Sevilla es una ciudad preciosa. Past Review
By A S (Spanish Language and Literature., SUNY - College at Fredonia) for
SUNY New Paltz: Seville - Study Abroad at Universidad de Sevilla
Very worthwhile, even if a bit stressful at times because of the stateside administration. I developed a love for Iberia and made some wonderful friends, and improved my language skills immensely.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Universidad de Sevilla |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Some of the classes were excellent, and others were not so great. Grading was pretty lenient, for the most part, although it was based solely on 2 grades in most classes (midterm and final exams.) The "cursos para extranjeros" ("Extranjeros" actually meaning Americans, since European exchange students studying through the ERASMUS program studied alongside Spaniards in general courses) were shorter-term and a little "watered-down", in my opinion, although it was nice to not have to do too much work outside of class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Host Administration was friendly, and very easily accessible. Our program director was also an MD, and came to the apartment to care for a housemate when he got ill, which was wonderful! Orientation was extremely informative and interesting. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I would have preferred living with Spaniards or other foreign exchange students, or at least Americans who were more interested in practicing Spanish. |
| * Food: |
Meals were provided during orientation and various outings - the food was (for the most part) fantastic. They did their best to accommodate the one vegetarian in the group, as well. We had to fend for ourselves for the rest of the semester, which wasn't too terrible. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
Classes were given exclusively in Spanish, Orientation was largely in Spanish. The "intercambio" program organized by the university was wonderful, I made some great friends and improved my Spanish greatly through hours of socializing with Spanish students. The other program participants, for the most part, weren't very interested in practicing Spanish, which was a little disappointing. |
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? | Although my experience abroad was amazing, dealing with the administration back at New Paltz was a NIGHTMARE. Their biggest mistake was giving us all the WRONG DATES for the program. Classes were scheduled to end a week after the December 14th date they gave us, so we had to arrange to take our final exams early with all of our professors, which was quite obnoxious. |
