Amazing Program January 27, 2022
By A student (Biology and Hispanic Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 08/30/2021 to 12/23/2021 with
CIEE: Madrid - Liberal Arts
Through my experience, I gained the ability to travel and see so many different countries, cultures, and lifestyles. I got to experience life on a completely different continent, which is something that helped me to understand a different part of the world. It was definitely worthwhile.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
There were a lot of important details that could have been worked out ahead of time such as getting transportation cards. My friends and I spent a lot of money paying per train ride for the first two weeks because the process to obtain a student card takes time. In other programs, they helped the students get their cards so they would have them by the time they arrived in Spain. Also, the registration process was made to be extremely difficult. The head of the program however, is amazing and a great resource same as the housing coordinator. Overall, the program could use better organization but the people who run it do genuinely care about your well-being. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Had some problems with my host family but CIEE was a great resource. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe city other than 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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Highest possible at my university |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish that I had known that I could talk to the CIEE advisors about my host family. By the time I decided to reach out there was not a lot that could be done. I had felt slightly uncomfortable doing so before because I did not know if I was just making a big deal out of nothing but in hindsight, I definitely should have sought out guidance earlier. |
