Barcelona, a city of personal growth and happiness! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Not too hard. Especially for a Barnard student. I didnt hear anyone complaining actually, except for actual UPF students.

On-site administration of your program

They were SO HELPFUL. I probably emailed them if I had a question about a homework assignment (exaggeration, but I did email them a lot even before I got there). Needless to say, they knew me and that really helped my process during registration for classes (which is very confusing)

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I didn't think I had enough information before entering my residential house. If you can afford it, it is fine, but I was paying over 800euros a month for a room the size of a closet, no wifi (they added wifi once I left) and sharing a kitchen with 10 other people. The security was absolutely amazing but I feel like it detaches you from the true abroad experience. I lost my deposit but moved in with Erasmus friends I made and that is the only reason I put a star here. UPFs website did not help me find housing whatso ever. But its hard because in order to get a visa you need to let them know you will be staying in a place for the entire time. But in reality you have no idea what place best suits you until you arrive. Best bet is to start with AirBnB.com and move around from there epending on what vibes you get. I now live with 5 other people who are my BEST friends and it is the best living situation I have ever had. I went from 804€ a month for a peice of crap room, to having a room double the size, great roommates, wifi, for 350€ a month. You may think those are good prices (the residential housing) coming from NY but they are not because on average my friends had rooms costing from 300€-500 euro tops! Their mouths were on the floorrr when I told them how much I was paying. Only rich europeans and americans who dont know any better pay for residential housing.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All my friends were erasmus, so I had a lot of friends from all over europe. For those of you who do not know, Erasmus is a european program that is their version of study abroad (except they get paid to travel, but I digress). Each school has a division of it and it organizes trips, etc. BE FRIENDS WITH ERASMUS FOLKS ITS AWESOME. I had free housing to every country I visited because I had a friend living there.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I needed to buy one more birth control case and it was super easy. You dont even need a perscription, just bring your case of your birth control (that has the ingredients and its specific amount) and you can buy it over the counter. I had one that was rare in spain because it had low dosages of hormones but after goign to 7 different pharmacies, the final one ordered it for me to come in later that afternoon. It cost less than 6€.

Safety wise its okay but you will get robbed. I didnt believe that until my last month. I got my notebook and laptop stolen because of my carelessness (at my campus, which was the most shoking because it is a pretty well off school). Just be aware. I got it stolen because I was tired and careless. All of my roommates have gotten robbed but it makes for stories in the long hall. Crime wise, I feel that people are too happy to be causing serious harm onto others.

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

I saved up almost 7,000 and it was still not entirely enough for my 6 months here. You get money friendly very fast. I was also paying my own rent so that was something that really cost me a lot of money (especially with living in a residential dorm, 804€ a month = 1125$). That was why I regretted living there. If that cost had been paid by my parents I think it would have been managable. I have no idea what the average amount I spent per week but costs greatly eased up once I lived with my friends. We had dinner every night together and since there were 6 of us, one person was in charge of cooking a night and then the rest of the wek you were taken care of. We also had a jar where we put in 10 euro every week in order to buy the basics (toilet paper, bread, milk, etc.)

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

I hate to say it but I dont think that my spanish improved all that much. I am sort of a native speaker so to my friends here I am already fluent. I think to to others with lower levels of spanish, though, it helps a lot. In barcelona, everyone speaks english, though.

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• Dorm
• Apartment

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• Local Students
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• Erasmus students
• Barcelona

• Registration clarity

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