| First, I agree with Popinjay's description of the Versailles application process. My daughter is a pretty good student and has said that the Versailles program is extremely intense. You will complete the same amount of work in less time than you would have in Champaign. The European schools have more breaks which the U.S. students use to travel. Sketching trips are build into the curriculum. As an example, our daughter is leaving tomorrow morning for Athens for 2 weeks of specialized lectures and sketching.
A leading European architect taught a 1-week intense seminar on modern European architecture. Another week was dedicated to a team project with French arch students. It's a great opportunity to actually work with individuals from another country to meet language and cultural challenges and still complete a successful project.
Travels have included Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, England, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, and several Scandinavian countries next month.
The value of the Euro has made the trip a bit more expensive than we anticipated. The school asks parents to guarantee $600 spending money / month. This would not be enough if you'd like to travel more than on the school trips. And you will. I'd estimate our extra expenses at just over $1,000 / month. If you're looking for bells and whistles to add, some of this year's Versailles students are going directly to China for the summer study abroad program.
Housing varies. You could have a room in somebody's home or be in an apartment. My daughter is within walking distance of the Palace while some of her friends need to take public transportation. UIUC pays for the transportation if it's necessary. People have been very nice.
King Louis' former stables have been converted into the arch studio which is shared with a leading French arch school.
In terms of the overall arch program at UIUC, she feels prepared for both internships and grad school. Because of AP credits she was able to take many extra classes in areas besides architecture. This almost made the experience more like a liberal arts program. She said that it's been both a good foundation and a good value. Because of the size of the school and alumni population, she has had an internship each summer. The practical experience has been invaluable.
Hope this helps. |