Semester at Madrid's Universidad Carlos III Past Review
By Nora M (Anthropology., Barnard College) for
Vassar - Wesleyan Program in Madrid
I gained a more global outlook, and came to understand the extent to which I am a product of my own culture.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad Carlos III |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
| The term and year this program took place: | Spring 2010 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was hard to get credits for my major-- Anthropology as the University didn't offer classes, and I had already completed my introductory electives. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Our two directors were fantastic-- friendly, understanding, and very helpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very nice. Clean. Generous food portions. Sweet family. Located in the posh Salamanca neighborhood. <br /><br /> I had a host mother and two host sisters. They were understanding and my host mother was especially willing to speak with me in order to improve my Spanish. |
| * Food: |
plentiful quantities-- variable quality. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Great trips were provided by the program. We were also introduced to Spaniards at the University by the program to ensure we would have contacts there. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe. The country in general is quite clean. |
| 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? | Not much-- the program gave us a generous stipend to cover lunch-- I usually had extra money left over at the end of the month. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save on lunch and you can use the stipend for travel. Also remember that travel expenses add up. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 3000-- advanced language through content |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
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| 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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* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
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Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia del Tiempo Presente |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Professor Franco and Professor Antonio de las Heras |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Total joke of a course. No outside reading, biased presentation of historical facts, joke final. While the idea of the course: the role the rise of modern technology has had on history and its preservation in the 20th century, is a good one, the same questions of conclusion were heavily recycled. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Professor Sloan (the head of the history department), is a notorious procrastinator, so try to get him to approve your courses before you leave the country or it can be a pain to get in touch with your professors in Spain. Professor Franco for instance still hasn't responded to my email on the complete syllabus I need her to send me. |
