UA in Spain vs. 'outside' program

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Does anyone have any experience with UA in Spain for summer abroad? D is considering it, but does not like how structured it is. Housing is with 30 other UA students in a monastary with limited exposure to locals and no homestay.</p>

<p>Using a affilitate program like ISA or others can give her a more local experience, BUT I am concerned about how credits get applied, if there are extra costs from the college for accepting those credits.</p>

<p>I am pushing for her to do the UA in Spain because I like the fact that it is over seen byt he college, but I do understand her point.</p>

<p>Anyone have any experience with UA in Spain or with doing a non UA program…I could use some advice here.</p>

2

<p>Having spent time living local-style in a couple dozen countries, I can guarantee she will learn more and experience more if she is not tied to the university’s structured program. </p>

<p>To my mind. it would be worth any extra effort required to make sure the credits will still transfer, if the tradeoff were a more immersive and authentic experience.</p>

<p>I can’t speak to the UA specifics, but in principle I share your D’s perspective.</p>

3

<p>D did Univ of Wisconsin-Platteville’s 2013 SAIIE summer program in Seville.
[SAIIE</a> Seville, Spain | University of Wisconsin-Platteville](<a href=“http://www3.uwplatt.edu/education-abroad/saiie-seville-spain]SAIIE”>http://www3.uwplatt.edu/education-abroad/saiie-seville-spain)
<a href=“http://www.saiie.com/[/url]”>http://www.saiie.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It was approved by UA and all 7 credits transferred-although she is not applying them to a Spanish major or minor; her language minor is Chinese. If your student will be applying towards a major or minor at UA then suggest you double check if the credits will apply to their degree. D did the program to fulfill her international honors requirements. I don’t recall any additional cost to have the credits transferred. </p>

<p>D chose this program because the dates gave her more flexibility, the start date is a bit later than the UA program. Her rowing schedule at UA goes a couple weeks after school is out in May so this program allowed her time to come home for a bit before leaving for Spain vs. the UA program. She only gets home for Christmas break during the academic year so being able to get home before leaving for Spain was important to her. </p>

<p>Having previously been to China - a host family study abroad experience and UA at Oxford -campus dorm stay, she liked that the SAIIE program was a host family stay.She says she feels she learns more about the culture and can practice the language in a host family situation. The other draw for her was the SAIIE program has the option of a rowing component for athletes who want to keep up with their training while studying abroad -she was able to row and compete with a local club while there, this provided the added opportunity to interact with local peers and practice communicating in Spanish with them as most at the club only spoke a little English. SAIIE also offers a program for soccer athletes and I believe recently added volleyball.</p>

<p>D really enjoyed the academic side of the program also, class sizes were small-a lot of individual time. She felt the program was very well run with SAIIE providing a lot/almost daily cultural activities in addition to classroom time.</p>

4

<p>trvlbug…looked at the Wisconsin website…the trip seems short for what she wants…it is only 4 weeks. I emailed SAIIE directly and asked them if they knew of any schools that would be doing a 8 week course there. Hoping to hear back soon.</p>

<p>Cannot thank you enough for all this information. This is exactly where she’d like to go and it looks amazing. If I cannot find something longer for her, I will contact U Wisconsin.</p>

<p>I am so surprised that no one on CC has done UA in Spain…Hopefully someone will have some input.
RTR</p>

5

<p>Chiming in in re to the UA in Spain program. My son really enjoyed it. It fit his needs perfectly. It is a well run program with many trips and cultural experiences. The price was very attractive for the number of credit hours. He can’t wait to go abroad again. His Spanish definitely improved (changed from a Spanish minor to adding a Spanish major after he returned) and he made many great friends through the excellent adventures they had. The program does give the students free time to travel on their own.</p>

<p>I have seen the good, bad and down right ugly to the different types of study abroad programs. The “fit” of the home stay can make or make difficult the time abroad, depending on the luck of the family drawn. Same goes for direct enrollment in a University abroad.</p>

<p>All three of my kiddos started with a faculty led program. It can be a great transitional experience to the other, more independent programs. My son’s older sisters have lived abroad for over a year in many different types of programs. The truth is the experience abroad depends a on the attitude of the student, the quality of the program, and a big chunk of luck. </p>

<p>Feel free to ask any questions you may have about the UA in Spain program.</p>

6

<p>Has anyone done the direct enroll in Limerick or the internship in Dublin?
There isn’t too much listed for summer.
S’s summer abroad may be in T-Town- he’s got specific courses to take to graduate in 4, chances of finding them elsewhere will be slim I think.</p>

7

<p>My D is looking into the Dublin internship for next summer … she thinks it sounds great and exciting, so we are deciding if it is really doable. (I did warn her that it sounded expensive, because her dad would want to come over and make a pub crawl … !)</p>

8

<p>Hi. I do have experience with the UA in Spain program because I am the director. As such, I would like to try to help with some information:</p>

<p>1) Students DO NOT stay in a Monastery (I wish!). They stay during June at the Real Centro Universitario Escorial Maria Cristina, which is a private university associated with the Universidad Complutense of Madrid. In July we move to the Real Colegio Alfonso XII, which is located in the same building as what people call the Monastery of El Escorial. A real privilege, I must add. What people call lThe Monastery of El Escorial is in fact many things together: a Basilica, a Royal Palace, a Gallery of Art, a private School (Alfonso XII, the place where we stay in July), and, yes, a Monastery… But nobody has access to the monastery, of course, other the monks themselves. More information about this amazing place is easy to find online. </p>

<p>2) The students, of course, have plenty (too much in my opinion) contact with locals. In fact, there is a program we call Conversation Partner that puts together the students from Alabama with local students. That way they have the chance to practice the language outside the classroom with young locals of their own age. </p>

<p>3) Yes, we don’t use families anymore. These days is not easy to find quality in that area. Extremely difficult to find families that only accept a maximum of 2 students in their homes. As anybody involved in summer programs in Spain knows, most of the commercial companies organizing summer programs in Spain pack as many students at they can in each home. </p>

<p>4) Commercial companies are exactly that: commercial companies. Meaning they have to make a profit. University programs, in the other hand, are non-profit. </p>

<p>5) The problem with the credits is not the transfer, it is the courses the students take. Universities have their own curriculums, and students have to take some specific classes in order to get a Minor or a Major from that given university… One student who wants to take classes abroad with a comercial company has to be sure those classes match his or her own institution curriculum.For example (something that happens very often), if one students takes, let’s say, a Spanish Guitar course, that, obviously, does not count as Literature or even Civilization… And, of course, the classes have to be offered in an academic institution of the same level as the one that has to accept the transfer and grant the credits. </p>

<p>Hope that helps. Thanks.</p>

<p>Jose Cano</p>