Barcelona

When considering the true incremental cost of this study abroad, you should examine what your expenses would be if you stayed in Blackburg. For example, if you don't do this study abroad, you are going to pay VT tuition and fees anyway which amount to over $14,500 if you are an out-of-state student. Barcelona tuition would be $1,100 less than if you stay in Blacksburg ! That pays for your airfare.

You would have to eat meals even in Blacksburg. You would have to buy books. You would have to pay rent.

So studying abroad will cost only slightly more than if you stayed in Blacksburg for the semester! But you'll be learning and living on the Mediterranean!

These are only estimates. Prices may change due to global economic conditions and changes in pricing by service providers. Cost is the same for in-state and out-of-state students.

Financial Aid is available by application to IES for merit-based scholarships.

Total Costs (w/o optional field trips)

$20,640-$22,040

ª these figures are based on the published rates for 2014 as 2015 rates are not yet available.

Figures in blue are the expenses categories that you would not incur if you stayed in Blacksburg and are the gross incremental or marginal cost of approximately $4,720 (not including the cost savings on tuition for out-of-state students or increased tuition for in-state students - net $10,112 for in-state students).

Note: in addition, deposits may be required as specified in the agreements, some are non-refundable such as any VT application deposit and others are refundable such as any facility and equipment damage deposits. A damage deposit is not included in the above costs because it would be refundable at the end of the Program. IES has a confirmation deposit of $500 once you have been admitted. It goes toward tuition.)

*Personal Expenses includes many items of personal choice. The amount you spend will depend on your

• Your personal, independent travel

• The amount of gifts and mementos you purchase

• What kinds of restaurants you chose to eat in during your unscheduled time, entertainment, and

• How often you do laundry, use taxis, and so on.

• Mobile phone rental (required for safety) beyond the $50 above, airtime charges on cell phones

The documents that are the official word on the costs and deposits are the Financial Agreement, Deposit Agreement and other forms that you will sign. The summary here is not legally binding and is provided for information purposes only. Consult the Financial Agreement/Contract and other forms for details.

Virginia Tech reserves the right to make cancellations, date, cost, and deposit adjustments, and other necessary changes in the program. Prices may change due to global economic or other conditions.

Who is eligible to participate?

Juniors of all majors in the fall of their junior year who are taking Intro to Management, Intro to Marketing, and Intro to Finance (and for finance majors, preferably Financial Analytics as well) can apply. Sophomores in the spring can also apply with the plan to take the prerequisite courses mentioned above in the following fall semester.

GPA of at least 3.00. Grade of at least "C" in the prerequisite courses.

"Participating in study abroad does not allow a student any exceptions to meeting Policy 91 requirements. It is the students’ responsibility to understand Pamplin’s specific Policy 91 requirements, which may be viewed at http://www.undergrad.pamplin.vt.edu/advising/policy91.html ."

Get a valid passport (from US Dept. of State). Apply for it before you start the application process.

Note: once you are accepted into the program, a student visa also is required from the Spanish consulate in DC (Step #7 below). You have to have a passport before you can get a visa.

Process for Applying (New: Early Bird Process)

1. Apply directly to IES >> Complete the application at IES's web site for online application (no application fee) including a download of the Authorization Form. Complete the application form, SAVE it, print it,
2. From this Pamplin site, download the FERPA Waiver , Student Conduct form, and the Records Release Waiver for VT plus the VT Application/Checksheet. Complete those forms
3. By May 1st for Early Birds (September 15th if you are late), bring the two IES forms, an unofficial transcript (such as a DARS report), a statement of why you are interested in studying in Barcelona, and the four forms in #2 to the VT faculty liaison for approval/signature. (You can apply as early as the prior spring to reserve a seat.)
4. Submit the online application and the PDF Authorization Form to IES in Chicago by email (enrollment@iesabroad.com) no later than May 15th (September 20th) -- not the deadline that IES has on its web site. (This should be in time to get you registered for courses at UAB. Earlier is recommended. You need to factor in time to get passport and visa. See below.)
5. Go to VT's Global Education Office site >> register/apply for the Barcelona program. That will stimulate a series of contacts and information from VT regarding your program. (Sorry about this additional layer of applications, but VT provides some good services to you, and they need to know that you are still a student here but spending the semester in Spain.)
6. IES will contact you mid summer (within a 3 week time in the fall) regarding the admission decision and further actions you need to take (including pre-registration in November to get the classes you want!).
7. Within three weeks of notification from IES of acceptance in the program, submit your $500 confirmation deposit to IES. This is critical. Don't forget to do it!
8. Apply for student visa for Spain. You have to go to the Consulate in DC to deliver documents and again to retrieve your passport and visa. From the Consulate's web site:

Student visa applications "have to be approved by relevant authorities in Spain. Therefore the process takes between 8-10 weeks to be approved. Taking that into consideration, we advise to apply in the Consulate as soon as possible."

IES offers a service to help get the visa at an additional cost of $100 that is easier than doing it yourself. If you live outside the mid-Atlantic states, this service may be available to you. If so, they will send you the information after you have been accepted. The service is not available to those in the mid-Atlantic states.

8. In addition to #4 above, you have to ensure that the College of Business knows and approves of your program. Although the courses have already been approved, you must submit the form for equivalency of courses to Pamplin 1046 (See Leanne Byrd). Here is an example of how to fill in the courses.

Each student must have a valid passport from their home country. You can apply for a passport at the Blacksburg Post Office. You should insure that you have the proper vaccinations for this program. This can be done through the University's recommended travel clinic (Intravene), a county health department, or your family physician. Your familiy physician usually does not have the more specialized vaccines and should refer you to the county health department. You can see a list of recommended vaccinations and other health information at the CDC travel website.

These sites have additional information:

• Passports
• General Information from the U.S. State Department
• International Travel from the U.S. State Department
• Students Abroad - U.S. State Department
• Customs Information
• Medical Information
• CDC Medical Information
• Drug Offenses Overseas from the U.S. State Department
• CIA Factbook (A great place for information on the countries you visit.)
• State Department Travel Alerts & Warnings

You will be living in a bedroom for 4 weeks. Do not try to take your entire wardrobe with you. A small suitcase or medium-size backpack is ideal for weekend trips. The airlines limit the weight of your luggage so pack light. The suggested packing list will help you choose what to take.

Electric Applicances

Spain and the rest of Europe uses 220 volt, 50 HZ electricity. Your standard USA hair dryers, curling irons, shavers and battery chargers will not work in Europe. You should check that your computer and any electronics that you take will work on 220 V/50Hz current.

Students have a blast in Barcelona. There is time to explore and have fun. Being overseas for a month is a treat by itself, and Barcelona has a lot to offer. Traveling to France or other parts of Spain offers even more excitement. Over 85% of the 2009 participants felt that overall the Program was "Better than I expected." Here are a few student comments about the overall experience:

"All the visits were fantastic, and I had an amazing trip."

"I really enjoyed this program and would do it again immediately. Thank you."

All of students in 2009 on the Program Agreed (25%) or Strongly Agreed (75%) that they would recommend this program to other students. If you haven't been able to meet with some alumni of the program, here are some of their comments about the quality features offered by this program.

"The staff was very helpful. The IES center is in a great location to pursue
everything in the city. Our guest lectures and tour guides were amazingly
knowledgable. "

"The field trips were the best part of the study abroad experience. They
were activities that I would have not done on my own if it wasn´t scheduled."

"The teachers at IES ... were all amazing, so nice, and very helpful."

"we had great teachers both from IES and that came with us through VT. We also had so many resources at our hands that were very helpful throughout the trip."

"the staff was all very friendly and accommodating. I also really enjoyed living with a host family."

Here are some thoughtful comments about the long lasting implications of going on the Barcelona study abroad from students who have the perspective of being several years beyond graduation (written in 2009):

"... it is really difficult to find opportunities like this to live and study overseas in such a culturally integrated and useful way. ... living with a host family ... is often the best way to learn how to live and communicate cross-culturally."

"Simply put, in addition to the classroom studies, living overseas always gives you a unique chance to develop cross-cultural communication skills as well as ability to adapt and flex--very transferrable to any business setting. While I know the myriad reasons to be more short-term and practical about using the summer as a resume, I want to encourage you, as someone looking back, to never sacrifice the long-term benefits and the experiences that will impact you 5 or 20 years down the line."

"Dr. Shome and Dr. Morgan are great professors to work with and get to know. They always put a lot of hard work into designing a program that will add the most value to your experience both inside and outside of the classroom. "

Lace (Cosgrove) Fang
(2005 Program Alumnus)

"... by doing the classwork overseas, I received a different perspective due to the influence of being in a different culture, meeting new people, and visiting locations on-site that if I took the class at VT. In addition, by being in a different country, I could see the actual application of international business (for example, how a lot of the American companies have spread over the world in Barcelona). A first-hand experience on business and culture (and anything for that matter) has a lot more impact than learning it through a book."

Vicky Nguyen
(2005 Alumnus)

"... an experience that taught me a lot academically, culturally, and socially"

Kevan Moniri
(2005 Alumnus)