Cornell-Cantabria Exchange Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Less homework, but the tests are equally if not more difficult. The main difference is that there are no clubs - no other activities and groups to be a part of after classes, so it seems like you have much more free time.

On-site administration of your program

Spain works very differently from the United States. This may seem incredibly obvious, but many of these differences in the way that administration worked were completely surprising to most. We did not know anything about our class schedule until a week before our classes started, including our daily class schedule as well as the list of days off throughout the school year. None of this information was provided online beforehand, which was frustrating when trying to plan our travels during breaks in advance. In addition, we have been told that we will not know of our internship opportunities until way into our second semester, and maybe not even until May or June, so that it will be incredibly difficult to plan for living arrangements in the city of our internships, to plan for airfare, and to apply to internships in the US in the case our Spain adviser will be unable to find us one here.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I stayed with a host family for the month of August and then found an apartment with other exchange students for the rest of the school year. My host family was an older Spanish woman who would become very frustrated when I did not understand what she was saying, and I did not interact with her very much. I am glad that I had the host family for a few weeks in the beginning because she was able to give me useful information about the city, including where to go shopping, how much rent generally costs, how payments work, how to set up a bank account, where to buy cell phones, etc. However, I think it also would have been a great experience to live in the dorms instead of an apartment. Most of the Spanish students in our classes lived in the dorms near the school, which included a meal plan, and they always hung out together and ate meals together in the dining hall. Living with other Spanish students would definitely have enhanced my Spanish and would have entirely immersed me into the Spanish education system. I think that we were all persuaded to look for apartments instead because in past years, many Spanish classmates did not live in the dorms. However, if it was possible to see how many Spaniards at Cantabria in the Cornell-Cantabria engineering program lived in dorms versus off-campus housing, the Cornell students might be able to make a more informed decision.

Of course there is always ham and cheese tortillas, but there are also tons of grocery stores with plenty of food for anyone with strict dietary restrictions. I don't eat pork, and a friend of mine is completely vegetarian, and we both still love the food in Spain

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There are over 300 other exchange students this year, so there are a ton of parties and weekend trips planned just for the exchange students. All of these have been really fun so far and have been a great way to get to know people from all over.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I always feel very safe in Santander - it's a small city and everyone is generally very nice. Figuring out how to go see a doctor was a little more challenging. The Centro de Salud that I found on the Universidad de Cantabria website would not see me because I'm not in the EU, so I looked up "medicina general privada" in "paginas amarillas" and went to the closest private doctor. There is no health clinic at the school and they did not have any information for me when I first asked if they knew why I couldn't go to the centro de salud and if they could help me find somewhere else to go.

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

While I lived with all English-speakers, it was absolutely necessary that I speak and understand Spanish every single day. Interacting with other classmates, grocery shopping, asking for directions, renting an apartment, everything involves speaking in Spanish. We had a summer intensive Spanish class, and then a continuation once a week once regular classes started.

Select all that apply

• Apartment
• Host Family

Select all that apply

• International Students
• Host Family
• Americans

• Santander is the most beautiful city with the nicest people - I loved every minute living here!
• The ERASMUS activities are always a blast! Meeting different study abroad students is so easy
• Modes of transportation to other European cities is fairly easy

• I would have liked to have known my class schedule more in advance
• I would have liked if there was more information on how to access health centers
• I would have liked to have heard more about living in the dorms