Difficult but fun experience in Madrid Past Review
By Cassandra Cronin (Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/15/2018 to 05/18/2018 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Getafe
My Spanish speaking skills improved
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Your academic experience depends a lot on your classes and your professors. The process of choosing classes is very quick, which makes it difficult to read student reviews of classes and make sure you will be with good professors. The Middlebury Spanish language class was disappointing, and did not really challenge me language-wise. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
You participate in a one week orientation, which is somewhat helpful. The administration doesn't really help you find housing, and is not really available to help with issues going on with housing. The administration was helpful in terms of medical emergencies, and responded quickly. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The program's administration did not help their students find housing, and their residence lists are very outdated. Do not stay with Mi Casa Inn or Residencia Universitaria Rosales as they have many issues and the rooms can be extremely small but overpriced. The food situation at Residencia Rosales (which has a fixed meal plan), was also very disappointing. If there would've been more detailed help/advising/reviews of the residences I would not have paid to stay there for my semester in Madrid. |
| * Food: |
Food at Residencia Rosales was very disappointing, and we had no access to a kitchen. Do not stay here. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
UC3M is a commuter school, so all the students just commute to go to class and then leave. It's very difficult to make connections with Spanish students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The health care plan is very generous. I had to get x-rays at one point, and paid nothing for them. The doctors that were referred by this program all spoke Spanish and English, and were very good. |
| * Safety: |
I always felt safe in Madrid, and never encountered any problems. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
I did not enjoy my classes. The Program was not invested enough in their undergraduate students. The Program administration did not advise students enough in terms of classes |
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) |
Madrid can be pretty expensive in terms of rent and food. Make sure that you look up places and prices before you go eat at a certain place, or go to a certain bar. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We took a language pledge, and could only speak Spanish in and out of the program center. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish Seminars at Wellesley |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Do language exchanges |
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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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | That I would be almost 100% on my own although I came to study abroad through a program |
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 UrbaniteA 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. |
