[stuntduood]

JDUB,

Have you checked to see if a degree in Civil Engineering from the DR is even valid in the US?
Many Degrees obtained in DR are not worth much in the US. Law for example. Many others require extensive testing such as Medicine and Veterinary.
Be careful. I have a Degree from a prestigious University in the DR and I don't even bother to hang it up for all it is worth.
As for the price, remember these are Private institutions. In the US you pay the same High Prices as opposed to public Universities like UCF. Just compare tuition from a State of Florida School and a Private School Like U of Miami.
BTW I'll take F.I.U's civil engineering program over UCF's. UofM's engineering program is quite good as well. But you and I both know that all of these schools are better than U of Florida!

[gghrdfffhfyj]

Originally posted by Tony C

BTW I'll take F.I.U's civil engineering program over UCF's. UofM's engineering program is quite good as well. But you and I both know that all of these schools are better than U of Florida! yea you're right about UM, but i should have specified that i wasn't including private college$. As far as FIU....there's no way for me to be sure it isn't as good as UCF because I never attended the school. However, when I was tutoring my friend this summer, it seemed as though the professors weren't as strict. Anyway, I see what your point is about the degree not having any validity in the US, but I was only planning on staying for a semester or two. Honestly, I'd rather just go there and do everything myself without using any type of program like CIEE. I mean I know plenty of people who live there including family members, so I can definetely use them for temporary housing until I find my own little apartment. I know how to survive on my own (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc) because I've been doing it the past 2 years. The more I think about it, the more doubtful I become because of the whole transferring of credits thing. Oh yes, I went to the study abroad person at school today, but he wasn't there so I'll have to wait till monday for that.

[awagsFare]

I would strongly advise you to finish your studies in the US, and then try a year working here. Or maybe do some post-graduate field job. Liking DR is one thing, but changing your alma mater is another, and in my opinion, not worth it.

However, if you decide to do it anyway, pick INTEC or UCAMAIMA for civil engineering. Civil engineering is popular here, so every university offers it. That doesn't mean they are strong at it. UNIBE is a good place, but I've never heard of it being good at engineering. UTESA is not worth checking out.

INTEC has a short and fast approach. Most degrees take 3.5 years or less. This system is good for weeding out the bad ones, but it leaves the good ones "normalized". The system is too quick for potential talent to develop and learn more. UCAMAIMA, has the traditional system.

[gghrdfffhfyj]

I know this seems off the wall, but I had such a good time in DR this summer that I actually thought about living there for a short time. The only problem i saw with this was my education. I know Santo Domingo has many great universities, but will my credits transfer to and from there?? I took a trip to a couple of universities with some friends of mines and they got me something called a penson (i think that's what it was called). This showed all the classes a person had to take for each major. Many of the classes were similar but some didn't sound familiar. Can anybody tell me if they've known anybody who's taken classes both in DR & USA and how that experience was. Also, would my credits transfer?

[gghrdfffhfyj]

Thanks AJ, the website you gave me is really helpful. I am going to go on campus today to check out the study abroad program because $7000 seems kind of expensive for one semester.

[adoreorerie]

Do a search this topic has been covered many times, then if you still have questions come back and ask them.

Good luck!

[nitivearchit]

J.Dub

Please review some of my previous posts about studying in the D.R. There are semester and year long exchanges you can do where depending on your univeristy you either pay what the regular tuition is at your university is or hte program directly. One of the companies that has programs in both Santiago and Santo Domingo is CIEE. CHeck out their web site at www.ciee.org. Most univeristies that work with a U.S. program such as CIEE allow the credit to transfer.

You may want to check with the study abroad office at your univeristy or at the Univeristy of Miami where one of the counslers lived in Santiago for a long time.

PM if you have any questions.

[gghrdfffhfyj]

hey thanks, sorry i made the newbie mistake. I found alot of useful info that answered most of my questions. Since I am a civil engineering major, I'm guessing that my top choices would be UNIBE, UTESA, and INTEC right? However, I am having doubts now because of the language. I speak alot of spanish, but I'm not a good writer and I have trouble understanding older Dominicans who speak really fast. At first I figured I could go to the English speaking uni., but Hillbilly made it clear that I am not going to receive a good quality education if it's not taught in Spanish. He also said it costs US$800 a credit for foreigners?!?!?! That's insane, I go to the best engineering school in Florida (UCF) and I pay $85/credit. Is there any type of exchange program that'll help me pay for that?

[nitivearchit]

If you do not find anything less expensive there are a few things to remember with the price through CIEE

It includes your room and board living with a family
It also includes trips taken on usually a biweekly basis all over the country to expose you to different areas of the country.

It also helps the transfering of the credits.