Program: Clark-in-Madrid
Term: Spring 2019
Major: Aerospace Engineering
It was my first time abroad. I was able to go abroad because the program fit my studies, did not delay graduation, and was cheaper than U.S. tuition.
The program was very well organized. Ensuring the credits transferred was easy. The program fit my major perfectly! The events, trainings, and opportunities leading up to departure for Madrid were highly sufficient. The study abroad staff have been wonderful.
Advice for future #TerpsAbroad:
As an Aerospace Engineering major: study right after class. Info will be fresh. Review the following days. Study during the week, because I knew no one who studied on weekends / Friday nights.
You don’t need prior cultural or language skills to get by as long as you’re committed to improving.
I had never been abroad before my semester in Spain.
Venturing to another country — with a culture and language very different from those in the US — was very difficult at first. Culture shock is a very real thing. The language of classes (English) and the ability to stay in an apartment made this experience more manageable. This program allowed me to build up the necessary skills to live abroad in the future.
The language barrier [was the hardest part about studying abroad].
I taught myself Spanish to the point where I could complete rudimentary tasks (order food, find things in a store, get things printed at a print shop).