Internships in Madrid - Adelante Abroad

Looking through the comments above, I am almost positive that these "reviews" were written by Adelante Abroad staff in order to heighten their own ratings.

I recently came back from a nightmarish experience in Spain, which is why I am taking the time to write this review- I want no other students to go through what I did.

For those of you seriously considering Adelante, I urge you to choose a different program (going through your University is probably the safest option.)

If you go through Adelante, be prepared to have no help from the staff, who will suddenly go MIA. Also be prepared to be exploited as free labor during your internship. It clearly states on the site that you will only work a maximum of 4 hrs/day, when I was FORCED TO WORK OVER, AND AT THE END I WORKED A 12-HOUR DAY.

I ended up leaving Madrid months early due to my work schedule and other Adelante-induced complications, and am currently trying to get my $5000+ back through my credit card company. Adelante refused to give my money back even though she is fully aware of what happened to me in Madrid.

Don't put yourself in a similar situation. Adelante truly ruined my study abroad experience and took advantage of me.

If something similar happened to you during an Adelante program, just remember that you have options- don't give up. It will take a lot of time, but by alerting your credit card company of a fraudulent service, they can help you get your money back.

Good programme, you are well looked after in your first two weeks of settling in. The internship was fantastic experience, and my other friends on the course enjoyed it too. My spanish improved greatly, and there is plenty of free time afforded to you to make friends and do your own activities

I had a good experience with Adelante and their program in Madrid. I’ll break my experience down to the categories:

Adelante Support Staff: I had to get a visa because I was there for more than 90 days. They were VERY helpful and even gave me a letter saying I had paid for the program (when I still hadn’t yet) so that I could get my visa from the consulate in Chicago. They were also good at responding quickly to emails and questions, which is important because they do all their interaction and communication via phone and email.

Housing: I chose the “live with Spaniards” option, which really means living with other international students. That ended up still being nice because we all still spoke Spanish and I got to sample a tiny bit more of European life through them. My flat mates were from France, Belgium, and there was one Spaniard. There were 6 people total and two bathrooms in the unit, each with our own bedroom. One thing I will say is that the housing service (called Aluni) that they use is a bit disorganized. I got WAY overcharged for the housing deposit and it took them awhile to return it. They also claimed I hadn’t turned in the keys at the end, which I did, they just hadn’t checked the mailbox. You also have to buy your own food at the grocery store, so take that into account in the cost of the program.

Two week Spanish classes: I actually really enjoyed these. You take a test that places you in a certain level and you learn pretty standard grammar, idiomatic phrases, etc. not related to your internship. They also give you a book that you can keep that has literally ALL the grammar rules of Spanish. That was really helpful. I also befriended a lot of other Europeans who were in my class and visited one of them after she returned home to German.

Internship: My unpaid internship was good, not phenomenal, but good. I worked at a law office about 20 minutes away from my flat and did a tax project the whole time. I mostly learned about different income tax rates in 60 different countries. My boss was nice but not around too often. One thing though, most of the people in who worked in the office were German, so they spoke German all the time. There was one guy who spoke fluent Spanish, so I talked with him in Spanish. But the others only spoke German or English, so I had to communicate in English with them. At the end I got a letter of recommendation after asking for one.

Daily Life: After my internship I would always have a new neighborhood or part of the city that I wanted to explore. That was good because by the end I knew so much about the city and where things were. A lot of Spaniards commented that I knew the city/metro/buses better than they did by the end. I also went to language exchanges at coffee shops on certain nights to practice my Spanish even more.

Overall: Overall, I liked the program and would recommend it, but not to everyone. You have to be VERY independent and well organized. If you’re someone who’s used to people doing stuff for you/structuring things for you then you may find yourself bored simply because you don’t know what to do after your internship gets done every day. Also, you have to be outgoing. You can befriend your roommates but if you want to meet Spaniards/have Spanish friends then you have to be willing to go out of your way to meet them, as the program doesn't give you a ton of opportunities to organically meet Spaniards. I joined a free Spanish online dating website, which actually ended up being an excellent way to meet people (not just romance either, you can meet friends too!).

I have just returned from a two month stay in Madrid. Overall, I had a very good time. The language school
is one of the best I have ever attended, and the teachers and the director are always helpful and friendly. I was staying in an apartment in the same building as the school, in a very good location just five minutes from Puerta de Sol, which is the very centre of Madrid. The apartment was nice, and any problem was fixed quickly by the staff. I was also very happy that I could have friends staying with me for a couple of days.
After two weeks of language classes, I started my internship with a Psychiatrist and his team. It was a very good experience, both personally and professionally. Everybody was very nice, trying to make me feel welcome, and helping me with language problems. It was of course a bit daunting at first, but in the end I was very sorry to leave. I got to sit in during therapy sessions, and also to talk to patients myself while they waited or did some tests etc. The Doctor was always happy to explain things and I learned a lot, especially on CBT and pharmacotherapy. I think it s a valuable experience for anyone wanting to go into counseling psychology, but I think a good Spanish level is important so you can communicate with the patients, and you need to be prepared to adjust to the rhythm of the 'Consulta'. Not all patients are comfortable to have others around during the sessions, so there can be quite some time spend waiting around, and the working hours are irregular.
My tip would be to read some of the Doctor's books before going, it's very helpful.
As to the city, I have been to Madrid many times already, and love the place, it's beautiful, people are great, and there is lots to do. I would definitively recommend this program.

My internship in Madrid consisted of working in a private clinic with a very well known psychiatrist and his team of psychologists and psychiatrists. On a daily basis, I observed patients in sessions with the doctors, I learned how to do introductory diagnostic consults, I learned how to administer diagnostic tests, and learned all of the treatments given to the patietns (pharmocotherapy, behavioral cognitive therapy, etc.). An experience like this would never exist in the U.S. for a student who has not yet received their license to practice psychology. I was so lucky to have had this opportunity! This experience was unbelievable and totally exciting. I was lucky enough to work with some really great people that were really helpful - since Spanish is not my first language. This program is definitely meant for an advanced Spanish speaking intern. It was still difficult and tiring at times, but definitely an experience that really helped my Spanish speaking and listening skills. It was a great chance to practice both psychology and Spanish all together!

I don't even know how to go about beginning to describe my experience interning abroad in Madrid. It was literally the most amazing experience of my life, so much so that I extended my stay there for an additional three months! Initially I began working for a publicity company outside of the city in Pinar de las Rosas. My time working for Alcandora was great - I learned a lot about marketing and advertising which was all knew to me. For the second three months I worked for a market research company where I translated presentations about specific new products companies were introducing to the public. this portion of my stay really helped me tune into learning more Spanish which I really loved. The best part of my experience, however, was all of the amazing, ambitious and flat-out awesome people that I met. It's been over a year since I moved to Madrid and I still speak to about 10 people internationally every week. In fact, some of my old roommates have even come to visit me in Washington D.C. where I'm currently living and working. I have recommended this program to so many of my friends and coworkers and I know they've all been really interested in living abroad after hearing about my time in Madrid. (best city on earth, by the way).

I was a little unsure of what I was getting myself into when I decided to go, but it turned out to be amazing. The language school was a really good refresher, and my roommate and the other people who came at the same time were a really great support system/social crew. We also took advantage of the trips through Forocio to go to Cadiz and other cities nearby, which I highly recommend. Basically, have fun!

-the relationship with the spanish language school is FANTASIC
-the living conditions were good but people should be placed with just boys/girls and maybe even by age - we also had problems in our appartment about cleanliness!!
-internships were useful but we could have been given more to do
-locations are great
-support is always available and the people care about the students