Discover the Adventure Past Review
By Steve H (Spanish & English, University of Idaho) for
USAC Spain: Alicante - Spanish Language, Linguistics, European, Mediterranean, and Gender Studies
There's a reason why anyone who studies abroad will talk your ear off for hours. There's also a reason that most people who didn't study abroad wish that they did. Take a step out of ordinary life and into the extraordinary.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Good professors, good program, but it's what you make of it - well balanced courses, but some students are there to vacation abroad and not to study abroad, but the same thing could be said about any study abroad program |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Excellent administrators and staff that go out of their way to help, even rescheduling their own appointments and commitments to make time for students |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I loved my host family and you will too! 'Nough said. |
| * Food: |
Just be prepared to get out of your comfort zone and try new stuff. You're studying abroad in Spain for Spain, right? So go there and eat their food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I spent most of my time with Spanish and International students, so I learned a lot of Spanish really quickly |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Never had any problems |
| 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? |
The only reason I didn't give it a 5 were the other students, not everyone was there to learn Spanish - this applies anywhere not just Alicante or USAC |
| 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? | Go to Alicante because Ryan Air (the cheap airline company in Europe) has a regional hub at the Alicante airport. This means that you will be able to fly anywhere for almost nothing (think 5 euros). This is a HUGE deal, because in most other places you have to take connecting flights and have layovers, but because Alicante is a hub, there are a lot of direct flights. |
