I am only in my freshman year at at UNC Chapel Hill but I am already thinking of studying abroad. I was hoping someone could drop a few lines for me of how student life in Madrid or Granada differs from the college life in the US. Any help in defining what is to be expected upon moving there is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

:m:

We applaud that you want to study in Spain and that you are thinking about it quite far in advance. You won't regret the decision to study here; as many members here will agree, it was a life-changing event in our lives.

I studied in Madrid through California State University International Programs, but others in our program studied in Granada. Our program in Madrid was part of the "Universidades Reunidas" program that has participants from many US universities.

Madrid is much larger than Granada, which of course has its positive and negative aspects. It has a great metro and bus system. It's quite a bit colder in winter than Granada, but more centralized so you can go anywhere in the country with an overnight train ride.

Granada is a smaller city (which of course also has its positive and negative aspects). It is located in the far south part of the country, which makes it take quite a bit longer to get to northern cities like Barcelona and San Sebastian. It doesn't get as cold as Madrid, and the cost of rent is lower. The ski areas of the Sierra Nevada are a bus ride away.

Here are the "know before you go" guides for my program (not sure when they were last updated):

Madrid:
http://www.gateway.calstate.edu/csuienet/predeparture.cfm?SE=7006721

Granada:
http://www.gateway.calstate.edu/csuienet/predeparture.cfm?SE=7006722


Hope this helps

Unless you speak Spanish well, it's definitely going to be a struggle (in the beginning at least). It won't be anything like studying abroad in programs like the UK and Australia (or other places that teach in English).

They don't hold your hand here, guiding you through the university. "Orientation" doesn't exist here. Alot of it is up to you to figure out yourself.

That being said, studying in Madrid would be a wonderful experience. Your language skills would improve rapidly. You'll get to experience a culture very different from your's at home. Travel within Spain is amazing. Food is great.

I figure, if you're going abroad, challenge yourself a little. Every student has some sort of foreign language experience. Choose a city where that language is spoken. Hang out with local and international students if you can.

It'll be hard, but in the end you'll come back home with more than a few memories of some wild parties.

quote:

originally posted by cmunkee:
[qb] Unless you speak Spanish well, it's definitely going to be a struggle (in the beginning at least). It won't be anything like studying abroad in programs like the UK and Australia (or other places that teach in English).

They don't hold your hand here, guiding you through the university. "Orientation" doesn't exist here. Alot of it is up to you to figure out yourself.[/qb]

I agree that speaking Spanish fluently helps a lot, but the amount of "orientation", etc., you get varies widely from program to program (if you choose to be part of a program)....and from program director to program director....we were lucky that we had an incredible director.

Plus, with a great website like multimadrid, you can find lots of information by doing Searches and asking members.

hey positive,

i live in Madrid and love Madrid, but for a student my vote would definitely have to go to Granada because in many of the bars there, when you order a beer you receive, courtesy of the bar, a free ham and cheese sandwich for the first round. the second beer will get you a hamburger with a pile of french fries, and this continues i suppose, but i never made it passed 3 beers + tapas. other bars have the custom of serving free mini-pizzas. since a beer cost around 1� (in either Madrid or Granada) after 2 beers you've had dinner and drinks and only spent 2�. granted the quality of those 'tapas' is not so great, but who cares when you're a student on a budget.

the other reason is that Granada being quite a bit smaller, my sense has always been that the student life there is a bit more intense and not as dispersed as in the big city here. and Granada is a gorgeous city, one of my favorites in the whole world.

bones

Hey, you should think about studying abroad in Salamanca. Its an amazing university town, filled with students like yourself. I studied there for one year, and it was the best decision of MY life. Its completely a university town, the nightlife never ends, its not expensive, the city is beautiful...i could go on forever. Oh, and its only 2.5 hrs from Madrid by bus!!

so, if you havent considered this city,....maybe you should check it out

I second the recommendation for Salamaca--I had a wonderful time when I studied there.

But really there are so many great places to study in Spain that it just depends on what kind of city you'd like to live in.

I do have some general advice for you about studying in Spain. First of all, if you come to study in Spain please don't spend all your time hanging out with American students and speaking English. You don't have to come all the way to Spain to do that. Make the most of your time in Spain because it will go fast.

Also, if you end up taking classes with other Spanish students (instead of with a program for foreign students), expect the classes to be different than your American classes. In most university classes here there is very little student participation. The class basically consists of the teacher talking the whole time while the students copy everything he/she says as fast as they possibly can.

Your grades may also be lower than what you normally get in the U.S. (at least this was my case) since the classes here are a different style. I always got really good grades in the U.S. so when I only got an "aprobado" on my first exam in Spain I almost had a nervous breakdown. Of course my Spanish friends were all really happy with their "aprobados"

Yay for studying abroad! I just wanted to second third and fourth everyone's cheers for your early decision! Being exposed to a new culture and way of life will really open your eyes and mind to new people and ideas. Without even realizing it, studying abroad makes you examine your true values what you believe in. Not only that but hello!! You're probably going to see a lot of really cool things all over spain and europe too!! (all on the parentals or the government/scholarships!!) GOOD TIMES!!

Madrid changed my life! But, as u can see, any city you choose (salamanca, madrid, granada, barcelona, wherever) will forever remain close to your heart and will be the best decision you could have made!! Like Paulandirene says, there are positives and negatives to each city. I could preach to you about how great madrid is, but just know that you will fall in love wherever you go.

I must add my last two cents on the positives... i think the fact that madrid is so dang central is incredible for the student abroad. 45euro roundtrip to lisbon, 35roundtrip to barcelona, and 30 to pamplona (i'm a cheap ass bus traveler) makes it so easy to get anywhere on a split second weekend travel decision. oh and the nightlife... and the tapas... and the people... and the energy...

can i please go back NOW?!?!?!

Deanna

I'm a Carolina grad (December '03) and I went abroad in Spring 2002 with UNC's program in Sevilla. I had the time of my life, and I'm of the opinion that it doesn't really matter where you go in Spain, you'll have a great time. I would choose Madrid over Granada, but that's only because I like hitting the clubs. Granada is beautiful and if you like to ski, it would probably be better for you there because there's slopes 45 min. away.

One piece of advice...no matter where you go, do not, under any circumstances, hang out exclusively with the Americans in your program. You're abroad (hopefully) to learn Spanish, expand cultural awareness, blah blah blah. Try to make friends with Spaniards; I had a Sevillana girlfriend and hung out with these two guys my age and their wives when I was there and had an awesome time. Great people, and a whole lot cooler than the Americans on the program with me.