NYU in BA was OK Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

You can choose to take courses in either English or Spanish or do a combination of both. I took two courses in English and two in Spanish. Three of my four professors were excellent. My courses in English were taught by Argentine professors, which added a unique perspective. My Argentine culture class, conducted in Spanish, was excellent as well. I made the mistake of taking Advanced Grammar and Compostion. This is a VERY technical course and did not help me further my goals of studying abroad, mainly to improve my conversational spanish. The course would be great if I was a Spanish major and planning on writing long academic papers, but I'm not and I don't. The work-load was not too bad. Compared to my home university, it was actually refreshingly manageable. For my government class conducted in English, I would usually have one 30-page reading assignment for each class (which met twice a week). Grading was generally very fair as well. The professors like to see that you are putting in effort. NYU in BA also offers free tutoring, which was very helpful (particluarly for Adv. Grammar and Comp.)

On-site administration of your program

This is still a realitvely new site for NYU, so they still have a few kinks to work out, but overall, they did a good job meeting the students needs. The semester I was there was the largest group of students they have had to date, so they were still making adjustments for us.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I did a homestay for the full 4 months of my time in Buenos Aires, which was a very long time to live in someone else's house. Like many homestays around the world, families take in students as a source of income. My family was no different, however they were very nice. I had a single room and there was another student in my program that had a single room in the house. Our 5 host-siblings also lived in the hosue, so it was very crazy and crowded. Dinners were always fun though, sometimes with nearly 11 people sitting around the dining room table. The apartment was in an excellent location (Recoleta) and was very clean.

We were provided dinner 6 nights a week. It was usually good, however, Argentines do not eat as many vegetables or salads as Americans so I felt as though I was constantly asking for salads and going out of my way to buy vegetables.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There is a very rich culture in Argentina, which makes it so fun! From food, to dance, to film, to architecture, to its very history, everything is celebrated. NYU in BA did a decent job of notifying us of local events through a semi-weekly newsletter and their facebook account. They offered several optional excursions (to an estancia, to a soccer game, etc). Included in the program is one weekend away. Previously, they had taken all the students to Igazu Falls, which is supposed to be fabulous. However, because of the increase in enrolment of students on this program, they took half of the group to Cordoba instead. Cordoba is nowhere near as exciting as Igazu, so that was very unfortunate and a little unfair.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

NYU in BA has its own doctor on staff that comes in twice a week. This is very helpful if you need a perscripton or if you feel a little sick and don't know what the equivalent over the counter medicine is.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

While I definitely feel my language skills improved while abroad, I don't necessarily contribue the improvement to my classes. I chose not to take all my classes in Spanish, which obviously impacted my immersion experience. I used the most Spanish while living with a homestay and going out and meeting locals.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family