great experience! Past Review
By Katherine Glew (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/17/2019 to 12/14/2019 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Madrid
I think being forced to speak in a nonnative language pushed me outside my comfort zone, and it was very interesting to have history and other courses taught from the perspective of another country. I also made friends that I still keep in touch with
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. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
While the staff was overall helpful, I did not appreciate their attempting to guilt us for traveling. I felt they were trying to force certain goals upon us for our time in Spain. One of the reasons I chose Spain was to be able to travel Europe with friends studying abroad in other countries, and we were told in a program meeting that we should stay in Spain more as we did not come here for a "selfie tour of Europe." |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I chose to search for an apartment through Middlebury, and the program gives very little guidance. It was extremely stressful to show up and be searching yourself online for housing options with Middlebury having no knowledge of open spaces to share with students. We spent over 8 hours a day looking for apartments, and even landlords of apartments we toured would tell our "ayudantes" that the program rules were so strict that we would be unable to find much. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I loved the other students in my program and being in the city. There were always people on the streets no matter the time of day/night, so it always felt lively. The food and experiences are incredible, and it's super easy to travel around Europe and Spain from Madrid |
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 |
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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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | SPAN0390 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
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? | be aware that getting around takes time, not everything is close by like in Middlebury. It will take you over an hour to get to class, 30 min to get to the park, etc |
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. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Historia Contemporánea |
| Course Department: | Sociología |
| Instructor: | Beatriz de las Heras |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | The lectures could be a bit boring at times, but Beatriz and Jose really care about their students and want abroad students specifically to feel welcome. The work load is manageable and interesting |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Sociedad y medioambiente |
| Course Department: | Sociología |
| Instructor: | Mercedes Pardo-Buendía |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | Mercedes seems a bit checked out of teaching. Most days she would give us Wikipedia links to look at in class, making the class very boring. There is hardly any work though, and if you put effort into the final paper, you will do well. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Sintaxis Superior |
| Course Department: | Gramática |
| Instructor: | Beatriz del Valle |
| Instruction Language: | Spanish |
| Comments: | This course was extremely frustrating as the class depended heavily on fill-in-the-blank worksheets and extremely unclear teaching instructions. As someone who has taken linguistics and grammar for years, I can definitively say my background is the only reason I survived this class as Beatriz's instructions and lessons only served to confuse myself and others. I would not recommend taking this class if she is the instructor. |
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