Study in Madrid. Do it.

Studying in Madrid was a few of the best months of my life to date. The city is so alive. Life is in the streets. People are eating and drinking with their friends and family all night into the morning hours. And I'm talking everyone--middle aged people on a Tuesday night. In Spain, there is a presence and appreciation for the moment like nowhere else. The energy is inviting and exciting.
The Middlebury School provided excellent guidance and support throughout the entire experience. The staff is wonderful. I took the majority of my classes at the public university, Universidad de Carlos III, in Getafe. The Midd staff was continuously giving advice on how to best navigate Carlos III: tips for note taking, for speaking with professors, for talking to other students. They also gave advice for exploring madrid and how to best maximize our time there. All students in the Midd program had to take a grammar/language course at the Middlebury School, no matter where you took the rest of your courses (Carlos III, Autonoma, Midd). I loved my language professor. Hands down the best Spanish instructor I've ever had. In line with maximizing our experience in Madrid, she taught us the colloquial way. For example, she'd regularly tell us: "This is the grammatically correct way to do it, but in Madrid we say it this other way." The midd faculty and staff teaches you how to live in Spain--an immersive experience like no other.