617 reviews
4.30 / 5 based on 617 reviews
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anu_suominen
Student life
Describe host city:
Student life dominates the city
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Nightlife, Travel, Activities: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Bars for giris (foreigners), no locals here: (from 24-02)Irish Rover (best live music), Camelot (like an old church); (from 02-04) Posada de las Almas (carnevals and best events), Puerta de chuz (best dj); (from 04-07) basic discos like Morgana.
Best place to eat tapas: Cervantes at Plaza Mayor
Events: Semana Santa, Medieval Event(May/June)
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anu_suominen
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Independently - I had no other choice
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
There are plenty of rooms in shared apartments to choose from, if you just have time to look around and compare.
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Personal comments
There is no need for the university to offer accommodation because the best and cheapest rooms can be easily found from the private markets: just check out the public telephones and bus stops! I should have been more patient with my search.
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anu_suominen
Languages
Language of instruction: Spanish
Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
It is almost impossible to live in Spain without learning the language, as it is the only language spoken at the offices, banks, university, TV, shops, restaurants, traveling agencies etc.. I attended to a language cource at "escuela official de idiomas", which was quite efficient, but because of the 'high school style' teaching methods I lost all the interest to study.
It was quite difficult to get to know the local students, but fortunately all the exchange students speak spanish to each other.
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anu_suominen
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
Family<br>
An ERASMUS grant
Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options
Personal spending habits
Food, accommodation and alcohol is cheaper than in my country, and there are e.g. no entry fees to bars.
I used my finnish mobile phone, so I don't know about the tarrifs. It is quite expensive to open an account, which you can do for free in my home country.
It is difficult to evaluate the traveling costs, I never use the public transportation in my country as I have a car. But of course, when you go abroad you travel a lot and thus spend a lot!
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Travel, Telephone:
was more expensive than at home.
Overall, Housing, Food, Nightlife:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Almost all the apartments are furnished. At the university no books are used, only notes from the lectures. No material is given by the professors, the students have to copy everything themselves. The university didn't provide access to computers as in my home country, so I used the internet cafes a lot. They are not too expensive. The bureaucracy of the offices surpriced me.
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anu_suominen
Academic
Course recommendations
Some courses are annual and start already in the autumn, hence its better to go to Salamanca for two semesters.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Compared to my home university, the courses are too theoretical, without any applicability to practise, and the teaching methods are old-fashioned.
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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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anu_suominen
Overall
I wish I had known...
More about the private language cources, when they start, how to apply etc.
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
In Salamanca almost nothing is provided by the university but the private sector does a good job here: it seems that the students, especially the exchange students maintain the economic stability of this small town. Most locals seem to advantage from the students some how: bars, restaurants, rent apartments, internet cafes etc. This makes Salamanca a strange place to live. If you want to experience the best student life, go there, but if you want to live in a real Spanish city, go elsewhere.
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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
Go north and explore the small fishing villages like Combarro and Luarca.
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