Included Program Benefits: Students travelling with the Loyola-Rome Program will receive one roundtrip airline ticket from the East Coast (usually Newark) to Rome, orientation weekend in a hotel in Rome, a private bedroom with a host family, five breakfasts and four dinners per week with the host family, public transportation passes in Rome for the duration of the program, two three-day trips in Italy, guided visits around the city of Rome, a full-time onsite Loyola faculty program director, several group meals, emergency evacuation and repatriation insurance, and a student visa.

Program Costs and tips on cost of living: 
Living in Europe for four months can be very expensive.  It seems that most students who studied in the spring 2008 semester spent from $4000 – 7500.  It is very important that students are conscious of their money from the very first week.  It is easy to not think about it until they realize that they have gone through half of their budget in the first month. The Rome program includes some meals with the host families, so that does help with controlling costs.  For lunch during the week, students will be near Italiaidea (school) and former students have noted that they could purchase a cheap lunch (usually a sandwich) at the grocery store around the corner for a few Euro.  Students should also plan travel in advance.  The more they plan, the less they will spend.  While traveling, it is important for them to remember that they are not on vacation.  Meaning: just because they are traveling does not mean that they need to eat out for every meal.  Most hostels have kitchens that students can take advantage of for cooking.  Many students note upon their return that they learned to buy a loaf of bread with peanut butter to use for lunch every day while traveling.  It will save a considerable amount of money.  They should also purchase a good travel guide for cheap travel.  Let’s Go Europe is a great one.  Another factor that helps is the network of Loyola students around Europe.  There are many other European programs, so students should take advantage of friends that they have studying in other countries that they plan on visiting so that they might have a free place to stay or at least get recommendations and tips for cheaper travel within the country.  

Health Services, Insurance Information:  It is recommended that students keep their US health insurance policy while abroad.  You should check with your insurance carrier to find out what the policy is for overseas coverage.  Most policies will cover students abroad on an emergency-only claim-reimbursement basis.  That is still good to keep as back-up coverage if nothing else.  In the fall semester, DePaul University purchases HTH Worldwide insurance for the entire group (the HealthSelect Overseas Platinum plan).  In the spring semester, Catholic University purchases On Call International, which provides emergency travel assistance that includes emergency medical evacuation insurance.  There are plenty of hospitals and doctors in Rome, and our onsite director and his assistant help students get medical help and translate whenever a situation arises.

Link to Consular Information Sheet:  It is important for your son/daughter to know as much as possible about the country he/she will be living in or visiting. The U.S. Department of State provides American Citizens with information on each country/territory around the world. Here is the link to the Country Specific Information on Italy, along with Travel Alerts and Travel Warnings.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1146.html

Visa Procedures / Airline arrangements:   Students are required to obtain a student visa to study in Italy, as well as a residence permit upon arrival in Rome.  In order to be able to apply for a visa, students must have a passport that is valid through six months after the end of the intended period of study.   Students should apply for a passport as soon as they know they are applying to study abroad.  If the student already has a passport, the expiration date should be checked to ensure that it meets the date requirement. 

Loyola facilitates the process of obtaining student visas.   We will go over the required paperwork and procedures in our individual meetings and pre-departure workshops.  Loyola will take the Italian visa applications together during the semester, and then will redistribute the visas and passports back to the students.

The Italian visa process requires a lot of paperwork and documentation.  We will fill out the application itself in one of our workshops, however, there is a lot of information that must be presented with the application at the Embassy.  In addition to submitting the passport, application and a photo, students must also submit financial information.  The student’s financial sponsor is required to submit an original bank statement (with account numbers and addresses blacked out) showing that there are funds of at least $3500 available.  The sponsor must also complete an Affidavit of Support (this is distributed to the students) that must be notarized.  In the spring semester, students must also submit proof of health insurance.  For proof, students must submit a copy of their health insurance card as well as a letter from the insurance company stating their overseas coverage.

The student visa is what allows the students to enter Italy.  Once they arrive, our onsite director will facilitate the process of obtaining their residence permit (permesso di soggiorno), which will allow them to stay in Italy for the duration of the program.  For the residence permit, students must submit photos, copies of their health insurance information, and copies of their entire passport.  The permit costs around 73 Euro.  Students will be given the latest information on the permit requirements in the pre-departure workshops.

Loyola purchases group round-trip airline tickets for the students.  We usually book a direct flight from Newark to Rome.  The students are responsible for getting themselves to the group departure point.  Once flights are booked, we will go over airline and flight information as well as baggage and ticket change rules and regulations.  Students are allowed to change their return tickets.  Students are responsible for taking care of the changes themselves once they are in Rome.

Banking / Money Issues:  We do not encourage students to open up an Italian bank account.  It is best to keep using their US bank account.  They will still have access to their US bank accounts through the ATMs throughout Europe.  You should check with your bank to make sure that the student’s debit card will work overseas, and find out what fees are associated with using the account internationally (do the same with any credit cards).  Students in the past have recommended withdrawing the maximum allowed from ATMs while in Rome, and then keeping their cash in their bedrooms while bringing out only the amount that they need each time they leave home.  This will save on ATM fees.  Students will be able to withdraw money from any ATM in Europe (as long as the account has a debit card instead of an ATM card).  You should also check to see if your bank is partnered with any European banks.  Usually in that case, students can use the partner’s ATMs for free or for a very low fee.  Credit/ Debit cards are not as widely accepted in certain European countries as they are in the US.  People tend to use cash more frequently.  Students should make sure that they are signed up for web banking for all accounts that they will be using overseas.  That way they can monitor any fees that are being charged, as well as know their balance in American dollars.  When using ATMs in Europe, all information and dispensed currency will be in Euros.  Check www.xe.com for the current currency conversion.    

It is good to bring over about 200 Euro in cash for the first few days in Rome.  You can order Euro from your bank, or depending on the size of the branch, it may already have Euro on hand.  For the first weekend, students will need to pay for their lunch each day, a cell phone with a SIM card, and a taxi to their host family.  They will also need 73 Euro in cash for their residence permit which they will get in the first week.  It is less stressful to have to worry about finding an ATM upon arrival.  Once they have been there for a few days they will be able to get to an ATM to get more money as needed.  It is not a good idea to bring US cash or travelers checks with you, unless it is a small amount to use in case of emergency. 

Packing / Getting Ready:  Pack lightly!  The semester is just under four months long.  Students will have to manage their luggage themselves when flying to Rome in the beginning of the semester as well as returning home at the end.  The first weekend of the semester is spent in a hotel for orientation, and students will have to manage cobblestones and stairs to get to their rooms.  When students disperse to their host families at the end of orientation, they will usually have to manage stairs to get to their host (most families live in apartment buildings, and elevators are not common in Italy).  For orientation weekend, students should make sure to have the clothes that they are planning on wearing in their carry-on or on top of their checked luggage so that they do not have to unpack everything in the hotel.

In terms of clothing, there are a few things to keep in mind about temperature control in Italy.  First, there is no air conditioning, and second, Italians use much less heat than Americans.  For the fall semester, it is usually quite hot during the first month, and then quite cold during the last.  During the spring semester, the first two months are usually quite cold and the last two are spring weather.  Italy does experience the four seasons just like we do in Baltimore.  Rain is always possible.  It is smart to bring clothes that can be layered.  It is also advisable to bring a pair of shoes that are comfortable to walk around in, because students will be doing lots of walking in Rome and along their travels.  Keep in mind that appropriate clothing is required in churches, which usually means no tank tops or shorts.

Linens and towels are provided through the host family. 

Students should plan on purchasing hair dryers or straighteners in Rome if they plan on using them.  Electrical convertors do not always work, and it can be a fire hazard.  Students should purchase a European plug adaptor kit (you can get them at Target) for their laptops and chargers.  They do not need electricity convertors for those items as they work on international electric currency.

Communication:  There are a couple of options for communicating with your son or daughter while they are in Rome.  In the host families, students will be able to receive incoming calls on the home phones, but only from 8 AM – 10 PM.  No outgoing calls are allowed on the home phones unless there is a true emergency.   

The best way to communicate is for your student to purchase a cell phone.  We recommend purchasing a phone overseas because many of the international cell phones that are sold in the US do not work well abroad and you must unlock a certain chip in them to be able to use them abroad at all.  It is much simpler to buy one once there.  Some students purchase cell phones from students who studied in Rome the previous semester.  That is the cheaper way to do it.  Our director will take all of the students to a mobile phone store to facilitate the purchasing of cell phones during orientation weekend.  In Italy, students do not have to sign a contract but can do prepaid minutes (pay-as-you-go) instead. Incoming calls are free for the students as long as they are in Italy.  Once they go outside of Italy they are roaming and it is expensive for them to receive calls. 

Another option for communicating is a program called Skype.  Skype is an internet-based calling system (www.skype.com/download) that enables you to call for free or inexpensively.  All that is required is an internet connection and a microphone for the computer.  You can call computer-to-computer for free.  You can also call from computer to a landline or mobile phone at very cheap rates (The rate to call to an Italian cell phone is 3.5 cents/minute).  This works well in a few combinations—computer to computer, or the student’s laptop to your home/cell phone, or the student’s cell phone to your computer or phone.  You can pay-as-you-go with Skype or get a monthly subscription.  Your son/ daughter can also purchase a local phone number (as in your home town) on Skype so that when you dial from your cell phone or land line it is a free local call.  Students will not likely have internet in their host home, so they will mainly only be able to use Skype in Italiaidea.

You should also look into special rates for calling to Italy through either your cell phone or land-line phone company.  Most companies have them, but just do not advertise them. 

Housing:  Housing is only available with host families in the Rome program.  The language institute that we use for the Italian courses also does the host family placements.  The Italiaidea staff is very thorough in making placements.  Students do complete a host family application form about their personal habits, traits and preferences once they are accepted into the program, and those forms are used to make the placements.  On the reverse side, Italiaidea is also responsible for selecting the participating host families.  We do have a contingent of about half of the host families who have been with us since the program started in 2002.  The other half usually turns over every few years.  The new families are only considered on recommendations from our long-standing host families or through Italiaidea’s personal contacts.  They are also interviewed to make sure that they are suitable and are a good fit for the program.

Host families are generally situated around Rome outside of the city center.  The hosts provide the students with a private bedroom, and some families have two spare rooms to accommodate two students in the program.  The commute from the host families to school is generally around 45 minutes due to using public transportation.  Depending on where the family lives, students may be taking a bus or the metro or a combination of both.

The types of families that we use vary greatly.  We are concerned with having good and caring hosts, so we do not look for a specific type of situation.  We have older single women, we have families with children, we have families without children, we have younger couples, and divorced families.  Some couples have a parent living with them.  Again, it varies greatly.  One common thread is that most of the host families do not speak English.  We do not do placements based on level of English versus level of Italian.  There are more important aspects of living together that we focus on for placements.  It is important to keep in mind that the host families know that they will likely have a student who speaks little or no Italian and they are up for the challenge and work with the students to find ways to communicate.  Most of the host families have had our students before, so they know what to expect.  The more students interact with their hosts, the better their Italian will be at the end of the semester.

Italian:  Students are not required to have taken Italian before applying to the Rome program.  If they have not had any Italian, they will just have a harder adjustment period for the first two weeks.  If they do have a background with Italian, they will be required to take a placement test upon arrival.  They will still experience difficulty in the beginning, but it will be slightly easier and they will most likely gain more fluency than students without prior knowledge.

All students in the program are required to take two 3-credit Italian language courses.  We have all levels from beginner to advanced.  The courses are done intensively for the first eight weeks of the program.  Students take Italian for five days a week, 3 hours per day for the first eight weeks. 

Websites:
The program website is full of information regarding all above-mentioned matters as well as many others.  Please do look through the site, as it has been designed to help parents and students navigate through the process of studying in Rome: http://loyola.romestudy.org/index.htm