IES Abroad: Barcelona - IES Abroad Barcelona Center Photo

Barcelona, fun fun fun

A Study Abroad Program Review For

IES Abroad: Barcelona - IES Abroad Barcelona Center

Program Information

Study abroad in Barcelona—capital of the autonomous province of Catalonia. The IES Abroad Barcelona program provides students with opportunities to learn or perfect Spanish while studying business and liberal arts.

Provider: IES Abroad
Location(s): Barcelona, Spain
Year Founded:
Website Take me there!

Review By:

jeremy b. (economics, Ithaca College) on December 13, 2011

Overall Rating

Personal Information

* Start Date: 2011-01-06
* End Date: 2012-05-06
If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: University Autonoma de Barcelona
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

amazing experience to go to spanish university and make friends with spanish students. learned a lot about the culture and had a great time.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

great teachers, great students, great location, and just overall a the best program i could gave expected

* Housing:

* Food:

food wasn't the tastiest, but was definitely well fed

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

traveling the italian countryside was the most beautiful and peaceful experience ever.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

i always felt relatively safe as long as you don't act like tourist at some times

* Home Institution Advising:

How well did Ithaca College prepare and support you for your time abroad?

Finances

* 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)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? it can get expensive, but get a bank that doesn't charge you international or atm fees that helped a lot.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Intermediate
Language acquisition improvement?

teachers, spanish students, homestay parents and students. used it every day and improved so much

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • the good teachers, and classes
* What could be improved?
  • maybe no friday classes
* If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? Yes
* What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? absolutely it was the best experience of my life. It makes me want to travel the world now.