CIEE Barcelona- Business & Culture/Small liberal arts international student going back to Europe Past Review
By Tijana T (International Relations, Economics, Wellesley College) for
CIEE: Barcelona - Business & Culture
The people I met and the experience of living in Barcelona made it worthwhile. However, it was not very beneficial academically, except the language improvement opportunity.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | ESCI- University Pompeu Fabra |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Compared to Wellesley College, the academic side of CIEE Business and Culture was very weak. It depended a lot on professors. However, there was barely any homework. The syllabi were organized in a very funny way: almost no work throughout the semester, and then an exam, a paper, and a presentation in the end. Also, the learning approach was very much factual, versus critical. However, I did have some good experiences with professors and classes, but the overall grade would be lower than Wellesley's for sure. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone was very friendly and helpful to their best ability. They made it very hard for people to travel over the weekends with pretty strict attendance policies. I was all for class attendance, but sometimes sitting in class felt like a waste of time. Make classes better, and no one will want to miss them. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Marina District: I felt like I had a lot of privacy, which was nice when I wanted to rest. But, it lacked a sense of community. However, the administration was very sweet, and they tried hard to accommodate everyone. I had a great experience with the staff working there. My floor was mixed: locals, internationals and Americans, so I had a chance to speak in Spanish in the dorm, but one gets more of that in a host family for sure! Oh, and laundry services in Marina District are very expensive!!! |
| * Food: |
Food in Spain is great!!! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Trips we had with the program: Madrid, Toledo, Tarragona... smaller events organized in Barcelona. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
pretty safe, except pick-pocketing |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | About $150-200 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Barcelona is just a very expensive city, I didn't expect it to be that pricey. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 242 Intro to Literature |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
get a local girlfriend/boyfriend |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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