Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

A fairly easy academic but intense social learning experience Past Review

By (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/18/2018 to 12/22/2018 with

Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
exposure to other world-views, experience living on my own and budgeting, new friends. Definitely worthwhile

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I appreciated the on-site staff, however I thought some of the policies and attitudes expressed treated teh students too much like children and didn't give us any responsibilities or respect

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

the housing situation ended up find however the process of finding an apartment was miserable and I believe that you should allow students to book through an agency from the beginning as long as teh other requirements were met because three of us ended up booking through agencies regardless on the last day and had a miserable week trying to book without one

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

through my own fault though

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Sarah accompanied me to the emergency room and assisted me through the event and helped me to feel comfortable and supported

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? No

If it were for the first time, yes I would make the same choice. but were I to do another program I would go elsewhere to actually improve my spanish rather than just get the other culture, traveling experience

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? ~$100
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? budget your food and travel simultaneously. I ate out more than I should have considering how much I traveled

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

It was insisted upon within the sede prim context but not used when not supervised

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Fluent
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? I had completed the highest level of Middlebury undergraduate language schools
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? make spanish friends, don't just talk to midd students

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • travel
  • classes in spanish
  • wine
* What could be improved?
  • give students one free absence or make absences only deduct a half point, not a full one
  • give the students more personal responsibility, don't feel as though you have to baby them as much
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? To immerse myself more, to join a sports team, to do T-oigo, etc.

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 Outright Urbanite
A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Modern History of Spain
Course Department: History
Instructor: Enrique Villalba Perez
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: The course was fair and educative, with fairly little day to day work, but a couple of bigger projects/assignments that were fairly graded and assessed.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Historia Contemperanea
Course Department: History
Instructor: Jose Luis Dominguez Lopez
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I loved Jose Luis. He was friendly, helpful to the abroad students, and a fair grader. He held you responsible when you made an error but gave you plenty of opportunity to make up the points you may have lost.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Psicologia de Trabajo
Course Department: Psychology
Instructor: Luis Aramburu-Zabala Higuera
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I very much enjoyed this class though it was only 7 people and half of them didn't show up to many classes. I was the only student who went to 100% of the classes and participated regularly. Luis was friendly, his exams fair, and he was interested in getting to know you if you seemed at all committed to his class.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Spanish 2411
Course Department: Spanish
Instructor: Beatriz del Valle
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: I am personally very conflicted about my rating for this class. I believe I learned a lot, however I don't think my final grade reflected my effort and accomplishments in the class. I believe that, as my work consistently returned As, my absences should not have cost me 4% on my grade. This frustrating experience put the entire class in a negative light for me so I don't know how fair the rest of my evaluation can be but I did feel as though I learned a lot and I went really back and forth as to how I felt about Beatriz. i think i was greatly swayed by my classmates opinions however and I think had I not been swayed, I would have greatly enjoyed the class and Beatriz' teaching
Credit Transfer Issues: