Great experience! Past Review
By Marieme Diop (Swarthmore College) - abroad from 08/28/2016 to 12/16/2016 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid
My Spanish skills improved a lot. and I loved learning about Spanish culture. Definitely worthwhile.
Personal Information
| 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. |
The program was pretty rigorous, but the classes were really interesting and the professors were amazing. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
They were very helpful. It was easy to talk to all of them and they were willing to help you with anything. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in a residence with Spanish students. It was clean and I enjoyed living there. |
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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? |
I had to go to the dentists. Even thought that wasn't covered by my healthcare, the people in the program recommended a good dentist and were helpful overall. |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Middlebury was a really good program and they were helpful in every single possible way. |
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? | My program gave me about 12 euros a day to spend on food, and I stuck to that budget. |
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 |
We had a language pledge, we could only speak Spanish. It was really helpful. |
| 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? | Introduction to Latin-American literature (SPAN 023) |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Don't speak English with the other students in the program. It will be hard to adjust to, and you may feel silly speaking Spanish with them, but within a few weeks it will feel natural and it will help you a lot. |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
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? | Spaniards can be somewhat racist sometimes, but that is bound to happen everywhere. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
