Past Review

By (Geography and Cartography., The University of Texas at Austin) for

IES Abroad: Barcelona - Study Abroad with IES Abroad

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
My experience was amazing! I met a lot of great people from a number of different schools. The experience was completely worthwhile and I would do it all over again!

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: IES- Barcelona
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The overall workload wasn't too bad and in class we went on many field trips around Barcelona to help improve Spanish.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The administration was always available during office hours and they also checked on everyone from time to time with phone calls. The program size was perfect cause it wasn't too overwhelming where you couldn't talk to people, but instead you could make friends.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My housing was only an 8 min train ride from the square where school was and my host family was great. My food was great, she did our laundry, and she was very kind. I loved it all.

* Food:

My house mom was awesome!

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I traveled every weekend somewhere in Europe and it was amazing. Park Guell in Barcelona is beautiful.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

The city was fine but of course you had to watch out for pick pockets. The subways were scary late at night. I had no experience with healthcare.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

I lived with a family and this helped me improve a ton. I loved the experience of living with a family and would recommend it, but my house mom did not speak any english.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I had a blast with this program. It is for independent people that are easy going. It is easy to meet people and was really easy to travel on the weekends because there is no class on fridays. I loved this program.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

International Marketing

Course Department: IB-350
Instructor: Jay Moore
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It was somewhat challenging and the instructor was very knowledgeable. We went on a scavenger hunt in Barcelona that was relevant to the course. Class participation was a large percent of the class grade.
Credit Transfer Issues: No