Pick Chile Weon! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Católica and U de Chile are the most renowned universities in Chile, and the workload definitely reflected that. I was taking all Humanities classes, and there was a lot of high level reading, all of which was in Spanish. It's definitely possible to pass and do well in classes, but this program is not a "blow off study abroad" experience.

On-site administration of your program

Since I did exchange, I didn't have a "program coordinator" in Chile. Just the Católica foreign student administration. Julio Gulin, the administrator of CAUC and events for foreign students is awesome - that's who I would have gone to if I had any problems.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived with a host family that I had a strange personal connection to for the first 2 months, and moved to an apartment for the second half of the semester. Living with a host family is awesome for the cultural experience, but hard, because it's like living at home again with a mother to check in with and pack your lunches. My problem was that my family lived really far away. I think living in an apt is a good option, just try to find one with native Spanish speakers so that you can continue to practice. Living with a bunch of gringos won't get your Spanish anywhere!

Don't go to Chile unless you love avocado "palta" and street hotdogs "completos"! In general though, I found the food pretty bland - Peruvian food is mucho más rica!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The Chileans at Católica have all gone to school together since like preschool, so they already have their established friend groups. All of my Chilean friends came out of going to CAUC events, which is like Planet Longhorn at UT. Chile is also a pretty homogenous country, so people are going to stare at you all the time, especially if you have blond hair!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There's a good medical center on the San Joaquín campus, and pretty cheap for students. I was congested pretty much the whole time I was in Santiago - just never got used to the air pollution.

I was robbed on the bus, so it definitely happens! But I was also reading my Kindle in a very crowded environment and someone just ripped it right of my hand. So that was stupid of me. As long as you don't carry too much money on you or flaunt it around, you'll be fine.

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

Chile is about the same cost as the US. You think, oh it's South America, so it will be cheaper. Chile is kind of the exception. Go to Peru or Costa Rica if you're looking for budget friendly exchange programs. I managed - my rent was $300/month, and I always took buses or walked.

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• Host Family
• Apartment

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• Americans
• International Students
• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Having no choice but to speak Spanish to communicate. It helped my speaking confidence so much. Cachaí?
• CAUC at Católica is BACÁN!
• The country of Chile has practically every type of landscape - absolutely beautiful.

• Better UT advising pre-trip.
• Mandatory Spanish grammar class for UT students - it helps to see the rules as you are actually using them in daily life! You'll remember things a lot better.