Loved studying abroad in Madrid so much July 28, 2025
By A student (Mathematics and Biophysics, Amherst College) - abroad from 01/14/2025 to 06/03/2025 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid
I learned a lot about myself, about the world, made new connections and friends, improved my spanish a lot, etc
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
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 |
Not super organized or communicative before the start of the program but during they were great |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The residence hall Be Live was okay, not great food and some strict rules, made us cover every bank transfer fee which made the cost more expensive than the contract said, but overall it was fine! |
| * Food: |
Food in Madrid is great, the food in the residence hall was okay. IT did the job. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Was hard to integrate with actual Madrilenos because I wasn't in a host family and my peers at my local university were not very open to new people but I was able to feel integrated in terms of daily life (like the shops, restaurants, etc) |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
They were very helpful! though I did have to make the appointment by myself but that is fair and were very responsive. |
| * Safety: |
Rarely felt unsafe! Would recommend pepper spray for nights out, zipped bags to watch carefully on the metro, keeping track of your phone in clubs, and not sharing too many details with strangers |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
There were some social stressors and some things that weren't perfect but I loved the city, enjoyed my classes, learned so much, and felt so happy. |
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) |
If I am not counting housing and meal plan, I was able to very cheaply buy food (groceries, cheap sandwiches and coffee, etc) |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably like 60 euros if I also ate out at more of a real place instead of a cafe. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Groceries are cheap! and lots of local places have cheap cofee and bocadillos |
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? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Literature Spanish classes |
| 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? | Making friends who speak the language (so straying from just the program and making friends in the local university, doing a homestay, or making local or other spanish speaking friends in the residence halls) and doing a language exchange! |
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? | It will be harder than you think to connect with local students |
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 UrbaniteA 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: |
Tradition and the Avante Garde |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Ruth Gallego |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Loved it! Could have maybe used a bit more of a focus on historical relevance and social context but overall I really enjoyed it! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
