API Study Abroad: Universitat de Barcelona

API Barcelona was phenomenal throughout my entire stay there. They took care of housing, academics and a surprisingly vast amount of local, cultural activities and weekend trips. Everything is conveniently located and they do a great job at getting you situated in Barcelona once you arrive. I can't recommend a program more than this one, and I met a ton of friends that had plenty of complaints about their respective programs, none with mine!

I had such a BLAST in Barcelona! It was such a great experience! I was welcomed by the support staff almost as soon as I arrived. They were really helpful in the initial few days with the transition. I loved my classes and actually learned a lot in them, and created relationships with my professors-one is actually a reference for me. The apartments were in nice neighborhoods and you were able to really get the Spain experience in them. I met some awesome people and really had the time of my life. Everyone should do this program!!

I loved every minute of my summer in Barcelona. Having class four days a week and free time three days a week was the perfect balance. API was extremely helpful and our trips were incredible. I stayed in an apartment in a residential area of Barcelona with one women and the living conditions were great! Our apartment was cleaned weekly and I've never tasted such fresh food! The metro was extremely easy to use and there were metro stops located conveniently all over the city. My classes were slightly challenging but extremely interesting and beneficial for my studies. My teachers were helpful and cared about our learning. There was never a dull moment in Barcelona because there are so many sights to see and places to visit! I will never forget my experience in Barcelona and the incredible services that API provided to me. It was definitely worth every penny!

I lived in an amazing apartment in the most adorable neighborhood (Gracia). We were right down the street from the Metro which was super easy and fun to take. We lived around many fun restaurants and plazas and even a little fresh food market. The weather was wonderful all semester, only raining twice that I can remember, and it was so fun walking down to the beach on beautiful sunny days! Barcelona has the best of both worlds, mountains, land and sea; city and parks; crazy tourism and down to earth locals. I really miss it and want to go back ASAP!

I absolutely loved my time in Barcelona. I ended up living with a great host family that made me feel like I was more than just a stranger living with them. They did things like taking me out to dinner and finding me Spanish books I could read at my level.
Barcelona itself is an amazing city, so you'll have fun no matter what you're into. It's known for being a party city, but that's by no means the only thing to do there. The other API students were all very nice, but they were mostly there to go clubbing, which isn't my thing. I ended up making an amazing group of friends by taking free English-language improv classes. I also tried swing dance and martial arts classes in Spanish, which were great because I didn't need to understand everything that was said. (By the way, many people in Barcelona speak English. It can be a big relief to be able to talk to someone in English if you're stuck, but if you want to challenge yourself, consider a place like Seville. Most people there speak little to no English.) I guess the bottom line is that API provides a great program (the excursions are great fun, I especially liked the one to Rome), but for a really fulfilling time abroad, you should explore on your own. That's probably true for any program.
Also, I will say that the academics left something to be desired, but the fault lies with the university, not API. API students at the University of Barcelona are enrolled in a program called Estudios Hispanicos, or Spanish Studies, which consists of a Spanish class and a few Spanish electives. The classes were not very challenging and often quite disorganized (there were days when nobody knew what room my Spanish class was in until half an hour after it was supposed to start. The people in the office would tell me to get a coffee while they figured it out. Spain in general is pretty laid-back and often disorganized). I don't think there's much API can do, though, because students with other programs and at other universities in Barcelona have told me they had the exact same complaints.
Since I went for my gap year and my future college wouldn't accept the credits I earned anyway, I didn't mind that much, and I learned a lot of Spanish just by immersing myself in the culture. If you're looking for rigorous academics, keep looking, but if you want a unique experience in a beautiful city full of excitement and friendly people, I highly recommend API's program at UB.

Not even sure where to begin...I studied abroad in Barcelona in the spring and it blew me away.

Firstly, API is so helpful and respond to your email quickly with great deal. I had to go to the dentist & doctor a few times (which is a very confusing system in Spain) and they guided me through everything & made sure my doctors spoke english...VERY necessary! Any question or concern you have- they'll help you out.

The included excursions are AWESOME. When studying abroad, you visit lots of different countries & get use to booking flights...hostels..dinning...and then when you go on an API excursion and all of that is already paid for & things are planned...it feels amazing! But you still get lots of free time to do whatever you want/go out, so you don't feel 'parented' or anything.

The living situation was extremely ideal. I lived in Gracia, super close to one of the campuses (15 min walk), down the street from Sagrada Familia and nearby many markets. The neighborhood is awesome & you get the feeling of an old charming neighborhood with lots of residents, great shops and culture.

Honestly, if you go, you and all your friends will probably get pickpocketed. My friend from home & I read reviews on BCN months before I left and we saw all the 'pickpocketing warnings' and joked about them. She visited me in Barcelona and we both got pickpocketed at the club we were at our first night. No joke! It was hilarious though. Yesss I got pickpocketed 3 times actually my whole trip, but they were all very minor and I never felt unsafe. Las Ramblas is where they are sneaky & make sure you have your purse on your lap at restaurants!

Going out....that's a big topic! Barcelona's nightlight is epic and if you have any 'fun' bone in your body, then you'll love BCN. The whole city (and Spain's) schedule is different but you get use to quick. Lunch is from 1-2....siesta is from 2-4 (literally, all the stores close during this time)...dinner is from 9-10...and then the fun begins. So if you to a club, you don't start pregaming until midnight and you get to the club at 2am. If you arrive to the club at midnight, NOONE will be there..trust me! Spainards are beautiful and everyone dresses really nice while out. You won't get home until 6am. This is normal. I went out to clubs 5-6 nights a week....and wouldn't have changed a thing!

Class....classes were in 2 different buildings. One was a close walk and the other was about 45 minutes by metro. Something I didn't really think about while researching studying abroad was the actual building. Many study abroad kids go to 'study abroad progam buildings' where americans teach the courses and all your classmates are from your program. However, Autonoma is a school where tons of Spanish kids go as well as international. So your attending a normal Spanish university....something I appreciated looking back! The professors are awesome & hilarious. However, the one drawback is the computer lab. It is always PACKED with students and the printer never worked or was out of paper. It was always a hassle!

But yeah.....I whole heartedly recommend this program to ANYONE considering studying abroad. It was perfect across so many levels. At first, I wasn't going to study in Barcelona but then I read student reviews and every single on just raved about their experience. And hopefully that's what you can take away from this as well! You will have the best time of your life in Barcelona, it is the greatest city to study abroad. I want to go back soooooooo bad! Have fun : )

Despite only having studied abroad during one summer, I had a really enjoyable time! My host was very nice, and even cooked food to fit my vegetarian diet. I was the only student staying there, and had originally requested a roommate; however, I ended up enjoying having some time more to myself, while still being able to visit friends at their apartments/at the beach/etc.

I liked the structure of the classes, and how everyone in the program was placed in a class at the appropriate language level, giving us the chance to meet people outside our API program, some of whom were from other countries.

I also liked that API had cultural excursions planned on the weekends, and occasionally on weekdays--it was a nice chance to learn more about the culture and explore more than I might have on my own. That's not to say you don't have time to do your own thing too--one weekend, I even took a train to Montserrat with some friends!

One thing I thought was challenging was the exam at the end of the four-week classes--unlike exams I was used to, it was not created by our language professors, so tested us on grammar we may or may not have focused on in class. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this program!