Alicante: The City That Never Sleeps! Past Review
By Mina Z (PSYCHOLOGY., Austin College) for
University of Alicante: Alicante - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
This program has taught me to be independent, confident, and adventurous. This experience abroad has definitely changed my academic interests and future endeavors.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was extremely difficult to understand the teacher in the Integrated class. As a result, I felt unprepared for the exams. The grading system was completely different; therefore, there was a conversion scale that was used. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The director needs an assistant. It was hard to get a hold of her because she was so busy. There was always a line of students waiting to talk to her. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The major bummer was that my host family lived about 45 minutes away from my school. But, I always felt safe, well-feed, and comfortable. My host family treated me as a guest more so than family. |
| * Food: |
Food was great! My host mom is a chef, so no complaints. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
With my program, we traveled to Granada and Valencia. Furthermore, every month the university had organized trips and activities for anyone who was interested to participate in. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
My city was really safe. I would walk home by myself at night and feel completely comfortable and safe. I was sick at one point on the trip and was taken to the school doctor the next day. It was funny though because he was notorious for only prescribing aspirin, sleep, and no partying which is exactly what he said to me. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent probably 40 euros a week for transportation and toiletries. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | The most expensive thing was traveling out of the country. A few hundred euros is a good amount to take on a four-seven day trip to another country. Another shocker was the exchange rate. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 200 level class |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Host mom/teachers/locals. I used Spanish almost everyday. Most people did not speak English in Spain. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | An open-minded, social, and liberal student would most benefit from this program. |
