Santiago de Compostela is a beautiful medieval city - TASSEP Past Review
By James N (Mechanical Engineering., The University of Texas at Austin) for
Universidad De Santiago de Compostela: Santiago de Compostela - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I learned lots of Spanish, made great friends from all over the world, and am now more confident when speaking to people in Spanish.
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Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I had a good educational experience. The workload was moderate, and the teachers cared about the students and did their best to explain things clearly. In three of my four classes, the only grade was the final, but that is typical of European universities. One challenge was that all the documents I got from the school were written in Gallego instead of Spanish, but it was manageable. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Pilar Bermejo was my advisor, and she did a great job. She responded quickly to emails and helped me meet with department heads to help me figure out which classes I could take. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The school housing advisor gave me a few numbers I could call to look for an apartment, and I found one I liked within about an hour. I paid much less for housing than I do in Austin and was within walking distance of campus and the city center. My landlady was very nice, and the apartment was already furnished. |
| * Food: |
I bought and cooked my own food, so I was able to keep costs down. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I mostly spent time with and traveled with other exchange students from Europe and Brazil. We became close friends and had a lot of fun traveling to other parts of Spain. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My program didn't specifically address "health and safety," but it was never an issue. I always felt safe in my city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced with my Spanish roommates and my European exchange student friends. I used Spanish everyday. Most people did not speak much English. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Come here to immerse yourself and learn Spanish. The spring and summer are beautiful, but the winter is pretty wet and dreary. Overall, I ended up having a fantastic experience. |
