Take Me Back To BARCELONA! Past Review
By Kerri D (Finance and Financial Management Services., Providence College) for
CIEE: Barcelona - Business & Culture
YES. It helped me become more independent. I made friends from different parts of the US that I actually plan to go visit this summer. Study abroad in general brings students out of their 'American Bubble' and helps view the world from a wider perspective. It has made me seriously consider working overseas for an international company.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Pretty great workload for a study abroad program. Grading system is much different than America. Spanish students are very satisfied with a B-, students rarely receive A's. There are only midterms and finals and sometimes a paper, so you must do well on everything to receive a good grade. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strengths: The administrators made themselves very available. There were a lot of extra cultural activities that they offered us which was great because I probably wouldn't have had the time to figure out how to get around to doing them on my own and it also gave me the opportunity to meet other kids in my program that might not have been in my classes. Weaknesses: The workload was a lot in comparison to other students studying abroad. It was hard to keep up in school and also travel and experience Spain's culture. We also had class on Friday's which very few other programs had. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
|
| * Food: |
None |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Montserrat, Flamenco Show, Cook and Taste |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Lots of pick pocketers but very little crime |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* 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) |
|
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Feel it out for the first few weeks and then make your budget, or adjust what budget you had come with to accommodate yourself. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | CIEE is more challenging than other programs, but they do a better job than other programs of involving you in the culture aspects of your new country. A hard-working ambitious student would thrive in this program. |
