Comments about the ESSP Program from Past Participants

for more complete comments, please check out the binders in the student lounge, 215b DKH

Useful Advice

“My overall experience of the European Summer Study Program was completely amazing. To be able to spend 5 weeks in Europe traveling around the largest and most popular cities in the world, and have the opportunity to earn credit and learn is something no one should pass up. This trip has provided me with so many experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life. Each city had such entertaining and educational value that you learn so much from just living in each place, outside of the classroom. The material covered in class was on topics that I have not personally studied yet on the UIUC campus, and it was very interesting to learn so much information regarding the European Union and doing international business…This program is incredible.” – Andrew Schneider, Summer 06

“I thought it was an amazing experience that was both educational and incredibly fun. For someone without the time to study abroad for an entire semester, you really get a lot done in a short time. However, as you are entirely in major cities and with horrible exchange rates, the program is very expensive. If the credit and educational aspects (though great) are less important to you than the traveling, your money would be better spent traveling around Europe with friends on your own accord.” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

“Overall this trip was a great experience to me. I had a ton of fun and learned a lot at the same time. The students we met while over there I still talk to daily, and it was something I will never forget.” – Timothy Clifton, Summer 06

“My overall experience was amazing because I got to meet so many other students from other schools and to travel the world.” – Jennifer Chen, Summer 06

“I had a fantastic time. Traveling through Europe is an amazing experience which you will want to repeat.” – William Arnost, Summer 06

“Overall, I thought my experience was good. I want other students to know that studying abroad is one of the most enriching parts of my education. It allows you to learn about business from a different perspective and allows you to experience and appreciate other cultures.” – Anvita Kumar, Summer 06

“My overall experience with the program was amazing. I had the most fun summer of my life, made great friends, learned an enormous amount, and saw and experienced things I had never before. I am forever grateful to the University of Illinois as well as the Manchester Business School for providing me the opportunity to participate in this program. My advice to students who participate in ESSP in the future would be to simply do everything you can while you are there, and spend all the time you can seeing and doing new things.” – Casey Lindbeck, Summer 05

“I would have to say that choosing to study abroad was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I loved every minute of the trip and am left with so many fabulous memories and new friends. Don’t worry about signing up if you don’t know anyone else going – you will find that you become close to people that you travel with immediately. Be sure to bring a guidebook with you because there is a lot of free time within the agenda to do quite a bit of sightseeing on your own. Also, pack super light because lugging suitcases up, down and around gets old pretty fast. Definitely find time to study abroad sometime during college, it will give you a lifetime worth of great memories.” – Kimberly Sula, Summer 05

“My experience was absolutely wonderful. The opportunity to experience so many different cultures in one trip was fantastic and really opened my eyes to the world around me. Anyone who has the opportunity to take this trip should. Never again will you have the chance to be a part of the culture (since you stay on the outskirts of town) while getting to do all of the cool touristy things in town and experience the nightlife of the cities.” – Christina Dawson, Summer 05

“Studying abroad was an unforgettable experience that I will never forget and it gave me chances to visit places and do things that many people will never be able to do in their whole life. I don’t know why anybody would not take a semester or summer to study in Europe especially with the ESSP program because we got to see a good chunk of Europe within 5 weeks. The cultural shock was amazing and difficult at times but it was good to get out of America and talk to other people about their views and learn about cultural differences.” – Michael Kallergis, Summer 05

“I highly enjoyed my study abroad experience. I’m glad I found time to do it. I would definitely recommend the program to anyone because there will never be a time in my life when I will be able to travel like I did. I was able to se so many cities, large and small. If I were traveling on my own, I wouldn’t think of visiting small towns, but those were the most charming and something that shouldn’t be missed. I would want future students to remember to keep an open mind to the cultures and differences from the US because it will make the experience ten times more rewarding. Also, pack light!” – Mindy Sukantawanich, Summer 05

“This trip was absolutely amazing. I loved the places as well as the people I was traveling with. If you want to explore a lot of places while getting credit this is the way to go. However, if you really want the experience of living in one “home” city, then this is not for you.” – Megan Lee, Summer 05

Location

“All of the cities we traveled to were amazing in culture and history. I found Prague to be the most beautiful and the most fun. However, every city had its own specialty. Barcelona had beaches, Paris had romantic cafes, and London had city life.”

Manchester was relatively an uneventful and industrial city. Also, we only spent a day and a half in London and spent two days in a city in southern France, Montpellier, which seemed pointless as there were no lectures, nor was there much to the city itself.” – Rohit Dhake , Summer 07

“The locations in which we traveled with this study program were all amazing. We traveled all over Western Europe, staying in Manchester, Prague, Madrid, Barcelona, Montpellier, Paris, and London. Each place on this trip was unique and educational. In each city we traveled, we were able to learn and explore European communities that contain such a deeper historical background than that of the United States…Overall, every city felt safe, communicating was manageable, and the location in general was incredible.”

“Mostly, the location of every city we stayed was amazing.” – Andrew Schneider, Summer 06

“The location was good. I liked that we visited many countries and various major cities that were also industry hubs. It allowed me to get a better sense of how business worked in Europe, while getting to enjoy the different European countries.”

“I wish that the course spent more time in other countries and less time in Manchester. Particularly the last week, which seemed like time could have been better spent visiting more companies/long visits in other/additional cities. Possibly more time in London could be spent learning about industry companies in such a big European city.” – Anvita Kumar, Summer 06

“Prague and Barcelona were two of the best locations on the trip. The lectures in Prague were particularly useful in that they explained how the economy moved from a state economy to a free market economy. Barcelona was also an interesting experience when we learned how they are converting from a manufacturing to services economy.”

“I found Montpellier to be the least interesting location. The visit to Perrier was just a tour; there was no business presentation.” – William Arnost, Summer 06

“The main reason I chose this program is because we had the opportunity to visit and explore many countries for educational purposes. This turned out to be extremely valuable because it gave us a chance to learn the culture and business style of many countries. There is absolutely no substitution for learning the business environment first hand.” – Ross Pevitz, Summer 06

“The location of the hotels provided in each city, were very far away from the center of the city and I found it very inconvenient.” – Jennifer Chen, Summer 06

“Manchester was a good location to study; it was not as exciting as the other cities we toured, but for focusing on the final exam and group project it worked out very well. Of all the other locations Barcelona was my favorite. The food, people, and city itself were all great.”

“My least favorite location was Prague and Montpellier. Prague was very dirty and at times I did not feel the safest especially going out at night. Montpellier had pretty much nothing to do aside from going to the beach.” – Timothy Clifton, Summer 06

“The countries and cities that we went to were very nice. It was a good range of cultures and experiences to have. It was also very interesting learning about the European Union from a European perspective.”

“While staying in the different cities some of our hotel accommodations were not very nice. Specifically in Prague our hotel was very far from the city centre which made the experience a little less enjoyable.” – Nisha Patruni, Summer 06

“The locations of the ESSP trip were the program’s greatest strengths. I chose the ESSP program because it gave me the opportunity to explore multiple countries in Europe, and give me a much broader experience compared to a program that would station me in one area for 6-12 weeks.”

“The only aspects of the location that were undesirable on the ESSP trip would be the smaller areas we spent time in such as Toulouse, where there was little to see or experience, time that could have been spent in another city, and also the distance our hotels were from the busy areas of the city, such as Paris.” – Casey Lindbeck, Summer 05

“This trip was a great way to see many different parts of Europe. Because we were traveling every few days we were able to see more than ten cities throughout Europe during the trip, which is probably the only time in my life that I would have been able to do so.” – Kimberly Sula, Summer 05

“The best part of ESSP is that you get to move around to a lot of different locations and see so much. Two of the five weeks are spent in Manchester though you really get to know that city. Manchester’s got a lot of fun places to go to at night, and you are able to plan day trips to some cool nearby cities easily.”

“Manchester seems boring during the day, so I suggest taking day trips out of the city a couple of times. While traveling you sometimes don’t have enough time to see everything you’d want to, or at least to have a relaxed tourist schedule.” – Megan Lee, Summer 05

Courses

“The courses were very interesting. The lectures were all very relevant and allowed you to get a local perspective that you wouldn’t get in the United States. The professors were very knowledgeable and challenged the students during lectures.”

“Some of the courses were a bit repetitive. As we had several different lecturers, they would often repeat many of the same things, especially about the context of globalization in Europe, before getting to the core of the lecture.” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

“The courses were extremely beneficial and I learned a lot. The accommodations at the school were also very nice.”

“Sometimes we did not have any idea what was going on in our courses because instructors were not completely clear about what we would be doing for the day.” – Nisha Patruni, Summer 06

“The course we took over there was fairly interesting. We only had a little over a week of lectures and then the last week we took a small final exam and did a large group paper. The course allowed us to see all of the tourist sites in each city which was very nice.” – Timothy Clifton, Summer 06

“The courses were very interesting because we had the opportunity to go to company visits and learn about the Euro and the importance it has on many European countries.” – Jennifer Chen, Summer 06

“The information we learned in class was interesting and relevant to what we did outside the classroom. Meeting with a variety of companies and governing boards from different countries provided us a great overall view of how the EU affects countries differently.” – Ross Pevitz, Summer 06

“The courses on the European Union were invaluable. The parts I found most interesting were those about the difficulties of coordinating monetary policy among member states with a single currency.”

“My main complaint about the coursework is lack of guidance. We had little feedback on our projects and coursework and little information as to grading criteria.” – William Arnost, Summer 06

“This program only contained one, six credit course. We met daily to have 4-5 hours of lecture during the first have of the 5-week course. As we traveled, our lecture halls transferred to new universities in respective cities and it was a great opportunity to see different schools and academic ambiances in Europe. The course focused on history of the European Union and doing business with the EU. Also, as a part of our course, we participated in many company visits where we were able to discuss business strategies with company visits where we were able to discuss business strategies with company executives and gain insight as to how they prefer to work within the EU.”

“The only thing to improve in the course is to make the company visits more in depth and applicable. Some of the company visits we went on only discussed what they were about and their history, where we would be more interested in their strategies and inter-working with the EU.” – Andrew Schneider, Summer 06

“The courses were very informative, and I was able to experience the lessons I was learning about first hand by seeing the economic conditions of cities such as Prague during its continued transition to a post-communist economy.” – Casey Lindbeck, Summer 05

“Lectures were interesting because we heard the perspective of professors in three different countries. Also, the final exam and group project at the end were not too difficult.” – Kimberly Sula, Summer 05

“The information that we learned from the courses was very informative, especially the material concerning the European Union. I feel that I am much more knowledgeable about Europe now that I know what kind of unification they are trying to promote. Most of the lecturers were very informative and enthusiastic about their lectures which made most of the lectures quite enjoyable.”

“The course load was very nice. Djed really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the material and you’re able to get into some really good conversations about European Business.” – Megan Lee, Summer 05

Housing

“Some students were displeased, but they were basic hotels. In Manchester we had our own rooms and the last week there we even had a kitchen. All of the hotels were in very close proximity to metro stations to get to the city center. Considering how little time we actually spent in the hotel, I thought accommodations were very adequate.”

“In Spain, we weren’t actually in Barcelona. We had to take an hour and a half train to get to the actual city of Barcelona. Although fine in most places, the breakfast in Prague was horrible, and there was almost nowhere in walking distance from the hotel to eat.” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

“Housing for this program was broken up into two different styles. When we studied in Manchester, we were put in the Manchester Business School’s single person dormitories. These were really nice, spacious, and they included breakfast for us every morning. Every dormitory also had its own shower and toilet, which was quite nice. In other locations in which we traveled, we were put in hotels; mostly nice, well-maintained, safe hotels. These places also offered us breakfast every morning, and we were in a room with another person in our traveling group. The housing for this trip was very safe, clean and fun.”

“Some of the hotels in which we stayed were a little far from the city and required sometimes two modes of public transportation to get there…however such transportation makes going into the city a day event rather than a casual thing. This was only the case in a few of the many locations in which we stayed.” – Andrew Schneider, Summer 06

“Housing overall was good. It was nice to stay in hotels and hostels that were for the most part, high quality.”

“The living situation was great in all countries, except the Czech Republic. It was fantastic having our own rooms during our stay in Manchester.”

“While staying in the different cities some of our hotel accommodations were not very nice. Specifically in Prague our hotel was very far from the city centre which made the experience less enjoyable.” – Nisha Patruni, Summer 06

“The housing at the Manchester Business School was very good. It was clean and had good service.”

“Some of the hotels provided in the other countries were not as good as I hoped considering the amount of money we paid. The location of the hotels provided in each city (Prague, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona) were very far away from the center of the city and I found it very inconvenient.” – Jennifer Chen, Summer 06

“For the most part the hotels we stayed in were very nice. The hotels in Spain were by far the nicest.”

“The hotel in Prague was like a jail cell. There was no air conditioning and the people spoke absolutely no English, which made it very difficult to get things fixed.” – Timothy Clifton, Summer 06

“The housing was decent, very nice hotels in areas such as Madrid, and much poorer in areas like Toulouse and Paris. The forms we stayed in while in Manchester were very nice and conveniently located in the city.”

“Housing at Manchester was fantastic – we each had our own room. The hotels we stayed at while traveling were better than I had expected and included breakfast.”

“To save money, most of our hotels were on the outskirts of cities, making it more challenging to explore and get around” – Kimberly Sula, Summer 05

“The MBS rooms were very nice especially since all of us received a single room. The hotel in Barcelona was the nicest hotel that we stayed at with the best breakfasts and cleanliness.”

“The hotel in Prague seemed like it was in a bad part of town which made me feel unsafe at times. The worst housing was the Etap hotels that we stayed at in Toulouse and Paris. That chain of hotels has the worst accommodations I have ever seen in any hotel.” – Michael Kallergis, Summer 05

“The rooms in Manchester are nice; it’s good to have a single sometimes. All the hotels you stay at while you go are fine too. They are definitely not 4 stars or anything but you are barely in them.”

“To keep costs down, we were often outside the city which made getting into the heart of the city sometimes hard.” – Megan Lee, Summer 05

Things you wish you had known before you left

“I thought I was fairly prepared for the trip. However, I expected dress to be more formal than it was, and so I packed more dressy clothes than I should have. Aside from that, I thought the program coordinators did a good job of letting you know what you did and didn’t need. The only trouble some people had was packing too much. With traveling in large groups on trains, etc, it is very important to be able to lift your own baggage up stairs and into overhead compartments.” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

Cost

“Strictly on food and not on any other entertainment, I spent about $210 a week. All textbooks and course material were included in the program fee” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

The most valuable thing learned on the trip

“I learned to be more adventurous. Aside from classes, anything you do there is entirely initiative based. Wile there, especially with such a short time in each place, you are more willing to take risks and simply do something or go somewhere simply because you don’t know if and when you will have the opportunity to do so again.” – Rohit Dhake, Summer 07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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