Time of my life! October 02, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Academics at CIEE: 5/5 AMAZING PROFESSORS Academics at UB: 1/5 Academic rigor of the CIEE classes was very good. The professors were all experts in their field and genuiiniely passionate about they were teaching and very good at working with young adults to keep us engaged. II found all my classes very interesting even though they did not all relate to my major. On the other handII did not enjoy my UB courses at all. The professors mumbled, did not have engaging presentations, and were not flexible at all to helping th international students. If you were behind, you weren't given much support besides "if you have a question you can ask me after class." The psychology courses were all exam based. If you didn't have a certain exam average (which was high) you would fail the course. Most people didn't even come to class and just studied for the exams. No additional work you did mattered as time consuming as it may be. Also once we are enrolled in the course and choose it before even trying it and coming to Spain we cannot drop it or switch out unless there are emergency circumstances. Most of us were barely passing or failed. I withdrew out of one class with a medical note and failed the other even though I put the most time and work into that class compared to all my other courses abroad.

On-site administration of your program

They were pretty organized at CIEE. They had many meetings and workshops available to us and there was always a staff member you could talk to or meet with, with questions. They always emailed me back promptly. Amazing staff I felt very supported.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was not happy in my original shared apartment as the laundry and cooking space was a bit scarce for the amount of people there. However, I met with CIEE housing and they were incredibly understanding and switched me to my student dorm days later which was amazing. My dorm had so many wonderful amenities like a pool and a gym and cleaning. I had a wonderful time in my room.

Food is not provided to you. You are in charge or your own food and cooking and the money you will need for it unless you stay with a host family. They disclose this on the program page so I was prepared to do so and Spain is very budget friendly for Americans using USD.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Super integrated but it was through my own efforts. Most people only stuck with people from their other universities/ other Americans. However, I made the effort to reach out to other locals. You really have to make the effort in Spain--Spanish students are not as open to coming up to you first.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There are clear instructions on what to do and the program will seet up times slots for you to go too. However, you always have to go to a hospital and can rarely get a private meeting unless its an emergency so you have to wait 2 hours or so to get seen. It really sucked when I felt very sick.

I felt very safe but I was used to living abroad and in an urban setting where you have to be very aware. Many people in my program got their phones or laptops stolen. Listen to the program when they tell you what neighborhoods to be alert in and where you will be targeted. Try not to be loud or speak english too much on the street. Be VERY careful in Raval and us a car service if you need to commute out of there at night. Hide your phone in a fanny pack or a bag that will always be in front of you at clubs. Clubs and beach clubs especially are where they get robbed. Be careful on the metro as well.

I wouldn't choose the language intensive I'd maybe just do the normal CIEE because I didn't like the UB courses and ddi not do well. I'd maybe choose a program with students from a more liberal arts background as well. In IFSA everyone was from that background and had a more genuine interest in language and culture so we got along much better.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

4. Spain is very budget friendly for Americans if you budget like a normal person and go to the less expensive super markets like Aldi and don't go too crazy with spending on travel or on party experiences.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

We spoke only Spanish in all classes both CIEE and UB. It was very language intense.

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• Dorm

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• International Students

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• Americans

• The professors
• My dorm
• The staff

• The student body interest

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