Tell me more:
Barcelona: the city that never sleeps (at a cost).
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:
Kate G. (Government and Spanish, The University of Texas at Austin) on August 27, 2011
Overall Rating
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2011-05-25 |
| * End Date: | 2011-07-09 |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Program was amazing overall. I loved it! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Costa Brava was amazing. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
On my first day of class as I walked out of the metro station, the police force was shooting rubber bullets at a group of local protestors and I felt that IES did not warn us sufficiently of the risks involved int he situation or how to deal with the safety issues. But in general they warned us well of the safety risks abroad. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did The University of Texas at Austin prepare and support you for your time abroad? |
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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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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | no |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPN326L |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Most people involved with the IES Abroad program were able to speak English but they really encouraged us to speak Spanish at all times. I spoke Spanish with my resident assistant, professors as well as classmates. |
| 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?
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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
| * If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? | Yes |
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | A student who is very confident and willing to accept and embrace the very strong cultural differences. Also a student who is very outgoing and looking for an exciting nightlife coupled with great history. |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | I plan to travel much more and to learn as much about the world as possible in the coming years. Barcelona made me respect and appreciate the world abroad, but also my life in the US so much more and it is an experience I will never forget! |