Wanting to study abroad this Spring in Spain but I don't know what to do or how much money is needed?

Answer 1

Contact your college's study abroad office. They will have lots of information for you on studying in Spain or other locations. If they do not offer a Spain program, they may have a partnership with another school that does. My financial aid package covered two study abroad trips. The only things I had to pay for were my airline tickets and spending money. Housing, food, and transportation in the countries were covered as part of the study abroad program. You'll find it's actually very convenient to travel through your college.

Check out what different programs have to offer (live in dorm, live with host family, etc) and what classes you can take to find the right fit for you.

As for money, it all depends on what is covered in the program. If food, housing, and transportation are all covered, then you'd only need spending money. ($500-$1,000) If not, you'll have to factor in the cost of that as well. I'd narrow down the study abroad program you want to use first. For one place, I got a stipend for food. I ate cheaply and was able to save some of that money to use towards traveling afterwards and buying souveniers.

I stayed longer after my semesters ended to travel around a bit. I suggest that because you'll be more familiar with the country/language/culture by that time and will know the cool places to go. Don't forget to get a guidebook like The Lonely Planet or something like that. It'll have maps for you and list cool places to check out along with important numbers like the embassy, etc.

Answer 2

I'm studying in Seville this upcoming year, and I think the most important thing for you to do is figure out why you want to study in Spain.

For me, the answer was obvious (I'm a spanish language major). What your major is will help you determine what kind of program to attend...and I REALLY recommend attending a set program through your school or another accredited institution.

The advantages are numerous: support, credit transfer, home stay, group travel...and the list goes on. Culture shock can be an insurmountable challenge if you go it alone for a long period of time. (I know this from previous travel experience).

Once you have figured out why Spain, the rest of the pieces will start to fall into place. A good place to start your search for a program is your schools Study Abroad office, if one exists. These offices usually have counselors who can help you decide, but don't forget that there are a lot of really incredible independent programs out there.

Some good places to search:
http://www.studyabroad.com/spain.html
Type "Study Abroad Spain" into Google
Look at the websites of colleges you admire...almost all of them have study abroad programs that you can hook into.

And, of course, costs vary between programs. The program I will be attending is 20,000 USD for the year, not including airfare, visa (which you'll need), or personal expenses. I'm not sure about other programs, but I have a feeling this will be a good ballpark estimate for you. Who knows, maybe you can even find something cheaper! But I' say budget at least 2500 USD for personal expenses per semester.

¡Buena suerte!

Answer 3

I will be doing a semester in Barcelona in Spring of 2007 as well. If you are in school, going with their pre-planned program may be easier and far less costly for you since they take care of everything and it is easier to transfer the credits. My school did not offer Spain as a choice so I chose a company called International Studies Abroad (www.studiesabroad.com). With them you have to be a little more involved in the planning but they do assign you a counselor to help out. I think you will find all the necessary information you need on their website.
Good luck and enjoy Spain!

Answer 4

My dad was born in Madrid, Spain. I am 17 years old and we visit almost twice a year. I love Madrid to death even though I don't like cities. The countryside is excellent and there is so much to see! Well, compared to the dollar, the Euro ( currency of Spain ) is very high. Like all European countries, living is expensive and so is dining out. What we do, like when we stay for months during the summer, rent an apartment and go to the local " El Corte Ingles " or any supermarket and buy food that you can make in your apartment. Is it much cheaper then dining out, that is for sure! Since I am 17, I was planning on studying abroad in Spain aswell. Education is free, which is another great reason to study in Spain. Go to your local Borders or book store, they have TONS of great information about this wonderful country!

Answer 5

Check with your advisors/guidance counselors. Are you in HS or college? I studied abroad in Spain for a summer and it cost me around $900 for the ticket, $100 for required insurance(?), I don't know what a passport costs now ($100?), $2500 for the group program, $1000 for courses, and $1200 of spending money while I was there. I DEFINITELY recommend studying in Spain. I LOVED it. This is all from 2001...

Answer 6

It all depends on how long you'll be staying. Will you be staying with a host family or at a hostel? I would say that for about 3 months, aside from the plane tickets, you'll need at least $1,500-$2,000 to get by (rent, supplies, food, transportation, etc.). Just a tip: if you're going to be eating out often, don't go to restaurants/areas frequented by tourists/Americans. Local restaurants and stores bank on the fact that tourists have a lot of money to spend, so they usually tend to have higher prices. Try to find small/ma & pa restaurants and eateries. They usually have the best food and the cheapest prices. Additionally, shop for your meals in the markets/bakeries. Buy various items and make your own meals. But above all, have fun!!

Answer 7

That is a well estimate, however to be sincere, the extra money you might have, the larger. You're mainly now not going to desire to devour the software meals for each meal, everyday, and spain has a few pleasant eating places, however they are able to be high priced. Traveling and looking are high priced too. I might deliver a minimum of 3000 however extra is continuously larger.

Answer 8

Spain is awesome!!
Southern Spain is better than Northern parts in my opinion.
The south is more Mediterranean and colorful and people are more friendly and prettier / exotic looking.

Madrid is too much hustle, bustle type of city. I studied in Andalucia (Cadiz) for a semester and I spent maybe 3 days in Madrid and didnt care to stay much longer. It's a prettier looking big city but it's just like being in any metropolitan city. There is just so much more to take in from the smaller cities- and too many tourists in Madrid, it's the Spanish NYC.

Again like as the other person said, you need to know what you want to learn or why you're wanting to study abroad. It also depends if you are in high school or university.
If you are in high school... you probably have more flexiability to travel (as in skipping classes) and not take your classes as seriously as you would need to for college.
But dont worry too much because my friend studied in Rome recently and she was able to travel and had a pretty flexible schedule. She had her classes scheduled from like Monday - thursdays. She would leave on Thursday evening and come back SUnday evening. She went all over Italy and visited other surrounding countries... Germany, Sweden, etc...

I wish i had the same mentality as I do now back then when I went. I would have taken full advatage of the study abroad program. I was only 16 and wasnt sure if I can travel. If you are over 18, dont even hesitate... just be aware of the cultures around you, respect them and enjoy!!

This is one of the best decisions you are making in your lifetime. There is so much to see but dont hold yourself to only see Spain. Get a euro rail pass or fly on easy jet and see the surrounding countries. So much beauty so close to one another. if you do travel, its get a bit more costly however, you can get eurorail pass(student prices) pretty good... get like the 2 week pass or the 1 month pass. Mostly, if you are traveling within one country, they dont even check your ticket, at least they didn't check ours.
You can stay in hostels, the hostels there are cheap and considering they're hostels... they're very very nice. The nicest one i stayed in was in Barcelona, but the one in Madrid was pretty nice as well.
You should buy the Lets go Spain book, it's so worth it. You can also go to http://www.letsgo.com/destinations/europe/spain_portugal/ and find some info.
The book is worth your money.

Be sure to visit Morocco-- it's absolutly stunning (places you should go... Marrakesh, Tangier, Fez--- these are all safe places to visit amongst others) Tunisia is also beautiful. you can touch two continents for much lower price than going twice.
If you like water, the south of Spain is definately best choice... the beaches are stunning. There is so much more culture in the South.
I hope you are lucky enough to live with a Spanish family. I had that oppotunity and they were awesome and if I had not lived with them, my Spanish would not have been near where it got. I came back fluent speaking castellano Spanish.

If you can control shopping and all you're doing is traveling, you will be ok with about $2500 assuming you'll be there for a semester (if you can be frugal). Maybe better with $3000 at the least.
Its going to be a bit more expensive now because of the value of the dollar against Euro... which really sucks.
When I studied there, I was in high school and they still used Pesos. Last time I traveled there... there wasnt much difference between the Euro and the Dollar so... it was managable.

If you shop, then you'll need more like $25,000 (joking) but Spain is also a great place to shop. Very nice stores- maybe that's all of Europe. We're a bit behind on fashion here.

Anyways... I hope you have a blast. Becareful with your belongings in cities like Madrid. Lots of looters around especially on the metro trains. Backpacks... if you have someone behind you.. and those trains get crowded.... you may not see your belongings again.
Try not to carry your passport around... you do not want to lose it... instead make copies of it and have that with you for identification. GEt an international studnet ID card as well.
I hope this helps.
Have a blast, you will love it.

Answer 9

You could check into People to People youth ambassadors. Its really cool and cheap and its an honor to get picked to go. Plus they'll help you through schooling.

Answer 10

Dude, just go to www.studyabroad.com!!! Browse by country!!!!
You probably will need about $1500-$3,000