Fine - But is it really the best?

Some people consider Universidad de Navarra to be the best university in Spain. Others criticise it for being connected to Opus Dei. I thought the truth was that both of these opinions are a bit extreme - to me it seemed like a pretty normal, pretty standard university. It IS a Catholic University, but the impact that has on most of the classes in most of the faculties is negligible. If you are interested, you can have a more religious time there by seeking out the right classes and the right people, going to the masses, etc, but most people don't do this and there is no pressure, at least for international students.

The system here was quite different than in America. Signing up for classes seemed somewhat unorganised, chaotic, and last minute, but if you are a normal student here, you follow a pretty strict schedule, so it's not as bad. If you are Erasmus, things are a bit more complicated, but the professors don't mind that it takes you a while to get registered. There were not many classes in English, at least at the higher levels, and I heard that some classes which were meant to be in English, or bilingual, were really exclusively Spanish. I really recommend that you have a good level of Spanish when coming here. If you end up with one or two classes that are taught in good English, well, you can just relax a bit more in those classes, but don't expect it.

As I said, I thought the academic level was fine, but I didn't have this overwhelming feeling that I was at one of the world's best universities. The one class I took in English was almost ridiculously easy, the others were similar to what I would do back home. I thought exams were harder, and worth more of the overall grade, but you also need a lower grade to pass (only about 50%).

The campus itself is a bit ugly but has a great view of mountains. The facilities are decent but nothing special - the dining hall is overpriced (just go to a cafe - although the little faculty cafeterias have decent prices for a quick coffee or tortilla) - the library that undergraduates are allowed to use is tiny, etc.

Basically - the university is fine, but nothing that special... but Pamplona is amazing, so I didn't care very much.

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