Nicolas is a student in Management at IAE Caen. He spent a semester in the United States thanks to the ISEP Study Abroad programme.

What were the course conditions like at the university? Any differences with Caen?

I really don't have many lessons (8 hours a week), but here there's a lot more personal work, not to mention the books we have to read.
On campus, ther are facilities and self-service like gym, swimming pool, cafeteria, etc.

What are your impressions of life in the United States?

My first impressions are excellent: people here are friendly, they're really there if you need anything. I really don't regret taking the risk of coming to the USA and getting out of my comfort zone. In Oklahoma I can go to restaurants, bowling alleys, watch a university football match, go to bars, etc.

What are your impressions after this mobility experience?

Well, as I said after a few weeks, people are really open-minded and are present whenever you need help. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of people, and I think that the fact that the university wasn't so big (it was still on a human scale) meant that I could see the same people almost every day, and so build up relationships. On the whole, the courses were simpler than in France, even though the workload was still quite heavy.

I'd recommend anyone who has the opportunity to experience a foreign country to seize the chance and go for it. You'll come back a much more open-minded person than you were before you left.
All I want to do now is go back!