Madrid provides a nice break from rigorous American life. . .not the most challenging study abroad. Past Review
By Allie M (Public Policy, Spanish, University of Denver) for
ISA Study Abroad in Madrid, Spain
In the future, I think I will spend time traveling in Latin America which I now know for sure is better suited to my wants & travel needs. I am glad I had this opportunity to get to know Iberian culture. It was definitely worth while but I don't feel the desire to do it again.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad Antonio de Nebrija |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
As I expected, the academics were not rigorous/challenging. I definitely improved my language skills but taking classes with other international students probably didn't provide the most groundbreaking academic experiences. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The host country administration was by far the most positive aspect of the experience. ISA has awesome awesome staff who are consistently willing to go the extra mile to help students in emergency and day to day situations. I loved all staff members and they truly made my experience a great one. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had to rely heavily on public transportation to get to class and interesting spots in the city but liked my quiet neighborhood. My host mom was awesome, treated me like family. A very positive experience and extremely important for language acquisition. |
| * Food: |
Even though my host mom said she could accommodate vegetarians she was VERY forgetful about this and often included pork in my roommate's food who was trying to follow Islamic dietary restrictions. My impression is that this is largely a cultural problem and Spaniards on the whole don't handle dietary restrictions well. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Excursions arranged through ISA are awesome, my only complaint being that it can definitely be a drag to tour with 70+ other American students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Madrid is very safe, many students were pick pocketed but I didn't experience any problems and think vigilance helps prevent that. The program was very helpful to students that did encounter such problems and was overall an excellent resource. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I used Spanish with my host family and professors but most of the other students were American and were not interested in speaking Spanish outside of the classroom. Being on this program means a lot of extra student effort is necessary if you want to meet/befriend locals or speak Spanish with friends. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | If you are looking to have fun, get to know Spain, and relax, this is a good program to chose. Not academically challenging and very easy to spend most of your time speaking English. |
