The Best 4 Months Past Review
By Jessica Z (Communications and Psychology, University of California - Santa Barbara) - abroad from 09/01/2012 to 12/21/2012 with
University of Barcelona: Barcelona - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
GSE truly made my experience abroad the time of my life. From the program director, Inma, to the trips and cultural activities that we did with the group, I loved every second of my time in Barcelona!
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Choice of classes in English or Spanish, very fun and interesting professors, BEAUTIFUL campus! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The most amazing on-site staff ever! We all LOVED our program director, she was so helpful with absolutely anything we needed and really made our experience even more fantastic. She was always available to help us with literally anything we needed. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We had a really cute apartment right next to the beach that we loved. All the other apartments in our program were also really nice, spread out throughout the city so that we could visit all our friends in different parts of the city. |
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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? |
I needed to visit the doctor while I was abroad and I had clear directions from my program on how to go about it. Other people in my program who could not speak Spanish called our program director and she took them to the doctor so they would feel comfortable. |
| * Safety: |
Barcelona has very low violent crime rates, just watch out for the pick pockets! |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $250 |
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 |
Our program director and her husband always helped us speak Spanish when we were on group trips and activities |
| 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 4 |
| 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? |
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? | pack lightly! |
