
Universitat Autònoma De Barcelona Student Review
Before the stay:
I chose Barcelona because it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It offers many sights, nightlife and the beach in one. Now there are three things to do before you arrive. 1. The flight: to Barcelona actually not a problem, you can always find something with Ryan-Air! 2. Accommodation: you can stay in the “Vila” on the university campus, so you can always get to the lecture quickly in the morning, but far from the center of Barcelona (around 40 minutes). The easiest way is to look for a flat share in the city center and be right in the middle of the action. It is also more likely to get to know Spaniards in order to practice beautifully every day. Pages that make it easy: pisocompartido.com; loquo.com; idealista.com, Facebook / Erasmus / Barcelona. The rent for a nice room in a good location is unfortunately not cheap. This is an average of € 400. 3. Subject Choices: MicroEDU provides lists of the various subjects you can choose from. However, it continues to run through studyabroad in Barcelona. Caution! Inquire exactly in how many years the fellow students are, in tourism this is not that bad, but at the other faculties you can hang behind quite a bit. Find more review on Universitat Autònoma De Barcelona on existingcountries.
From El Prat airport you can take the Aerobus (6 €) to the center, which is easier than with public transport if you are not familiar with it and cheaper than a taxi. If you arrive in Girona, you can get tickets for a long-distance bus there, in Barcelona it arrives at the bus station and there is a metro station next door.
As for the weather, you can enjoy the beach in summer. However, in winter it is quite cold and there is no heating in some apartments. Should it rain once, then it really rains !!
Catalan culture is a culture in itself. I personally couldn’t handle it. When you go to the supermarket, you are often not even greeted by the fact that the employees just keep talking to the colleague and only serve the customers on the side. The Catalans like to protest against anything. As a foreigner, it is difficult to make connections as the Catalans are usually not even interested in that. The language is also different, although they can all speak perfect Spanish, but sometimes they don’t want to speak it (Catalan = Spanish + French + Portuguese + Italian). Of course, that does not mean that all Catalans are bad people, but rather that it is a personal experience and opinion.
The UAB is about 30 minutes from the center of Barcelona and can be approached from Plaza Catalunya, for example. There are tickets for public transport, the tarjeta joven (up to 25 years) costs 155 € for 3 months. In the university itself the level is much lower than in Germany (at least in the tourism faculty). Personally, I have to say that my experience was not that good, because I had to take a course that had to be the same as the one I would have taken in DE. When registering, I was not told that this course (Catalan economics) is for those in the 4th year and I rattled through the exam and now I am missing ECTs. So ask about everything, double and triple !! Because studyabroad is not the best help, on the contrary. The professors at the university don’t know much about their courses either. But Tatjana from MicroEDU was always available !!!! Professors have their own ideas and at times it can be difficult to follow. The semester itself is quite short, as you can either take several exams or, alternatively, a final exam.
The sights in Barcelona are great and you never get bored. The nightlife is also great, as there are thousands of bars and discos and always Erasmus offers.
You have to be very careful of your valuables, as a lot is stolen! Nothing was stolen from me, but from several people I know. As a man you shouldn’t be alone on the Rambla at night, because four of the black prostitutes attack you and rob you. The police, who are only a few meters away, don’t really care. Drinking and urinating in the street can result in large fines.
After the stay:
After you leave you will get your grades at some point and despite all the negative things, I had very good experiences in my semester abroad and met very nice people. And even after my departure, MicroEDU asked again whether everything was OK. I have to honestly say that I paid double the matriculation fees through MicroEDU / studyabroad, but then I had contact persons. Conclusion: It is worth the experience of a semester abroad in Barcelona!