Another Study Abroad-Spain

Parents Forum
1

<p>My daughter has just started to research and compare programs for the spring of 2008. She showed me two different companies that her school approves, but they have have very different prices. I haven't really looked at them, but according to my daughter, one is almost $6,000 more for what looks on the surface as the same type of program. Again, I haven't looked at them myself, so she might be missing something.</p>

<p>Does anyone know about either of these companies:
<a href="https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/home.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/home.html&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.academicintl.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.academicintl.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I don't know why both of these programs are with companies instead of with the school directly; is that typically how it is done? Because she is at a small LAC she does not want to attend the program from her school that only has her own professors. She has had or will have these professors and would like to experience local teachers and feels that a program that is integrated with the locals will offer her more.</p>

<p>Right now my daughter is interested in Granada or Salamanca, but is open to other cities with the right program. She is a Communications major with a minor in Spanish.</p>

2

<p>My daughter was in Chile with an IES program. She took several courses directly at the Catholic University - with Chilean students, then also a couple with IES teachers (local profs hired to teach IES students). IES has been around for years (I spent 6 weeks in France in an IES program more than 25 years ago), and it has a list of "member" and "associate member" colleges who send kids to its programs. She had a good experience with it.</p>

3

<p>My son was in Barcelona with IES, and had a good experience, though his Spanish wasn't all that proficient at that point, and his instruction was in English. He later went to Ecuador and had instruction in Spanish. One of the side benefits of his programs with IES and another organization, was getting to know students from other American universities. Going with only professors from your home school, and previously known classmates sounds fun, but somehow less broadening an experience.</p>

4

<p>I find that Spanish run programs are much cheaper than their american counterparts.</p>

<p>As to the cities, I have spend aroud 8 weeks in salamanca, and it is a fantastic city to study in. Don't go to barcelona, because then you have to deal with catalan, which is a waste of time.</p>

5

<p>I can speak to the types of programs available to your daughter from the perspective of a long-time advisor at a US university study abroad office. I just want to give you an overview so you and she can make an informed decision. Ultimately, she and you should approach this as consumers with many choices. Ask the right questions, and you will find the choices that best fit her interests and needs.</p>

<p>There are basically 4 types of programs she might have available to her:
1. US-sponsored study abroad programs.
2. Programs sponsored and run by her university
3. Spanish university direct enroll programs or university courses for foreigners
4. Non-university programs, run by private language schools or independent entities</p>

<p>Each has advantages and disadvantages. Of the first group, it is important to look at a few things in choosing the right program.<br>
1. How long has the program been in existence? Of the two programs you list, IES has been around much longer. They have had programs in Madrid since about 1964, and Salamanca since 1991. They also have programs in Barcelona. API has been in existence for less than 10 years by comparison. </p>

<p>A program you did not mention is ISA, <a href="http://www.studiesabroad.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studiesabroad.com&lt;/a> which has its roots in Spain, and has been around for 20 years. They are the leaders in Spanish-speaking programs with study options in 10 cities in Spain, and many Latin American countries as well as other countries in Europe.</p>

<p>You’ll find many other programs as well, by searching on the websites I list below. </p>

<p>The biggest online searchable databases are
<a href="http://www.studyabroad.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studyabroad.com&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.goabroad.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.goabroad.com&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.iiepassport.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.iiepassport.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<ol>
<li> Program support, predeparture, while abroad, and upon return home. One question that you might want to ask is, “what is the ratio of students to full-time staff members at each site she will study in?” This ratio reveals how much support she will receive abroad. A quality US-sponsored program will offer toll-free phone support pre-departure, meet students at the airport and conduct orientations of 3 days or more, place students in housing, enroll them in classes, have a center with vital services such as high speed internet access, wireless access, staff support, regular meetings, and other support services.<br></li>
<li> Location: Is she a big city person, medium city, or small town type of person? Big cities like Madrid and Barcelona have a lot to offer in terms of activities, but also have much longer commutes because of their size. The average commute might be 1.5 hours each way on public transportation in a city like Madrid, while the commute in Salamanca might only be 10 – 25 minutes walking or much less on a bus.<br></li>
<li> If her goal is to improve her Spanish, consider programs with homestays, where she will need to use Spanish daily to interact with the family.<br></li>
<li> Credit and financial aid. Can she receive credit for an independent program, or does her university restrict this to only certain programs? Can she receive her financial aid while studying on this program?<br></li>
<li> Cost. As you mentioned, costs vary quite a bit from program to program, so it is important to see what it includes and how much it costs.<br></li>
</ol>

<p>She will find so many programs there that it may seem unwieldy. One place she should definitely visit is her study abroad office on campus. They can tell her which programs she can receive credit for and what kind of grants or financial aid she can receive. The rules for this vary from campus to campus, so it is important to be informed by them. They can tell her if they have campus-run programs or not, and what their rules are for other programs. </p>

<p>Directly applying to private language schools in Spain might be the cheapest option, but might not be accredited at her school. If she doesn’t need the credit, this could be a viable option</p>

<p>Direct enroll programs at Spanish universities might be accredited for transfer to her university, but will usually offer only minimal support while she’s there. It’s usually bare-bones, with just enrollment in classes and placement in housing (not always this either). This is usually best for very independent travelers who don’t need any help with the day-to-day and just want to study at a university in Spain. </p>

<p>I hope this helps you both make a good decision. Whatever she decides, it will likely be the best experience of her life! Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Another option you can check out is St. Louis University's campus in Madrid.<br>
<a href="http://spain.slu.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://spain.slu.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>My daughter spent spring 2007 there in Madrid and had a fabulous time. While she is a SLU student here in the States, many of her classmates were from other universities across the US. Her 2 roommates were both from Baylor. </p>

<p>Tuition was less than here at the St. Louis campus although I am sure we spent the difference plus some on the many organized class field trips (Canary Islands, Cordoba, Granada, Valencia, & Avila), the initial orientation trip (skiing in the Pyrrenees! [sp?]), and her own personal travel on weekends and over spring break (Barcelona, Berlin, Morocco, Lisbon, Greece...). </p>

<p>All of the program support issues that intladvisor mentioned were covered.</p>

<p>Most visiting students opt for the homestay option. My daughter and her 2 roomies stayed in an apartment with a Spanish couple within 20 minutes of the campus which is in the University section of Madrid. A metro stop was right around the corner from where they stayed. Most of her friends were easily within a 30 minute commute of campus.</p>

<p>All in all, it was a great experience for her and we were very comfortable with all of the logistical support that was provided by the university.</p>

7

<p>My D3 is currently on an ISA sponsored summer abroad program in Granada. They have been well-established for many years and run the study abroad programs for several universities. There are kids in her program from all over North America, and dozens of different colleges. It seems to be very well run. All the students are doing home-stay, which she has found to be great!</p>

8

<p>My daughter is goung abroad to Barcelona in Jan. She is going through CEA.</p>

<p>Their website is <a href="http://www.gowithcea.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gowithcea.com/&lt;/a>. </p>

<p>Most of the kids from her school who go to Barcelona go through CEA.</p>

<p>Question for great lakes mom:
Did your son have a good time in Barcelona? Did he stay in an apartment? My d wants to stay in an apartment rather than univ housing. I was told that most kids who study there stay in apartments. I noticed food is not included. Personally I think its a rip off, but what can you do. Also how was the crime? Did he feel safe?</p>

9

<p>Snowball--I think the best advice comes from intladvisor (post #5). Your d's goals for study abroad should drive her choice of program. Also, your d needs to know what programs/courses her university will approve, before she signs up and if she gets financial aid--can she keep getting that aid for study abroad. Even going to an approved program in Madrid, my d didn't get credit for one of the courses that she took. The university approved the program, but the Spanish Dept. didn't approve the particular course for credit. If learning the language is important, I highly recommend having your d participate in a program where she can live with a Spanish family. My d was a pretty good Spanish student (4 on AP Spanish test) but staying with a family and speaking every day really improved her fluency.</p>

10

<p>Great advice about; thanks intladvisor! My daughter attends a small LAC and they only have pre approved 3 programs for Spain, at least that is my understanding according to my daughter. The 3 programs are the school's own program, IES and API. She may be able to go with another program, but I believe it would be a huge headache to get everything approved. </p>

<p>My daughter and a friend that are most likely going on the same program, are interested in either staying in a dorm or an apartment. She knows a host family is the best way to go, but she has a severe food allergy as well as a couple of other food sensitivities and feels that she would be more comfortable making her own food choices. Once she decides which program she is most interested in, we will check and see if a host family would work for her. Whichever program she decides on, she wants her classes to be taught in Spanish, not English. She is pretty fluent in Spanish although there is plenty room for improvement!!</p>

11

<p>Lower....My S had a great time in Barcelona. He stayed with a host family, which was fair, due to the situation in the home, single parent home, little interest in conversation. The other students in his program had great homestays, or so he said. I would really want any kid overseas to be in a homestay, as necessary daily conversation makes them use the language as nothing else will. But maybe if posessed of a very outgoing personality, would be different. He never mentioned crime in Barcelona, though had a camera stolen traveling in Morocco. However, he's quite tall, not the first you'd pick on in a crowd. </p>

<p>Students in that program did spend quite a bit of time and money traveling, to other parts of Europe, Spain and N. Africa. </p>

<p>I have another, food allergic daughter who has done HS exchanges, in homestays. Living in another culture with severse allergies does require a high degree of vigilance, no matter how you do it.</p>

12

<p>Wanted to put in a plug for CIEE programs as well. They do a great job of introducing a larger picture of a culture and country, quite interestingly put together. My son's contemporaries have been in some of these programs, and is quite an experiential time, different from the programs which focus on one location, one university.</p>

13

<p>My daughter and I talked a bit more last night and it looks like she will go with API to Granada. She is waiting for the paper catalog to arrive; but from what she knows from her Study Abroad office at her LAC, this progam has what she is looking for. I did find it interesting that her school does not allow them to take their courses in English, unless the country is English speaking. The LAC also will not approve a study abroad in Seville as they think it is too American!</p>

<p>It looks like her LAC has pretty rigid rules for study abroad which I guess makes it easier to pick a program. The school requires the appications to be in their office about a month before it is due to the study abroad company. Her school also requires additional letters of recommendations from current professors before a student can go.</p>

14

<p>For 6 months I had the amazing opportunity to work and live in Buenos Aires. I gained valuable work experience as well as was able to practice my spanish! I lived in the west of Grand Buenos Aires in a pretty surburb called Ramos Mejia. The great thing about Ramos Mejia was that there weren’t many foreigners so it wasn’t a touristy area (like in the Capital where everyone could speak a bit of english). </p>

<p>During my stay I worked at Fundación Ciclo, building international connections between the foundation and others by searching for and contacting various organizations through the world wide web. On certain days I taught English classes, which was so much fun. All of my students were really sweet and eager to learn. </p>

<p>The Foundation provided me with low cost housing as well as a small monthly stipend to help me out with minimal expenses. What was really cool is that the Foundation also gave us the option to live with an Argentine family! </p>

<p>If you want to check it out go to <a href="http://www.ciclobsas.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ciclobsas.com&lt;/a> or you can e-mail <a href="mailto:elam@ciclobsas.com">elam@ciclobsas.com</a>, (You can even tell them that I told you about it!)</p>

<p>-Alicia May
California</p>

15

<p>Well, she changed her mind! My daughter has decided to attended her school's program in Madrid. After speaking with the program's director, she feels they will work with her concerning her food allergies. I do plan to speak to the director and see if she can be placed in a home closer to a hospital instead of being out in the countryside. With the peanut allergy, after using the epipen she is to go straight to the hospital to be watched for a rebound reaction. We have been pretty relaxed here in the states as a hospital is alway close and she speaks the same language. While her Spanish is good, she had a tendency to freak out a bit when she has a reactions, and I don't know if she knows how to freak out in Spanish!!</p>

16

<p>I agree that going with your own group limits your experience. However, D is there now, in another university's program, with kids from different colleges, and she is the only one from her school. Guess what? They signed up in groups, and are all cliquish. So there is no guarantee even if they go to a different program that they will be with others willing to add another.</p>

17

<p>what grade should u be to apply?</p>