754 reviews
4.00 / 5 based on 754 reviews
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6
Paula W
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - My choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
I prefer living with people of my own choice and in an apartment/house that I have chosen after having seen it. I also want to live in the center of town rather than on campus.
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Personal comments
Since I arranged accomodation on my own, with the help of friends who were already living in Barcelona, I am generally very happy with where I lived. However, living standards are not comparable to those in Sweden and Barcelona is not a very cheap city to live in, if you want to stay in the center. The reason I chose to look for my own accomodation was mainly because the UAB campus is located outside of Bcn and I preferred to live in the center.
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4
Paula W
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 an amazing city and there are any number of things to be done and seen. Again, since I lived in the center, my free time was mostly spent there and not on campus. There were however quite a number of activities, student organisations etc at campus, only I don't know them too well. My favourite area of Bcn is the old town, el Barrio Gótico, where you will find a lot of really nice bars, restaurants and cafés. Buy "Guia del Ocio", weekly guide to Barcelona nightlife, take the "Bus Turistic" to see all the sights, go to Sitges in the summer, dance at la Terazza, drink cava and eat tapas at the xampanerías, walk along the Rambla etc etc
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6
Paula W
Academic
Course recommendations
The selection of courses was not overwhelming. I pretty much had to take the courses offered to me.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
This is a sensitive question at the UAB but the fact that there are two official languauges and that catalan is very frequently spoken makes it hard to be an international student. It was a struggle finding courses where the teachers were willing to teach in spanish.
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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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4
Paula W
Overall
I wish I had known...
The extent to which catalan is spoken
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In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
The UAB is a very big university that takes on a lot of Erasmus students, but that could take better care of them. I had a wonderful time in Barcelona and learnt a lot at university but this requires effort, nothing will be served to you for free. If you are not afraid to ask questions and are willing to be flexible, then you will learn and have a good time.
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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
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2
Paula W
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Government assistance
Other sources of funding:
An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
Food is cheaper but you eat out more, hence I spent more or less the same on food.I did'nt have a phone at home, hence lower telephone costs. My rent was cheaper than in Sweden. Nightlife is a lot cheaper than in Sweden but you go out more, spend more time out of the house, than in Sweden, hence I spent more or less the same. I travelled more than I do in Sweden, hence put more moeny on travel.
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Travel:
was more expensive than at home.
Food, Nightlife, Overall:
was the same price as at home.
Telephone, Housing:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
If you rent a flat, be prepared to pay a deposit of at least two months rent.
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1
Paula W
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
How much did you improve your Spanish?
My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
I had some problems answering the above questions since, at the UAB, I regard spanish to be the language of instruction although catalan was also frequently used by professors and students. I tried to choose courses in Spanish, since I speak it fluently, but it was sometimes difficult. Outside university, I could easily get around speaking spanish although in some situations, it made it more difficult to get to konw people.
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