On a well-reputed Spanish master program

HillbillyPUID: 3788934

Currently a master student at Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros.

I haven't logged in this account for a long time. One year ago, I benefited a lot from this forum for my application, and I think it'd be good to share more experience about the school with others. I probably should have posted it earlier before the application season but... it's better than nothing anyway.

I have to post in English and avoid the use of acronym of the school for the sake of privacy. Well my classmates who read this post might know who I am instantly but I'm not protecting my privacy from you guys anyway. I am busy with life and work as well so won't be able to reply to your questions timely, if any. Hope it's not much of a problem.

Below is merely a summary of my personal opinion on the master program and how I feel about my life in Spain (I don't know much about phd). It might be biased, incomplete, and it is purely subjective. If you need more objective information, check their website and gradcafe, since this post is a diary. Please let your own judgement guide you instead of my words when you make a decision.

Things I like:

• Nice people. Professors are nice in the sense that they truly care about their students, which is a good tradition in our school. They design their courses carefully with progressive structure and explicit slides, they listen to their students' needs, and most importantly, they are available even for your stupidest questions. You can learn a lot from conversations with them. They are exactly the type of professors who will make you think it has to be solely your own guilty fault if don't have a good grade. In terms of their academic excellence, check their cvs and publications. Also the school cares about the student. Free insurance is provided to everyone, and we have free priting quota of more than 20 euros, etc. What's more, the PhD students who become our TAs, they are fucking amazing!! Incredibly patient, helpful and nice in any aspect you could ever think of.
• Progressivity in program design. The master program is constructed in a way that is friendly even to those with a weak background. We start with basic mathematics, level up gradually (sometimes sharply lol) to more advanced methodologies, theories, and models, and eventually get to taste state of art work in several interesting fields. We have students without Economics or finance background (such as engineering) and some of them do pretty well. Two other things to be noted: First, if you have a weak background you'll have to work really extra hard. Second, if you have a good background you'll it easier to achieve academic excellence. For details of course deisgn, check the website.
• Summer internship. This is offered to all the students. For those who lack RA experience it's a great opportunity to learn, or at least, to have a taste on the things you are interested in doing, and on whether academia is the dish for you. For those who wants nice reference you can take advantage of it since it will guarantee you something you need in your PhD application package. If you prefer to work in the private sector, however, choices are much more limited because usually the ability to speak Spanish is required. For details of summer internship, check the program website.
• Small size. It feels like a family. You have more opportunities to get closer to professors in person. Also small cohorts help professors pay more attention to each individual on average.
• Relatively low cost. Staggering economy in Spain guarantees budget-friendly prices. Cherries here are even cheaper than domestic ones! Despite the fact that they are being tighter on scholarship to master students than before, it's still affordable compared with other developed countries. Monthly cost around 6000 - 12000(+?) yuan, depending on how you want to enjoy life :)
• Charming weather and cultural environment. Hardly rains. Ample sunshine all year round. People here are welcoming to international students in general except for the right wing vox voters. I feel warmly treated by everyone I have met. And people in the program are friendly as hell. Being immersed in such environment bestows me the motivation to spread kindness around, and I feel great about myself doing so.
• Philosophical and worldview impact. I've learned how to take it slow here. Being slow is not necessarily bad. Taking things step by step helps you see more clearly and comprehend more thouroughly. Life in Spain is what shapes this change in view, I benefit from this realization a lot, and I'm grateful.
• Strong alumni connection in Spanish banking system.
• Convenience for traveling in Europe.
  

Things I don't like:

• Spanish accent. Professors' and classmates' accent makes things frustrating sometimes. Some professors pronouce according to Spanish rules, some speak super fast, yet there are good ones though. If you don't understand well in class you'll have to use your own intellegence (and the help from others) to figure things out later. It sort of upsets me because of the inefficiency.
• Language barrier in life. A lot of people don't speak English, and it makes everything more inconvenient: going to hospital, taking a train, asking for direction, going to a restaurant, opening a bank account (when I applied for it upon arrival, they actually rejected me because Chinese students are on a ban list, which seems to have been loosened by now? idk), reporting to the police, going grocery. I still remember when I first went to Carrefour I spent long time translating the labels to make sure it's the product I want. Most importantly, it affects your social life, and unfortunately we are all social animals. Sometimes I want to go hiking or doing something wild and free but feel intimidated by the Spanish sign posts. It's not likely for you to meet new people at a random party hosted by your friend's friend's friend and possibly start some great adventures. That said, for long time residency, aka phd, not speaking Spanish makes life much less enjoyable than the case if you go to an English speaking country, I suppose.
• Language barrier in school. Students are automatically segreggated into cliques, ususally based on language (and how strong machismo you subconsciously have). It feels wierd and annoys not only me. (For example, when having lunch together at the common room you have Spanish and Italian students talking in their language loudly, having much fun and you feel excluded from the conversation all the time, but as a polite Chinese you don't want to interrupt them or start a high volume conversation in Chinese, which is a bit disrespectful, so you either eat quietly or exchange ideas with others who don't Speak Spanish in a low key way.) It is especially bad given it's a small program. But there seems no good solution at the moment.
• Small class size. Each coin has two sides. Small size of the program means you have limited choice on courses. And the fields of expertise of the faculty might fall short of your expectation. So in case you have to choose 3 courses to take among 5, where 4 of them do not interest you, don't complain. What's more, meeting the same small group of people everyday could be boring. I miss big campus life in general.
• External faculties. If you are unfortunate enough like me, you will have some of the courses not taught by the best professors who are on sabbatical, like Arellano or Nezih. And the result could be CATASTROPHIC. For example, after taking the Macro II course this year I never want to touch anything related to macro again. I feel like I've learned nothing from class but only painful memories about disordered slides, ambiguous definitions on concepts and miscellaneous typos everywhere. It's not only me. The rest of the class have unequivocally reached the consensus that it's such a waste.
• Financial support on the decline (to master students). This year almost no master student has scholarship. A possible reason is that the program's admitting more PhD students than ever, and their funding deserves guarantee first. This also happens when it comes to summer internship, since faculty resources are always allocated to them first. If you are not a PhD student here, or do not plan to be in the future, you might have to deal with their priority sometimes. Well, it doesn't really affect your life that much, but it's a fact.
• Sufjan Stevens never holds concerts in Madrid.
• Dining out is expensive.
  

*I have intentionally avoided the topic of placement in the post since I don't think it matters to me that much now. To me, finding the interesting things to work on and the fittest place to stay, proceeding with friends of wonderful souls on this journey of life, polishing myself, and staying happy and true to myself, are more important in the long run, than having a good replacement after master. If it matters to you, I'm sure there is much information on this forum and others to exploit. Good luck :)

Christophe123UID: 3899600

有用的信息，有趣的自白。谢谢楼主的分享，祝之后一切顺利，早日找到想要的生活！