Study abroad in Puerto Rico?

Question

Hi,

I am an international business student and think about spending one year at the university of puerto rico / rio piedras.

Has anyone been to UPR and can tell me something about it?

Are the Business/Economic Courses at a decent level?

Im also very interested in housing, transport and food costs:

How much do you need to pay for a flat in San juan. I would prefer living in a shared flat with other students. Can you tell me a good website where i can find flats?

Should i buy a car in san juan or is the public transport system efficient?

How much do i need to calculate for food? is it the same as in the US?

i hope someone can answer my questions

thanks in advance

Nick

Answer 1

Hello. Studying in Puerto Rico is a great idea. PR is a nice place to spend time. Do you speak any spanish?? UPR is a great school but most classes are in spanish. If you want english courses I suggest InterAmerican University also in Rio Piedras. Here we dont say Flats do that will sound wierd to people. You can rent a casa(house) or an apartamento/condo or maybe you can stay in a dorm with students. Rio Piedras isnt the best part of San Juan but it has good parts near the University. Food is about the same price as in the US. San Juan has transportation, outside San Juan does not really have any. Please look below for rentals. GOODLUCK!

http://www.clasificadosonline.com/Rental...

Answer 2

First of all, Do you speak Spanish?? I am asking this because the University of Puerto Rico the classes lectures are in Spanish. Well, even the English class are conduct in Spanish so think about this prior transfer. I you don't speak Spanish properly, I will suggest start taking some classes such as grammatical and pronunciation. Yes, the UPR is at a decent level in all the majors that it has. It is accredited like any US university, so don't worry about it.

Speaking about transportation, in San Juan are available public bus  as well as a train. I will recommend you to buy a car cuz it will be more recommendable cuz of the criminality. Housing can be a little difficult to find a nice and safe place. I can recommend you to use the University housing cuz it will be cheaper than rent an apartment in a good zone. The food cost is basically the same as Orlando, FL.

Answer 3

Try to visit this website which I just came across, you can find many useful information on study abroad, hopefully may help you:

http://summer-study-abroad-program.blogs...

Answer 4

It seems like a great idea now, but i think you would be better off picking a different place to do your studies abroad.

No, the business/economics courses are not at a decent level. And be prepared  for quite a shock coming into universities in puerto rico; they don't have as much funding as US universities so the quality of everything is way way below what you're probably used to.

Teacher's will show up late to class, or might not show up at all; and the quality of the professors...forget it.

My recommendation - go to europe, or australia it will be a much more rewarding and pleasant experience

If you do decide to come after all..you've been warned...do buy a car and the cost of everything is pretty much the same (assuming you don't live in someplace as expensive as new york or as cheap as cleveland)