I am an international student majoring in art studies at Hongik University.
Two reasons for applying to PCA:
First, I wanted to get back into my creative side by taking practical classes, which PCA provides, as my current major is theory-based.
Second, my major, art studies has only two English classes in the entire 4 years of the program. I struggled with the language barrier, thus the knowledge I've attained at hongik is sparsed. So I decided to apply for an exchange program that's fully conducted in English.
Let's start with the negative, PCA's administration is terrible. I did not get the classes I wanted to apply for because of the limited slots/lack of professors, had to take classes I did not want. There is NO heater in winter, everyone is practically freezing during classes. Even though there is some kind of central system like a portal for professors and students to use for classes, professors do not use them which makes keeping track of class material an absolute mess. The school and professors did not convey to us about a final critique where we had to consolidate all our works and progress for all classes across the semester, thus we had to scramble last minute to find all the material, I found out about it through an acquaintance. It's so bad that the students bond over how bad the administration is. The list goes on but I think you get it by now.
So what's good about it? The saving grace of the university? The professors. Not all I've met were great but I've met amazing professors. These professors have the best intentions for you as a budding artist. When you're lost about your work, they don't put you down for being lazy when you show up with no work, they guide you along and help you with conceptualizing. They also go the extra mile outside of class if you ever needed any extra help. The environment was also really inspiring. The students all had their work going for them, no one was trying to copy someone else, you could see that everyone had something unique, something so characteristic about themselves in their work.
Regarding Paris, I have been to Paris before this so I knew it wasn't all glamorous as the media portrays it to be. I went with no expectations and romanticization and I truly enjoyed my time in Paris. It's a city where you'll meet so many interesting, open-minded, unique personalities. Be open, meet new people in school, outside of school, go to events, go to parties, go to galleries, go to museums, or the parks, to the seine. There are so many things happening in Paris at all times. There is never truly a dull moment during my time in Paris.