¡Que bote la Cibeles! Past Review

By (Engineering Science., Trinity University) - abroad from 01/11/2012 to 06/06/2012 with

IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned a lot about a culture very different from the American culture. I got to know a lot of amazing people and got to know places I thought I would never see. Overall, just having the experience of living alone in such an amazing city, is an something priceless.

Review Photos

IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid Photo IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid Photo IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid Photo IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid Photo IES Abroad: Madrid - IES Abroad in Madrid Photo

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Universidad Carlos III (Leganes campus)
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes at Universidad Carlos III were rigorous and challenging. It was difficult to adjust to them at first, since the Spanish academic system is very different from the one used in the United States; a lot of weight is given to the final exam and there are few (if any) graded assignments throughout year. some classes had midterms, while others did not. Some classes had weekly homework (though it was not grades), while others just gave us problem packets to work on our own time to prepare for tests. The difficulty of the exams was always high, and the grading system was also different than the one used here. Tests sometimes had a multiple choice section in which you actually lost points for wrong answers. And grading is bases on a scale of 1 to 10 -- 5 being a passing grade. Students and teachers are concerned about passing the class and not what grade they get (GPA is not even considered important). It is very difficult, therefore, to get high numerical grades and the average is usually very low; many students each year in fact fail. However, IES has a grading curve that better matches grading in the US system.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The people in the program administration were amazing. They were all friendly, always reached out to you, and they were constantly trying to make sure everything was going well and that you were having a good time and doing well in your classes.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in an apartment, with 4 other IES students and one Spanish "compañero." The people that lived with were all amazing and overall it was a great experience. I lived in building number 31 at Hilarion Eslava street -- 15 minutes away from IES (walking) and a block away from the Moncloa metro station. The location was great, since many students who study at the Complutense University live in that area. There were several bars and dance clubs to go to in the area, and several places to eat good tapas. My favorite thing about the location was that it was right next to Parque del Oeste -- a beautiful park to go and just relax on a sunny afternoon.

* Food:

Spanish food is delicious. And living in an apartment gave me the opportunity of learning how to cook. I love tapas and I love the fact that you can get them at any time and at any place. I specially like tortilla de patatas, bocadillos de lomo, and anything you can get at 100 Montaditos.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Spaniards are overall very nice and open people. Their culture and way of life is relaxed, fun and busy at the same time. They study hard, and yet they love to hang out in the numerous parks around the city, go out at night, and just have fun in general. Since I lived and had classes with other people from IES, I did spend a lot of time with them, but I also made many Spanish friends. At the university, people will usually not approach you (they all have the same classes together and they have their groups and clicks formed). But if you approach them, they are always open, welcoming and nice to talk to.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Madrid is one of the safest cities I've been to. IES staff constantly warned us about pick-pocketing, but I never encountered this or any other issue regarding safety. People are always out in the streets at literally all hours.

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)

Overall, Spain is not very expensive. Transportation was cheap if you buy the monthly Abono Transporte and food was not that expensive.

* Was housing included in your program cost? Yes
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? 150 $
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? if you live in an apartment, make your own food! Avoid going out to eat of you can, and learn what things are cheaper and can last longer.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

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

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Trips planned by IES
  • Housing
  • Madrid life in general
* What could be improved?
  • Diversity of class offerings at IES (specially for engineers)
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Where to go/what to do in Madrid. About how much time I would have for traveling. What to expect from courses at the local university.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.
The Outright Urbanite
A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Ingenieria Fluidomecanica

Course Department:
Instructor: Jorge Parra
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: This was my favorite course at Carlos III University. The course was taught in Spanish, and we had 3 different professors that rotated each week. I had this course Mondays and Wednesdays. Mondays were lecture days (smaller groups) and Wednesdays were problem days (larger group sessions). there were three midterm exams and plenty of problems were provided before each test to practice.
Credit Transfer Issues: No credit transfer issues.
Course Name/Rating:

Materials Science and Engineering

Course Department: Biomedical Engineering
Instructor: Jun Baselga
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Juan Baselga was my favorite teacher at Carlos III University. The course he taught was not easy, but the material was very interesting. There were no midterm exams, but there were weekly quizzes, projects and laboratory experiments that made up a large portion of the grade.
Credit Transfer Issues: No credit transfer issues.
Course Name/Rating:

Mechanics of Structures

Course Department:
Instructor: Mario Garcia Llorente
Instruction Language: English
Comments: I did not like this course very much. It was basically the same course as the Mechanics I (Statics) course I took at my home institution, with some additional topics, like cable structures. Grading was rigorous, but it seemed that exams were made hard in a way that did not really test our knowledge of the material. Tests were long and hard to complete in time. The material was not very hard, but in the tests, you had to solve multi-part problems in which you had to repeat the same steps over and over again. For example, when analyzing a beam, there were several forces of the same kind applied throughout. Instead of just showing one force of each kind, several were repeated, complicating hand calculations but not really helping us prove that we know anything new. Grading was rigorous and a lot of importance was given to final numerical results as opposed to process.
Credit Transfer Issues: No credit transfer issues.