love the city, hate the school, dont do a homestay Past Review
By A student (Finance And Economics, Bentley University) - abroad from 08/23/2012 to 12/21/2012 with
Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid: Madrid - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
it was very worthwhile, i learned a lot about the world on a global scale and stopped thinking america was all there is
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 |
they didnt help us at all besides the minimum that was required over there. i felt as though if anything were to happen, i would have no one to go to while i was there |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
bentley encouraged us to do a homestay and i am so upset they did. it was not hard at all for other people to find apartments, and bentley could have easily helped us with this. my house family went as far as to ask me not to skype my family at home. they did not tell me any of the house rules when i got there and were consistently angry with me, which made me feel like some nights i needed to sleep at a friends apartment. also, they threw out about 100 euros of my stuff i had purchased, and when i asked they acted like they didnt know what i was talking about. |
| * Food: |
as i only paid for half board at my house family i recieved two tiny meals a day and was required (if i wanted to eat normally) to spend up to 15 euros a day to eat at a restaurant because we are not allowed to cook at our homes. over all i ended up losing 13 pounds abroad because I did not have the money to upgrade to full board or spend that much everyday. I was very dissapointed |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
the spanish students and locals wanted nothing to do with the american students. i feel this could have been made better if the school did anything to help us integrate more in with the school |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
the city's safety is at an all time low, with there being 25% unemployment rate right now so i had multiple friends who got their wallets, phones, and purses stolen. not safe to walk at night |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 300 |
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 |
a lot, no one in madrid peaks english |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 102 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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? | home stays are the worst. |
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. |
