Academic Differences

The Spanish educational system is different than the one here in America. Here at Maryville College, I'm accustomed to getting material before class and being expected to have read it and come into class ready to have discussion and ask questions for further clarification. In Spain, it's different. All classes are lecture classes; people come in and take notes the whole time while the professor lectures. There's not really open discussions.

Something I will have to adjust to is the fact that professors there are usually not open to building relationships with their students, which is completely different than the environment that exists here at Maryville College. I have close relationships with the majority of my professors and sometimes go out to lunch or dinner with some of them. I like being able to be friends with my professors, so it will be an adjustment when I get to Spain.

Credits in Spain are different. 2 credits over there equal 1 credit here. So students usually take around 30 ETCs there, which would be equivalent to 15 credits here. This shouldn't be a problem, since I'm used to taking 18 hours per semester anyway.

The grading system there is different than the one we have here, too. Here we grade on a scale of 0-100, but they grade 1-10 in Spain. A 9-10 is considered excellent, 7-8 is good, and 6-5 is average. This gives me anxiety because I'm a perfectionist and I like to make As in all my classes, so it's going to be a shock when I get there and I make anything less than a 9 or 10.

Here we have multiple assignments and quizzes that fluff our grade so that if we don't do so well on the midterm and final exams, you can still do well in the class. In Spain, there really aren't opportunities to do assignments throughout the semester. More often than not, there's only a midterm and final. So you have to keep up with all of the content covered throughout the semester and make sure you make an appointment to speak with your professor and ask questions.