University of Florida (UF)

I would choose to rent an apartement at the same place (La Mancha apartements) because many exchange students used to live here and that's the best place to meet a lot of people coming from different parts of the world. MOreover, I was sharing my flat with two south american roomates which allowed me to improve both my english and my spanish!

I spent less in almost every category because I was sharing the expenses with my roomates or my friends each time we wanted to cook or to travel. For example, when we wanted to travel, we shared a car with 6 people and we would go in cheap hotels on the way. It is also important to note thatr Gainesville is a student city and that all the prices are adapted to that fact.Nightlife was far less expensive than in any other town so that any student could afford to go out at night. Concerning food, it depends if you want to eat healthy food or not. Fruits and vegetables were more expensive than in France but it was easy to eat with a few dollars.

It is almost impossible to travel in Florida without a car because the rail system is less organised than in France. To go out of Gainesville, we had the choice betwen car renting or Greyhound buses, which are not very comfortable for long distances. If I had known this before, I would have buy a car with other students at the beginning of my stay.

To succeed at the University of Florida, you need to keep in mind that you're here to study and work seriously for your exams. It may be harder than in other universities because there is always a holiday atmosphere with sunshining, people smiling and plenty of things to do! This university is perfect for open-minded students who like to live in a multi cultural state. Indeed, many students at Gainesville come from Miami and are Latino Americans or Afro-Americans. As a consequence,Spanish is spoken a lot and classes are given to study Latino or Afro Americans history.

Some courses are broadcasted on TV when too many students want to attend the class, which can be disturbing for French students, used to go to class and to interact with teachers. Therefore, it is important to know that teacher assistants are available to help at anytime.

I really enjoyed the academic life and I would not change anything.