For students who want to step away from the bubble, Stanford offers a large array of opportunities. Its overseas centers range from those in Australia to Kyoto; Bejing to Paris; Santiago to Moscow. Nearly 30 percent of Stanford undergrads take this route.

But if you want to study in Spain — or any of the countries where Stanford does not have a program — youíll have to look to other programs.

Junior Stephen Dorsey, a philosophy and Spanish major, chose Hamilton Collegeís Madrid program over Stanfordís in Santiago, ìbecause it was more in line with what my interests were,î he said.

ìIt also appealed to me that it was for a semester and not a quarter, because I was able to get a month more abroad,î said Dorsey, who spent fall semester in Madrid.

He chose to apply to Hamiltonís program because it’s “a pretty well known program and it is one of the ones that Stanford recommends which makes transferring units easier.î

While the Stanford programs emphasize language skills, and classes are often taught in the native language, many Stanford courses abroad are taught in English. Dorsey was also attracted to the Spanish-only policy of the program.

“We signed a waiver before we left saying that we would only speak Spanish while we there,” he said.

“I stayed with a host family with a 12-year-old sister and a six-year-old brother and spent a lot of time with them,” Dorsey said. “We went on a lot of trips with the program and traveled all over Spain to lots of museums and cathedrals.”

Dorsey was also able to take classes towards his Spanish major. His department allows up to 25 units to be transferred from abroad.

“I took a class on the history of modern Spain, a Spanish language class and an art history class on Spanish art from the Roman times to up to the 18th century,” he said.

“I also did an internship where for half of the class I taught Spanish at a local school to third and fifth graders, and for the other half of the class I studied the education system and non-profit groups in Spain.”

Though Dorsey enjoyed the program, attending a non-Stanford program did have drawbacks. For example, he had to stop out from Stanford in the fall.

“It would have been easier not to disenroll, and the draw is easier for you coming back [if you study through Stanford],” he said. “I had to wait and go through the walk-in sessions the day before the quarter started because those people who are on Stanford programs get first priority to the housing thatís available.”

But Dorsey said he is glad he decided to do the program through Hamilton.

“Logistically, it would have been easier but I also enjoyed meeting people from different schools. I guess there were pros and cons,” he said.

“I think you should just figure out what your interests are, and for me, my interests were in Spain and in Europe,” he said. “There are benefits to doing the Stanford program but the most important thing is where you go.”

Spanish Prof. Michael Predmore agreed that there are plenty of excellent opportunities for students to study abroad through non-Stanford affiliated programs.

“We in the Spanish Department endorse three programs that we have the highest regard for based on on-site visits, faculty and feedback from our students,” Predmore said. “The Hamilton Program, which is affiliated with small liberal arts colleges in the east; the Madrid Campus of St. Louis University; and the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies in Seville.”

Predmore said that the Spanish Department assesses different abroad programs based on ìtheir academic quality, the rigor of the program, the home stays and the quality of the cultural excursions.

“I wish that Stanford had [a program in Spain], but these programs are so good that I think they serve our students as well,” he said. “These programs are strong as a result of 30 years of experience.”

Predmore estimated that between 50 and 60 students go to Spain each year, making it the second most popular overseas destination, second only to England.

Stanford offered a program in Salamanca until it was shut down 20 years ago in the late 1980s to make room for a program in Santiago. The Overseas Studies Program is developing a program in Spain, but the details and date when it will open is yet to be determined.

While Predmore is very supportive of the campus in Santiago, he disagreed with the Overseas Studies Program taking away the campus in Salamanca.

“Overseas Studies wanted to put up a program in Santiago and the Salamanca program had to be sacrificed,” he said. “I never understood that. I always thought it was unfortunate that they tried to play one off of another.”

Predmore does recommend the Santiago program to his students, however, in addition to other abroad programs in Spain, depending on the particular student’s interests.

ìI went to participate in the Santiago program and I have always tried to have been supportive of that,î he said. ìWhile I was unhappy that they closed down the program in Spain, I was never unhappy that they set up a program in Santiago.î

Dorsey felt that Predmoreís feelings echoed the general sentiment of the Spanish department as a whole.

“Within the Spanish Department, I think thereís an understanding that thereís a lot of student interest in Spain,” Dorsey said. “They like the Santiago program but they understand that thereís a lot of demand for the Spain program too. They want people studying [abroad].”

Junior Nathan Aleman studied in Seville through ìAccental,î a program run by Trinity Christian in Illinois.

“One of my friends from [home in] Riverside did it. He liked it and recommended it,” Aleman said.

He decided to do a non-Stanford program for two main reasons.

“The biggest thing was that I wanted to go to Spain,”Aleman said. “The second biggest reason was that I was lucky enough that I really didnít have to take classes for my major when I was abroad. I got to take classes on Spanish history and art. I had friends sitting in Berlin and doing a problem set, and I just felt that that was a waste to be in Berlin and be doing that.”

Aleman thinks that the ability to really experience an environment is the most valuable part of studying abroad.

“I think that the best thing to study [while] abroad is where you actually are,î he said. ìItís a better opportunity in terms of life than sitting in a Stanford classroom and taking Stanford classes. [It allows you to] feel the environment of your class when you walk around.”

Junior Sasha Lubomirsky, who traveled to Prague through the American Institute for Foreign Study, or AIFS, agreed that studying with a non-Stanford program had cultural advantages.

“I loved doing a non-Stanford program,” she said. “It allowed me to focus on the experience and not the grades. Even though the credit transfers, the grades don’t. I know my friends who were abroad through Stanford programs were a lot more concerned with their schoolwork. I had a four-day week and could use the weekends to travel around to Poland, Austria, England, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Hungary and Germany.”

She added:”I’m not sure I could have done all that if my academics were more rigorous.”

Having classes with non-Stanford students also appealed to Lubomirsky.

“I liked being exposed to what other college kids are like,”she said. “We take for granted we know what college students are like, but we only know a very, very particular type. Meeting kids from colleges across the country and learning about their experiences was interesting and illuminating.”