Tell me more:
Barcelona es superbueno
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. (econ, Ithaca College) on October 14, 2011
Overall Rating
Review Photos
Personal Information
| * Start Date: | 2011-01-06 |
| * End Date: | 2011-05-06 |
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | University Autonama de Barcelona |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
workload was relatively easy, and classes were not too dificult. grading is much harder but the study abroad program inflated everyones grades to make up for the difference |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
great program, very organized and efficient, handled all my questions, great teachers and classes too |
| * Housing: |
homestay was amazing loved everything about it except for maybe small lack of privacy |
| * Food: |
food wasn't amazing, but there was plenty of it |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Calcotada in Valls where everybody eats a ton of Calcots and drinks from Porrons was the most fun i had with the program. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
many kids got pickpocketed including some friends, heard a few stories of more violent and aggressive crimes but if you aren't too drunk and loud in public then you won't be bothered. |
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* Home Institution Advising:
How well did Ithaca College 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $20-40. food was mostly free because of the homestay, but going out for lunch and at night for drinks is what adds up. travel is also expensive but if you book in advance and research for good prices it helps. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I wish i was more aware of discount airlines like Ryanair, Wizzair, and Vueling before i got to spain so i could plan travel even before i got there. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| 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? | intermediate |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
homestay, spanish teacher, friends, used everyday, locals don't like to speak english |
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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * 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? | if you are an adventure seeking, open to try new things and experiences, and love to travel, go to the beach, go to art museums, like jazz or rock music, and like european and spanish culture then Barcelona is the most spectacularly wonderful place in the world. |
| * What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? | learned about so many different cultures, especially when travelling around. became more independent as i did much traveling alone. and most importantly i saw the world and it has made me want to see more and work in it. I hope to get an internship this summer with the state department and work in a foreign embassy on policy and economics. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Mediterranean Oceanography |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Luis Hernandez |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | amazing course, learned a lot |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Intensive intermediate spanish |
| Course Department: | SP 32500 |
| Instructor: | Pep Ingles |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | amazing course, learned so much spanish |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |