Quite challenging, but totally worth it

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is a young university, divided in three schools. The bigger ones are located on the outskirts of Madrid, Getafe and Leganés, but thanks to the excellent public transportation in Comunidad de Madrid, this is not a problem at all. Getting there from the city center takes around 30-40 minutes in total, depending on where you live.

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I spent one semester studying in the School of Engineering, located in Leganés. My impressions about the faculty itself were generally positive: the campus is very well cared-for, giving you access to a big library, sports center, canteen and lots of bars with fair prices for students, because of the distance from the touristic city center. Contrarily, Leganés itself is boring for a student, and you won't be hanging out there during you stay, so I'd suggest living somewhere in Madrid and explore all its possibilities.

What I liked about the education in UC3M were the conditions provided by the university: all the professors share the presentations used in class with the students through AulaGlobal - student information system for UC3M - which lets you focus on the presented topics during the classes, since you hardly ever have to make any notes. Moreover, most of them also show you exams from the previous years, sometimes even with some solutions, which simplifies preparations a lot. What also has to be mentioned is that the attitude of professors is very friendly and positive: I haven't encountered any mean teacher during my stay in UC3M.

However, in spite of all the above-mentioned advantages, don't expect studying in UC3M to be easy. In opposition to my home university, incoming students have classes together with the local students, and take the same exams under the same conditions. If you study from times to times it will be okay, and you'll be able to find time either to party hard and travel a lot, but you can't underestimate the university, especially because of its grading system.

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The final grade of all the courses is based on continuous evaluation, which weights at least 40%, and final exam, taken on the end of the semester. Therefore, if you don't study at all throughout the semester, it may be impossible to make up for it in the final exam session. On the other hand, the system benefits those who study regularly: if you get some good grades from the midterm exams, you will be able to pass some courses with a really slight amount of points in the final exam, or even without taking it at all. When it comes down to me, I had to take the regular amount of 30 ECTS for my semester in UC3M, but I managed to pass all the courses that I've taken while having a really cool time thanks to everything that Madrid has to offer, and seeing lots of wonderful places in the whole Spain.

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Summing up, UC3M is a great place to experience your exchange, because of all its advantages and its closeness to the vibrant city of Madrid. Even though the courses are quite difficult, it's possible to pass all the courses and at the same time have a remarkable time in Madrid. Recommended!