspects play into the work environment of many international schools. With a varied student body population that consisted of many different nations, it was always an interesting area of discussion within classes.”
“What I didn’t like was the harshness of grading. They are very stingy with grades and refused to give A’s and B’s, which is hard to deal with if you are taking the classes for a grade. The teachers assume that by giving you an A that means that you know as much as they do about the topic. It is a tough transition to make, especially considering how easy the classes can be.”
Housing
" 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."
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-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
“The apartment was definitely not large, but it was fine for one person, and I did not feel cramped at all. The apartment was also only about a block and a half from school, which was very nice. There was a cleaning service that cleaned the apartments every week. The area seems to be an up-and-coming neighborhood, and it had lots of fun music venues, bars, coffee shops and restaurants within walking distance. The apartment was only a half block or so from a metro line, so you could get anywhere easily.”
“Students should lock their apartments when they aren’t in them, even if they are just down the hall visiting someone.” – Melissa White, Spring 05
“I lived in Hotel DuMonde. One of the advantages of living in Paris is the excellent transportation system. A metro stop was located within a short walking distance so getting around Paris was extremely easy. Another huge advantage was the location in regards to ESCP. Also, it was a short distance away from a great bar scene, and across the street from a grocery store, which was extremely convenient. I thought it was more suitable for the time. Hotel DuMonde had more of a quiet feel compared to many other places in Paris. I think Hotel DuMonde depends a lot on personal preference. It has dorm-sized rooms, but also has a TV, private bathroom, and kitchenette.” – Beth Bauman, Spring 02
“The building I lived in was brand new and in a great location. The street I lived on had an elevated parkway alongside the building made for a beautiful view and great surrounding. It was very peaceful living in a studio, especially because the facility was so nice and well furnished.”
“The housing company Accent was good because I liked my building, but as far as a resource to me living in Paris, they were not much help. I felt that Accent was a bit pricey and snobby.” – Cara Killackey, Spring 01
“It is difficult to find housing on your own in Paris especially for a semester so it was nice that it was already set up.”
“Very expensive, especially relative to what you get. I calculated the rent per month and it was $1200. The other international kids who had found housing on their own were paying around $500-$600/month and even had nicer apartments.” – Courtney Collins, Fall 01
What future students should know...
"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
"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
