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Studies > Spain > Zaragoza > Universidad de Zaragoza > Review by Gemma A 
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Universidad de Zaragoza (UZ)

341 reviews
4.13 / 5 based on 341 reviews
Useful  |  0
Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Travel, Nightlife, Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Activities
Nightlife
Travel
Overall
Personal comments
Casa del loco is great. Botellons/bars/tapas in general in Casco - martinica, la cucaracha...
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Useful  |  1
Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
Because I enjoy my independence and university arranged accommodation - both colleges and with a family are double the price or more.
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Personal assessment
Cost
Facilities
Location
Cleanliness
Space
Personal comments
Go at least 5 working days before the start of your course because many many others are looking for accommodation a couple of days before the start and it is quite stressful and expensive calling about so many flats and competing with other students. Be prepared to make quick decisions and make your deposit on the spot. I say working days because the university doesn't update the rooms database at the weekend. However do not despair, there is always free accommodation advertised and you will find a good flat.
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Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish
How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: At ease in most situations
Language difficulties
Social
Educational
Administrative / Institutional
Overall
Personal comments
Course was terrible so I found other ways to improve my language by exchanging english for spanish, reading everything in sight, talking to friends.
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Useful  |  1
Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Academic
Course recommendations
DO NOT STUDY "cursos trimestral/annual de lengua y cultura para extranjeros" language courses at The Departmento de Espanol como lengua extranjera, edificio interfacultades, Universidad de Zaragoza. In short: really bad teaching, no social side, expensive, little improvement to spanish. It is a terrible waste of your money and time. Some teachers have no experience with little training and lack basic personal skills expected of a teacher, classes are poor in most ways. The classes are basic and teacher preparation consists of photocopying textbooks, no actual spanish is used (spanish is always especially written for foreigners) even though we were "upper intermediate" level, there was little real conversation (following models in the textbooks like pre GCSE) and less culture than previous courses in the UK! The courses seem good value - mine was 260 hours for 680 euro which is 9 - 2.15 daily with 30 mins break - but every teacher arrives very late, you take extra breaks and finish the class early so you end up with 3 hours of poor language classes a day. They are able to continue to do this because they advertise heavily. Although the university is public, the spanish government privatised some parts of universities - so these courses are private. Teachers are bad because they are paid less than government run language schools so better/qualified teachers look to teach in reputable institutions, and earn more money. If you need more reason to not do this course, there are no social activities whatsoever to welcome students or encourage mixing. Most students outside classes had not met each other even by the end of the 3 months. The excursions they advertised were 2 days in a row to 2 places about 6 weeks into the course. I reccommend the escuela oficial de idiomas no 1. Although it's only 2 hours a week you will study the same grammar at the same pace as your level in the university school. The teachers are very professional and they are paid by the government so the quality of teaching is very high.
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My academic experiences
Quality of courses
Variety of courses
Access to resources
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
none
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams at end of course
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
Overall
Useful  |  0
Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
Other
Work opportunities:
I worked, but it was illegal/cash in hand work
Personal spending habits
Everything is cheaper except mobiles and landlines, but I travelled more than I would at uni at home.
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Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Nightlife, Food, Travel:
was the same price as at home.
Overall, Housing:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand text books
Second-hand household items
Computers / Internet
Administrative
Money from home
Personal comments
budget for temporary food and accommodation whilst you're looking, it all adds up really quickly. Take advantage of free alcohol nights and drinking from bottles on the streets to save money.
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Useful  |  0
Gemma A
University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
Language, Undergraduate, Independent
Overall
I wish I had known...
The course was going to be awful. Zaragoza gets VERY COLD in november and december - sub zero every morning/at night.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Academic reasons
4
Culture
3
Costs
3
Activities
3
Campus life
2
Party / people
3
Weather / location
2
Personal recommendation
take advantage of all the things going on - there are so many art and culture events and expositions. Look in CIPAJ, a monthly bulletin of everything going on in Zaragoza area for young people available from tourist info and the CIPAJ centre in Casco Viejo.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
3
Traveled
2
Improved language skills
2
Met people from other countries
3
Became more independent
3
Partied a lot
3
Experienced a change in life
2
Advanced my studies & career
3
Final comments
Zaragoza is a great city to study - not touristy, the accent is learner friendly, good location for pyranees, airport, madrid, barcelona... however, do not study on the universidad de zaragoza language course. Please.
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