The American University of Rome

Take the Roman Art course - it brings you all around the city!

No classes before 10am - and no classes after 6pm

I would say that as an artist... I found the totem pole idea too difficult. Many of the professors have agendas that don't really include integrating the students into exhibitions or finally helping them along after they've graduated. That's probably just a personal critique that I experienced. But it's seriously a point to look at once you've graduated and see where other students from other schools have made successes.

The academic life for an independent artist such as myself...it's hard to say how to improve upon it. When I recognized how one must keep quiet rather than speak out and be a bit different, I was a bit discouraged. Yes an improvement would be for the teachers to not hide pertinent information from the students. There's absolutely no room for it. My personal experience would have been that they just set me free in Rome to explore and create a body of work that would have had a guaranteed exhibition where more than just the faculty and staff were to be invited. You can have the most beautiful or meaningful painting...but if no one sees it... hmmm.

that it would be so expensive

Don't fall into the study abroad crowd...all the do is party and leave.

Prof. Liberto, Prof. Kirk, Prof. Gwynne, and Prof. Holmes-Duffy are all fantastic.

none

Italy is not an expensive country, but I did a lot more activities than at home.

I wish I had brought more money for extra traveling than I already did...

I recommend AUR if you want to be in a small school where you know just about everyone. I prefer to go to small schools and I loved just about everyone I met at AUR and had lots of good times--some of the best of my life and some really great roomates.