882 reviews
4.05 / 5 based on 882 reviews
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1
anonymous
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
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
The official language of the Universitat of Barcelona is Catalan, but the Knox College Program in Barcelona is focused on the students' study of Castillian (Spanish), and so all courses were taught in Spanish. Although there are several opportunities to study Catalan for free within the UB through use of the language laboratory or arrangement of language exchange with Catalan-speaking students, I feel that Knox College Program should take some resposibility for teaching the students basic skills of the language. It is impossible to spend any amount of time in Barcelona and not encounter Catalan. In several cases, some host families spoke Catalan at home or watched Catalan TV (although the Knox College Program contract asked them not to do so in the presence of their students), which made the students who stayed with them feel excluded and upset. While the Catalan people certainly may speak Catalan whenever they please, I feel that the Knox College program should have taken some responsibility to prepare its participants for such situations by giving some instruction in the basics of the language.
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0
anonymous
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
It was not legal for me to work
Personal spending habits
I paid a fee that included room and board which was much higher that my room and board expenses at the University of Illinois. The fee, however, also gave me an opportunity to meet a great family, learn about their way of life, taste Spanish home cooking, have my laundry, cooking, and cleaning chores taken care of, and take advanatge of countless other perks of a homestay arrangement. I spent less on eating out because I didn't eat out much in Barcelona, but rather on trips out of town. I spent less on the telephone because I used e-mail to communicate with family and friends back home or I arranged for my parents to call me at home instead of paying higher rates to call them and burdening my host family with the cost. I spent more on nightlife because the bars and clubs in Barcelona are not the cheap campus bars and clubs of Champaign-Urbana. Compared to what I was used to paying when going out, the nighlife in Barcelona was much more expensive. I spent more on travel because I traveled all over whenever I had a chance to do so. I don't travel much out of Champaign-Urbana because I don't have the same opportunities. The overall cost of my experience in Barcelona was high because, in addition to the above-mentioned, the tuition fee I paid Knox College, a private institution, was much higher than that at the University of Illinois.
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Nightlife, Overall, Travel, Housing:
was more expensive than at home.
Telephone, Food:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
After the Knox College program fees, most of my money was spent on travel. I got a membership with Hostelling International to help bring down the cost of accomodations and was able to stay at their hostels in most of the places I visited, but only if I called to make reservations at least five days in advance. I also got a Spain Flexipass before I left the US, which saved me money on train trips, especially between Barcelona and Madrid.
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0
anonymous
Academic
Course recommendations
The Knox College in Barcelona Program arranges its own courses taught by UB faculty on the UB campus. Enrollment in these courses, which are limited to topics dealing with Spanish language and culture with a few exceptions, is open to program participants only, most of which come from the United States, or more specifically, are Knox College students. While the professors the program employs are very knowlegeable in their areas of expertise and enjoy working with international students, the isolation of the program within UB is sometimes detrimental to the students' efforts to adjust to life in Barcelona. For example, many students continue to speak English with their American classmates in the program because it is the most comfortable and natural for them and they have difficulty making friends among the Spanish students who they don't interact with in regular classroom settings. While placing all program participants in classes together is comforting because of the common past experiences in American universities and the present situation having to intergrate themselves to life in Barcelona, most of the students find that they do not get to meet and interact with Spanish students at the UB as much as they would like to. Only some of the students have the opportunity to actually enter the Universitat de Barcelona and then take the same classes all Spanish students there can take, but these students must be staying on the Knox College program for the duration of the UB term as well, which is not always equal to program terms.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
See "recommendations in regard to courses" above.
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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0
anonymous
Overall
I wish I had known...
No, I was pretty well-informed about many aspects of life in Barcelona before I set out.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
Although I did not have a chance to experience the Universitat de Barcelona to its full extent, the facilities there are great and the faculty are renowed. I believe that studies at the UB would be valuable and enjoyable to a foreign student, and his or her time in the city an unforgettable experience.
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Make the effort to step outside of your comfort zone while in Barcelona. If your focus is to improve your Spanish or Catalan skills, take any opportunity to practice these languages. Talk to your classmates. Sign up for a language exchange. Take advantage of your time in Barcelona, you won't regret any of it!
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0
anonymous
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Barcelona is full of cafes, bars, restaurants, and clubs with various themes, atmospheres, flavors, and price ranges. The city has a great social scene. Students go out late (since supper isn't served until after 9) and then stay out until morning. Popular spots to go out are Maremagnum on the waterfront, a complex of shops, restaurants, and clubs, the restaurants along Passeig Gracia, and the bars around Placa del Sol. Les Bosq des Fades off La Rambla, Cafe d l'Opera on La Rambla, and Euskal Etxea in La Ribera are some places to check out.
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1
anonymous
Housing
Type of housing: With a family
Arranged by: Home university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
Having previously been assigned a homestay during my studies at the Universitat de Barcelona, I have experienced the day-to-day life of a typical Spanish family. If I was to return to Barcelona, I would choose to live in an apartment with Spanish students so that I could meet and participate in the lives of people in my age group who I would hope to become friends with.
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Personal comments
All participants in the Knox College Program in Barcelona are placed to stay with local families during their studies at the Universitat de Barcelona. The families are recruited by the on-site administrators of the program. When students arrive in Barcelona, they are given information about the families, which includes addresses, the number and ages of family members, the occupations and interests of family members, and comments made about the families by past participants of the program who have stayed at their homes. The students pick the families they feel they would be most comfortable staying with, but if more than one student picks the same family, the ultimate placement decision is made by the program administrators. In my opinion, the placement program, although not perfect, is effective in matching the students to host families and the fact that the students are given the opportunity to find out about a little about the families and make a choice for themselves plays a large part in that. My family consisted of a senora and her college-aged daughter. I was given a small room with a bed, desk, and dresser and I shared a bathroom with an exchange student from Rotterdam. The apartment was kept clean and neat, my sheets and clothes were washed often, and the meals were great! My senora loved to talk to me about whatever travel plans I would make in Spain and was always nice and cheerful. She was an artist, she had a great sense of humor, and she was full of stories. I feel that she genuinely cared about me. I have many wonderful memories of that family and I feel glad that that was my family for the ten weeks I lived in Barcelona.
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