Mariposita, Greguito, et. al. -

Not to worry. I haven't given up on my further education. I would like to finish off my master�s degree eventually. But, what I mean is that perhaps right now isn't the best time for me to try and do so... I am with you, higher education is very important.

With regards to Apostille Seals, etc. You might want to try the Embassy. I know that they have a number of services for American citizens. For example, I was just able to get a new social security card through the embassy. I know that they have Notary services, perhaps they will also do the the Apostille seal. If not, I am sure that they can guide you in the right direction!

wait, wait... I made it back to edit within the 15 minute window!

You might want to check out the following links with regards to legalizing/authenticating documents:

A-Z Help for Americans Abroad

Authenticating Academic Records

Hague Convention (Apostilla de la Haya)

quote:

originally posted by mariposita:
[qb]Thanks for the update on your adventures in the "Vicerectorrado" (at least that's what the sign out in front says, though it says "Vicerectorrado de..." I don't know what of, because the rest of the sign is buried in several feet of dirt).[/qb]

I'm reasonably sure that it's the "Vicerrectorado de Estudiantes". I haven't excavated to confirm this, but that's what I saw on some web page!

quote:

originally posted by Greguito:
[qb] Given that it's a sworn declaration I have no idea who or how I have to get someone to witness it (and probably stamp it, as is the usual pattern in Spain). I have to find that out pretty soon too, because tomorrow is the last day for submitting the form. [/qb]

I asked my Spanish friend and she thought it wouldn't need to be witnessed, and I although I tried calling the Vicerrectorado I couldn't get through (no answer), so I went anyway with my signed-but-unwitnessed form, and they accepted it, no questions asked.

Now I have to get an enrolment worked out... then sit the test... etc... Don't know how I am going to go in the test. There's a section on Lengua castellana and a foreign language (naturally I chose English). Then there's section on Literature and History of Spain (compulsory) and Philosophy (elective). Those were the options in the humanities area. Don't ask me how I'll past this test! The science options weren't any prettier: maths, physics, and one of chemistry, biology or geology...

I’m doing a master’s at la complutense. I recently became legal, but when I registered 9 months I wasn’t. I went to my department and registered using my American passport. No problems at all. As for ‘homologar’ it takes over a year and it is not guaranteed. Some people have to go back to college and take a few classes to complete their Spanish degree. Also, it depends what you want to do, because if you need opositar you need to homologar your degree. I’m studying human resources management and I might work for a private company, so the hiring requirements are up to the company. I hope this might help you….

DCNY--
Thanks for the first-hand info. A few questions:

--Which Facultad is your program under?
--Who in the Facultad handles incoming foreign students?
--Did you have to convalidar your American degree?
--If so, what did you study in the US?
--Did you end up getting student residency?
--If so, what kind of paperwork did Complutense give you to take to the comisaria?

Thanks again--it's good to hear from some one who has managed to crack through the bureaucracy. Both Greguito and I already have student residency, we're just looking to keep studying and keep the legality going.

Greguito--
There's a very, very basic and general book on Spanish History called:

Historia de Espana
Fe Bajo Alvarez

It has a green cover and is relatively short. It would probably be perfect for studying for that test. There's also a more academic book on Spanish philosophy called:

Historia del pensamiento espanol de Seneca a nuestros dias
by Jose Luis Abellan

Sitting the "prueba de acceso para mayores de 25 años" tomorrow... The first exam starts at 9 AM and the last one finishes at 8:30 PM. I've seen the sample exams from previous years and it's just hilarious. I have a snowball's chance in hell of passing! But I'll give it a go anyway...

hey Greguito, i think i speak for all when i say "buena suerte".

give em hell!

saludos,
jer...

I was wondering whether you were still going to take the test. It does sound like absolute hell! Good luck--remember, you just have to get 50%. Let us know how it went.

There are a few people from the Hispanic Studies program taking it that you might recognize.

If you flunk, you can do what I'm doing and go the "alumno visitante" route and study whatever you want with whomever you want and still get student residency. More on this to follow...


P.S. After the rain, the concrete sign out in front experienced a bit of erosion and I could make out the very tippy-tops of the letters: "Vicerectorrado de Alumnos". Case closed, mystery solved. No excavation necessary.

quote:

remember, you just have to get 50%.

the spaniards are such overachievers eh

saludos,
jer...

quote:

originally posted by mariposita:
I was wondering whether you were still going to take the test. It does sound like absolute hell! Good luck--remember, you just have to get 50%. Let us know how it went.

I'll get the results on the 27th or the 28th... I'll let you know how I went.

History: terrible
Literature: almost as bad
Philosophy: ok, I think
Spanish Language: ok
Text commentary: ok
English: phenomenal

Perhaps when you add it up I'll just scrap by with 50%, but I am expecting about 20 or 30% to tell the truth! Hehe...

I did see one other person from Estudios Hispanicos, but that was just in one of the "salas". There were no doubt others in the other rooms.

Hey Greguito--
How close was the actual test to the samples they provided?

Congrats on acing the English section!

The actual tests were very, very, very like the samples. I am sure if I had actually attended the entire Estudios Hispánicos course I would have had a better chance at answering some of the questions, but there is actually a course specifically for preparing for the test which would probably have been better.

Ok, the results are in...

Comentario de texto: 7.5
Lengua castellana: 4.8
Inglés: 9.8

Literatura: 0.3
Historia de España: 0.3
Filosofía: 6.8

Calificación definitiva: NO APTO 00.00

No real surprise that I failed but there are a couple of things that have me really shocked; namely, that they gave me 3% for the exams in literature and history (that's not a typo... they gave me 0.3 out of 10 which is 3%). I wonder if that was a mistake. 30% sounds right, but 3%?

I know that complaining doesn't usually get you anywhere but I will be going to the university tomorrow to ask about this, just in case...

According to their documents, your final score is the average of the first three tests, averaged with the average of the second three tests. That means that even if the 3% marks are correct then I got 49.17% overall and I need 50%.

If the 3% marks are incorrect (let's say they should have been 30%) then my overall average goes up to 58.17% and I'm in...

I had a look at the "criteria" for the two problem tests and they say the following:

Literature: "Se tendrá en cuenta el orden, la precisión y la claridad en la exposición, tanto del comentario como de las cuestiones; y también los conocimientos generales y particulares que se muestren en el ejercicio, pero no dándoles un valor exclusivo. Será un valor complementario el equilibrado desarrollo de todas las partes del ejercicio. Los errores significativos y las faltas de ortografía serán considerados de manera discrecional como elementos negativos por parte del corrector, en especial si se repiten."

I'm not going to type out the one for history because it's too long... But I think that although my answers were indeed terrible, I have a strong case for arguing that I deserved more than 3%... Will let you know how I go...

Uy, suerte amigo! I'll have to find out how my cohorts did and report back... If it doesn't pan out, there's always the Estudios Hispanicos Avanzados route that I'm going to create all on my own...

quote:

If it doesn't pan out, there's always the Estudios Hispanicos Avanzados route that I'm going to create all on my own...

And what do you mean by that?

I went to the uni today to "reclamar". Looks like everyone was doing it (everyone who failed, that is). You pay 1€ for a form, fill out your details and tick the boxes to indicate which exams you want reviewed. Obviously I just ticked the two where they gave me 3%...

I asked what happens next. They told me the exams in question go before a different "tribunal" or the "subject specialist" to be reconsidered and the results are made available on 14 May. So will report back then to let you know whether complaining actually works in Spain!