Universidad Pablo de Olavide is Excellent Past Review

By Dessarie S (Finance and International Business, New Mexico State University) for

Pablo de Olavide University: Seville - Multidisciplinary Studies Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I LOVED IT! It was the best thing I have ever done. I met so many interesting people and got to travel so much. I had the opportunity gain a second family. I became so much more independent and I got to appreciate my country more. It really made me a better student. I highly recommend this program!

Personal Information

The term and year this program took place:	Spring 2009

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The classes were tougher than I expected. I was certainly challenged in all of the courses I took whether they were taught in Spanish or English.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	They were always there if you ever needed anything. The staff was always very welcoming and approchable. All of my expectations were met!
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I had a wonderful host family! The host university arranged everything for me I just had to show up. It was in a great location to the city center as well as to the university. However, in Sevilla always keep an open mind about your neighborhood it might have a lot of grafitti but it doesn't mean its unsafe.
* Food:	If you live with a host family communication is key! The food is not bad there is a lot of fish in their diet and no spicey food at all! It was pretty easy for me to adjust to. Overall, everything was good.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Look into different travel companies like Discover Sevilla, We Love Spain, etc because they set up really cool cultural activites and trips for decent prices. Stay for the Feria de Abril if you could! If your not too religious plan trips during their Semana Santa. Just get out and explore as much as you can because time flies!
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	Safety was good as long as you don't walk the streets alone if your a female which applys in most places including the U.S. However, health I did get sick a lot! It was mainly colds because lack of sleep and I lived in a very humid house. But overall most of my friends only got sick about once which is normal.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

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)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I mainly used the ATM to pull out money and it was pretty expensive. I don't know anyone who opened an account. Also plan for the coversion rate because it always adds up. I recommend that you take extra money for travelling because everything is so close and chances are your freinds are all going to be travelling througout the semster.

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	This program is AWESOME I feel that it is one of the best that NMSU has and the relationship the with host university is very good and strong. If you really want to learn, have fun and get a great cultural experience then this is the program for you. It's a great program for all types of students.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	The Global Economy
Course Department:	Business Department
Instructor:	Jonathan Pass
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	In my opinion this is a very hard course to take with Professor Pass because he requires a lot from his students. He assigns a ton of reading and requires frequent participation. He is also a tough grader. If you don't read you will not do well in the course. Don't get me wrong the professor is great he really knows his material if you really want to learn and think that you can apply yourself the entire semester then I would recommend this course. In the end I did learn a lot even though I struggled.
Credit Transfer Issues:	N/A

Course Name/Rating:	The European Union
Course Department:	Business Department
Instructor:	Jonathan Pass
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The same goes for this course. He equally expects as much from his students as in the Global Economy course. I took both of his courses together and I had a tuff time. I normally have no problem at NMSU with courses like these but he was just to demanding. I would recommend not to take two of his courses together, if you have to just choose one. I wish I would have done that. I also learned a lot in this class and it was pretty interesting but it was too much for my schedule. I also heard from a lot of my friends that the European Union class taught in Spanish was really fun and a lot easier. I would recommend this if you have a higher level of Spanish. Not to mention the professor is also very knowleadgeable in this field as well.
Credit Transfer Issues:	N/A