Reviews of Schiller International University, Madrid (SIU) | Spain

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Student life

Describe host city:

Students equally interact with the local and student community

Travel, Nightlife: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment

Activities: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment

Personal social experience

Activities

Nightlife

Travel

Overall

Personal comments

none

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Housing

Type of housing: Apartment/House

Arranged by: Independently - My choice

If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House

Why?

Personal assessment

Cost

Facilities

Location

Cleanliness

Space

Personal comments

There was no housing provided by the university, only assistance to find an apartment.

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Overall

I wish I had known...

No. It was a great experience and even though there were bad moments and cultural differences, there was nothing really bad or shocking that I wish I knew before going.

In my opinion:

I loved it but I'm not sure everybody would.

Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important

Academic reasons

3

Culture

4

Costs

2

Activities

2

Campus life

4

Party / people

4

Weather / location

4

Personal recommendation

Go there if you don't care about going to a top rated school and want to have a lot of fun and not too much homework.

During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot

Became familiar with another culture

4

Traveled

4

Improved language skills

3

Met people from other countries

4

Became more independent

4

Partied a lot

4

Experienced a change in life

4

Advanced my studies & career

2

Final comments

Be street smart when you are in Spain and don't count that the police will bother with small complaints (such as that your landlord rented the apartment to someone else and gave all you stuff to charity while you were gone for the summer even though you were still paying for the apartment).

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Academic

Course recommendations

My academic experiences

Quality of courses

Variety of courses

Access to resources

Interaction with teachers

Interaction with international students

Interaction with local students

Personal comments

none

My opinion of the university assessment

Exams at end of course

Exams throughout the course

Essays and/or projects at the end of course

Essays and/or projects throughout the course

Overall

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

No, it wasn't.

Was learning Spanish a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Spanish

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your Spanish?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

It was quite exciting to be in Spain without being able to speak Spanish and it was a lot of fun trying to get around not knowing anything. Eventually, I learned enought to get around without problem. As far as the university is concerned, the courses were thought it English and so there never were communication issues.

Useful | 0

Ralitsa I

University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, United States
Marketing and Sales Management, Undergraduate, Independent

Expenses

Main source of funding:

Not specified

Other sources of funding:

none

Work opportunities:

I didn't want/need to work

Personal spending habits

At home I don't need ot pay for housing and I spend more on travel when I am abroad because there are so many places that I haven't been to and want to go that I end up traveling much more often than normal.

Overall, Housing, Travel:

was more expensive than at home.

Nightlife, Telephone, Food:

was the same price as at home.

Accessibility of student needs

Second-hand text books

Second-hand household items

Computers / Internet

Administrative

Money from home

Personal comments