I transferred to UMass specifically for the Spanish program. However, there are many things that I wish I had known prior to transferring that I want to make a post in order to help as many people as possible.

1- As a non-traditional, out-of-state, transfer student, financial aid is extraordinarily difficult to acquire. Had it not been from substantial family help, the tuition would have been too expensive; without the ability to use a parent-plus loan (as an independent and not a dependent student), this is made even more difficult. Unfortunately, the department doesn’t offer any undergraduate scholarships, so look on Academic Works (which is very competitive) and at outside scholarships (local, state, and national); don’t be intimidated by the essays you may have to write. It’s worth it! This may seem like doom and gloom to start this out, but financing your education should be a major factor when deciding whether or not to transfer to UMass. The Spanish department is worth it. I just want to completely transparent; my situation was a difficult one, and students deserve to know the financial aid situation.

2- There is a study abroad requirement in order to graduate in two years after you transfer from a two year junior/community college; I did not know this until the summer leading into senior year. This requirement can be satisfied through internships and service learning as well. My suggestion (not what I did) if you have to study abroad is to do it in the spring semester of your junior year. The reason behind this is you have to take a two class series (394 and 494 integrative experience courses) and you would ideally take 394 in fall of your junior year and then 494 in fall of your senior year (after you have returned from spring of your junior year). These classes are offered in fall semesters and not spring semesters. What I did to satisfy this requirement was a service learning option with the Spanish linguistic’s courses in the fall of my senior year, taken simultaneously with 394 and 494. While this is an option, I recommend the fall of junior 394, spring of junior experience (study abroad, internship, service learning), and wrap it up with fall of senior 494 in order to get the most out of the experience.

3- Make friends with the teachers and professors as soon as you can; having them as allies is one of the greatest advantages of the department- they care about you and your success! There are a lot of ways (even virtually) to network with them (cafe ole, cafe catala, guest speakers, etc.) and having them in your court opens avenues to get recommendation letters for the future, among other things.

4- Study for the placement test, and definitely don’t take it at midnight. You will not get the score, nor the placement you expect. I was very lucky to have one of the many great professors from the department advise me at the new student orientation and place me into the proper level, but it required having a conversation completely in Spanish. Originally, I was placed into 246, but was moved into 311. Do not take the placement test when you are tired and not completely coherent; it could affect the rest of your studies.

5- Enjoy the hell out of the program. I lived in Spain for a few years, and walking into my first semester with almost exclusively peninsular Spanish teachers was a huge comfort for me. That’s not to say that the entire faculty is exclusively from Spain, that just reflects the courses that I took. There are so many events, like film festivals, that bring the department together and there is a huge sense of camaraderie that is formed. The teacher to student ratio is amazing; the largest class that I was ever in had 26 students, and many of my classes had 6-10 students which gave us the ability to truly interact with the teacher. This program was the best fit for me.

6- Learn Catalan. Okay, I’m biased on this, having lived in Barcelona and Andorra, but UMass is one of two universities in the US that offers any form of degree (minor, and the other university is UChicago with a minor as well). This factored heavily in my academic decision to choose UMass. The Catalan staff is absolutely amazing and the class size was typically between 4-7. The film festival was the one exception, and it was amazing to have as many people gather to learn about Catalan culture.