Nothing can substitute experience

Academic differences:

□    The biggest difference is the semesters. In Chile the spring semester is in July to December and the fall semester is from March to July. So not only will I be there for their fall semester, but normally our second 

       semester begins in January and goes through May.

□    I believe the workload and expectation from students will be the same as at MC. Although I have heard from students who haven gone abroad that courses in Latin America are somewhat distinct because professors give smaller loads of homework so study abroad students can get the experience of the city and not dedicated all the time to course work.  Students in Chile are expected to participate in class, but the biggest difference is that you must always raise your hand to ask a question. At MC sometimes students just ask questions or answer questions without raising their hands.

Credits:

□    At MC classes are normally worth either 3 or 4 credits. 4 credit courses usually gave a lab. Classes in Chile can vary anywhere from 2 to 4 credits. If it is a discussion bases course it will be worth 2 credits, but if it’s a business course it is either 3 or 4 credits.

□    No. Credits are not really valued differently. It is expected that a 4-credit course will need more dedication and will be more difficult just like at MC. Classes meet just like at MC; Monday, Wednesday, Friday usually for 50 minutes and Tuesday, Thursday usually an hour and a half. The biggest difference is that most of my classes abroad are after 11:00 and go until 7:00pm. Credits will transfer equivalent to MC standards.

Grades:

□    This will be the biggest change to get used to. There grading scale is so different from Maryville’s. As you can see their scale is from a 0-7 where ours is usually 60-100.

Scale Grade Description U.S. Grade Equiv. 6.0-7 Muy Bueno (Very Good) A 5.0-5.9 Bueno (Good) B 4.0-4.9 Suficiente (Sufficient) C 0-3.9 Insuficiente (Insufficient) F

Support:

□    Pontificia Universidad Catolica offers tutors at different times of the week similar to what MC does. The biggest difference is that the tutors are usually enrolled in that class either now or in the past. Sometimes the professor will offer extra sections for students who have questions, but it really depends on how many students need help.

Full- time status:

□    In Chile they require their students to take around 15-16 credits per semester. The reason for this is because Latin American universities do not require their students to take so many elective courses; instead the students focus mostly in their intended major area. At Maryville 12 hours is considered full time. While I am abroad I plan to be enrolled in 4 or 5 courses. I would have done the same here at Maryville because I alternate the amount of courses each semester. For example this semester I am taking 5 courses so next semester I only take 4, that way I am not overly stressed both semesters and I get a little more time to relax. In order to graduate on time and not have an exceedingly packed senior schedule I plan on take at least 4 courses while abroad.