ISA Barcelona was the best decision I ever made. Past Review
By Katja S (Nursing, Edgewood College) for
ISA Study Abroad in Barcelona, Spain
Study abroad was the best decision I ever made. I am much more self confident. I want to give free medical care abroad before I got o grad school and someday I would love to live in Europe.
Personal Information
| 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. |
The workload was similar to my home university. I enjoyed my classes very much and got a lot out of them. The grading system is out of 10. An 8 is considered a very good grade. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The isa directors in Barcelona were amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to help me adjust to a new city. They were all very kind and helpful. It was also obvious that they new what they were doing. I felt like I was in very good hands. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The neighborhood was safe and very close to a metro stop. It did take 45 minutes to get to class on the metro and it was a little farther away from the nightlife as well. I did not need to buy any items while in the house. I was treated by my host family as a guest. |
| * Food: |
The quality of the food was not very good. A majority of the food was frozen and packaged. I would tell future students to got to Bo de Be's for delicious cheap food and the champaneria. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
With the program we went to girona, valencia, sitges and saw attractions in the city of Barcelona. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Barcelona is relatively safe. You need to make sure not to walk alone and to be very careful of your things. I didn't need any vaccines for spain and the healthcare was very accessible. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced the language with my host family and the isa directors. I needed to use spanish in everyday situations. Not very many people spoke english and if they did it was often very broken. |
| 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?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Study abroad is a great opportunity to live outside your comfort zone. You will come back a much more balanced, confident and independent. Students should go to see and experience new things and should have the desire to travel. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Barcelona: A City and it's Histoy |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Steven Jacobson |
| Instruction Language: | english |
| Comments: | This class was challenging but I believe I got the most out of this class than any other class I took at University of Pompeu Fabra. He did half lecture half discussion about the reading. Everyone had to read. We went on several field trips and took 3 exams in different ways such as: a written essay, multiple choice and a 4 page paper. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
