33 reviews
4.16 / 5 based on 33 reviews
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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
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:
My level after:
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
Learning Spanish was a fun interactive experience. Bilbao is not a very touristy town, and hardly anyone speaks English, so speaking Spanish is mandatory. Also, having flatmates you can speak Spanish to is very benificial.
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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Family
Other sources of funding:
Family<br>
Personal savings
Work opportunities:
I didn't want/need to work
Personal spending habits
There are so many things to do and places to go that costs add up pretty fast. For the most part I cooked for myself, and that kept costs down, but going out on the weekend is quite expensive. Spain is quite cheap on average, although I believe that Northern Spain tends to be a bit more expensive on average, perhaps around that of the European average.
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Overall, Travel, Nightlife:
was more expensive than at home.
Telephone:
was the same price as at home.
Housing, Food:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
Have cooking parties with friends. After a hard days surfing, we would all go to one person's house and have pasta parties. Its cheap for everyone and everybody gets good at cooking.
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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
Overall
I wish I had known...
Just how good of an experience it was going to be. Be prepared to get to know a wide variety of people from other countries; most of my friends were Erasmus students from around Europe
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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
Stay away from the upper level technical courses; perhaps study at another campus.
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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
Try hitch-hiking. Its not too common in Spain, but I did it and had a two-week adventure I'll never forget.
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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
Academic
Course recommendations
Be very careful about choosing technical courses in a foreign lenguage. Even if you can speak it well, it is very hard to pick up everytnhing in classes. This problem is moreso in Bilbao due to the lack of textbooks, and the complete dependance on notes taken during class for exams. It is highly recommended to take humanities courses, and few classes at that.
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My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
Staying focused is quite difficult in front of the wide range of activities availible to a foreign student. Also, there was a complete lack of course work and quizzes, the only evaluation being one huge final at the end of the course. Definetly stay on top of things throughout the year, it is quite easy to fall behind.
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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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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by: Host university
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
Rally enjoyed the freedom having my own apartment allowed; Having Spanish roomates was a tremendous advantage for learning spanish and getting to know the city. Also, the landlord was quite accomidating and helped me get started in the city.
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Thomas C
University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, United States
Engineering, Mechanical, Undergraduate, GE3
Student life
Describe host city:
Students interact with the local community without much university involvement
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Nightlife, Activities, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
Casco Viejo had numerous places to enjoy a few Pinxos and wine or stay out all night. There was very little crime and personal safety was always assured.
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