Best semester of my life!! Love VLC! Past Review
By Josephine W (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 01/22/2012 to 07/02/2012 with
University of Valencia: Valencia - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I became more social and open and made lifelong friendships. I also traveled to countries that I had only dreamed about visiting! I had lived abroad before but it was completely different being alone in a student environment than with my parents. Now I am considering doing a master´s degree in Europe because I love living there so much. It was DEFINITELY worthwhile.
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. |
The classes are more relaxed because you rarely get homework or assignments, BUT your grade at the end of the semester is based off of ONE exam and that is it. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The international office wasn't very helpful upon our arrival, we usually had to figure things out for ourselves, with the help of other exchange students. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Found a great apartment in a student area with other exchange students. Apartments are pretty cheap and they are easy to find! There is high demand for students to live in these apartments. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Spanish people are usually pleasant but most of my interactions were with other foreign exchange students. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I always felt extremely safe in Valencia, never worried about my safety when I was out at night. |
| 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) |
There are several cheap supermarkets are there are many students in Valencia, so you find ways to live cheap. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | No |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 euros |
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? | I am fluent in spanish |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Hang out with other Spanish students or spanish speaking students! Try to live with them or become friends with them. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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? | That the university system is completely different than in the US, and you have to be prepared to do most of the registration work yourself and figure things out on your own. |
