Studying Marketing and Macroeconomics at the American College of Greece

At the American College of Greece, I got to study the courses Introduction to Marketing and Principles of Macroeconomics as part of my business degree. These courses were engaging and I loved meeting new people in my classes. Since I studied during the summer term, my professors were extremely understanding of the fact that we were in Greece not just to learn, but to explore the country and experience new things; they were flexible and always there to help, which I was grateful for!

While you may just be expecting to just learn about the subject of the course you’re taking, there is actually much more to be learned from taking courses abroad. At the American College of Greece, I got to learn about how student-teacher relationships and attitudes toward education manifest in Greece. It was also interesting to see how little things like communication style and body language take form in Greece (although of course, it’s important to keep in mind that the people you’re surrounded by are just a sample and do not represent the entire population).

In Greece, I noticed that people are much more relaxed; they are not as strict with time, relaxing is a priority (which makes sense if your country has gorgeous beaches everywhere), and they even talk slower, at least slower than what I’m used to as someone from Seattle, Washington. You can learn beyond what’s in the syllabus if you take the time to really pay attention and observe what’s happening around you.

Taking these courses abroad allowed me to learn more about Greece through the lens of marketing and macroeconomics. In my marketing course, it was fun to learn about the different approaches to marketing based on the target culture or country, and my classmates and I got to share about our own experiences with the companies unique to where we were from. Part of the course involved doing a deep dive on a company and suggesting improvements to their marketing techniques, which I felt greatly helped in my understanding of marketing since I was applying what I learned to a real-life company.

In my macroeconomics class, learning how Greece’s financial systems differ from the systems in the U.S. was really interesting. The difference in tax rates was especially surprising! My professor did a great job of using real-world examples from Greece’s economy to illustrate his points, which made lectures easier to understand. Here’s a fun fact that I learned from the course: Tourism is one of Greece’s largest industries! (Side note: so is agriculture - I really recommend exploring the Peloponnese region to see the beautiful fields of olive trees! Aegina is another good option if you happen to love pistachios.) As someone who loves quantitative analysis, this course was my personal favorite.

If you decide to study here during the summer, be advised that the content goes faster than usual since the term lasts just one month. I would advise studying a little bit every day so by the time exams come, you’re already much more prepared! I was able to study and still have a lot of time for studying because I managed my time well and practiced good study habits, like using active recall instead of simply rereading my notes. Getting to say that I earned credit for two courses while exploring a beautiful country this summer is something I’m proud of, and I hope you will also be able to say this someday.

Considering going to Greece? Check all the programs to Greece that we offer!

Blog by Anna Nguyen, Seattle University