JT Tran's Study Abroad Experience
Major: Bioengineer, Communications minor
Expected Graduation Year: 2017
Host Country and Name of School: Madrid, Spain. University of Carlos lll
Biggest Challenges: Academics were a challenge, speaking the language too
Biggest Surprises: The hour long commute to school was a surprise.
Best Moments: Drinking champagne on a boat cruise around Ibiza, and Halloween in Barcelona (about 50 Santa Clara abroad students were there)
Were the academics a problem? Academics were a problem because it's designed for pass/fail, but SCU needs gpa, so the professors underestimated the value of each grade, and make the class harder because students who pass have the same mark.
Advice for those thinking of studying abroad? If you can fund the frequent weekend travels, book flights as early as you can to save a lot of money. Fly on Ryanair and Vueling (in Europe) and use Skyscanner to find flights.
Anything else you'd like to share? Madrid > Barcelona!