Hi Folks,
My son wants to go and spend a semester in Spain in order to improve his Spanish ( official version!). He has had two years in H.S. and will take at least one more year at the U. of Florida. My question is this, should he go affiliated with a U.S. university, so that the credits will be assimilated easier, or should I contact the U.of Salamanca directly? do they have some type of articulation agreements with U.S. universities?

Also, are Spanish terms in the semester or quarter , or other system? And, most important, will this bankrupt me?

Many thanks,
Carmen

Try to go through his university! Or another accredited college stateside!
If it helps, I interned at my universities international programs office. If he can go directly through his university, although it usually is a bit more costly, its the best you'll be able to do at making sure that his college will accept the credits.

Another option is to use another schools program, it requires more leg work and may or may not be more costly- depends on the schools and if they have a partnership set up.

Getting him into salamanca through one of their programs may not be an issue, but it will most likely cause lots of headaches when he comes back and tries to get UF to accept the transcripts, even if they know about the school! (American universities work well to make sure you spend your money on them and not go a less expensive route!)

There is a lot of financial aid available for just about everything, the international programs office of the school he goes through, even his home school should have information available on grants, loans etc. for this kind of study. Tell him to check with his financial aid office also. It won't bankrupt you, but the sooner you start researching the better you'll be by the time he leaves. It does take legwork and effort on his part, he may be able to get some free money, but may have to write some essays.

Most spanish universities are changing their set up as far as class structure. They have converted for the most part to the credits syste- new to them. However, and it does depend on the university and course of study, you take the same classes for the year, but some will change with trimester or semester. However, this is for a Spanish university, if your son goes through an Am. school, his classes will be structured they way they are at home, and will differ depending on if he goes for a semsester or year-long program.

Let me know if I can be of any more help!

Espe3 did give some good advice, but before that, your son has to start with his university's International Studies Office to find out if a program in Spain is offered through his school. If not, the office should have other programs that students have gone through that they (the school) have approved. Not much leg work or hassle will be involved in the process.

To sum up:

1. Go to International Studies Office

2. Find out if school offers program.

3. Speak with a study abroad advisor about program.

4. Begin planning now.

Have a great day,

Shawn

Both previous posters are right on the money Booklady. My daughter spent a semester in Kenya thru one of the Claremont Colleges and:
1) the kids get full credit
2) financial aid is covered in total as it is treated the same as studying on the particular campus
3)because the semester or year abroad is treated as a part of the regular college program, at least at Claremont, all studies leading up to departure were far more in depth and under the tutalege of a specialist in the particular area of interest to the student.
4) YOU WILL WORRY LESS!!!!!

Espe3, Shawn, and Puna,
Thank you so much for your advice. I really did not know where to start. Now I will go to UF and see if they have a program in Spain where my son can attend. He likes Salamanca because we visited last Winter and he loved the environment, plus he loves Spain! But I think any university in Spain will help him and I believe that he will learn more in one term there than he will here. There is a lot to be said about immersing oneself in a culture and language. When he leaves he will have the rudimentary basics, which hopefully will help him a bit. I told him not to be surprised if at first he does not understand a word!

Thank you all so very much.
Carmen

If he's set on Salamanca and his school doesn't have a program there, make sure to look at what other schools have. It's kind of a pain to transfer everything but would be worth it if he really wants to go to Salamance.

When I first got to Leon when I spent a semester there, people thought I couldn't speak Spanish. The problem was that while I understood what everyone was saying, by the time I thought of something to say and translate it in my head into Spanish, they'd be on a different topic. I believe the only way to truly know a language is to be immersed in it. After a while I didn't have to translate everything in my head anymore. And you know you've made it when you dream entirely in a different language.

quote:

And you know you've made it when you dream entirely in a different language.

Hmmmmm, would dreaming about lovely Spanish ladies suffice?

Jejejejejejejeje.

I also find that a good way to know that you have made it is when you watch a movie or TV in Spanish and the translation is automatically done in the air on the way to your ears. In other words, the phrases no longer hit your head in Spanish and then need translating but rather they hit your brain directly in English and the translation was done automatically somewhere between the TV or movie screen and you.

Hard to explain but those who are there know what I mean

Saludos,
jer...

I know exactly what you mean. Although it seemed to me like English never even came into play anymore. I just heard and understood in Spanish.

I had one time when I heard a word in English and didn't know what it meant. I couldn't find a regular dictionary so I just looked it up in my Spanish/English dictionary. Once I saw the Spanish word, I then knew what it meant in English. That was odd.

Oh this leads me to another thing about choosing a study abroad program. The classes I took were regular classes that the Spanish students took. Having to take notes in Spanish really helped the speed at which I learned. Some programs have special classes that are at the Spanish school but are in English. Of course, you have to have a pretty good grasp of the language to be able to jump right into a regular university class, and it's terribly intimidating at first, it's worth doing if you can.

Carmen,

Here are some U of Florida links on the subject:

http://undergraduate.che.ufl.edu/enhancement/international.html

http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/

One big advantage with attending a program through your school is that you can often pay just in-state tuition fees and the credits are more easily accepted. That how it was for me on my (Cal State University) program in Madrid.

Salamanca is a small city with loads of cultural spots, but, do you know that at least the 1/3 of the population there are students? Great fun!

Hey Aidah, I think that 1/3 goes up to 1/2 in Summertime

Saludos,
jer...