WHEN you’ve been born in such an exotic city as Valencia, then you’ll be lucky. Valencia is a fairly modern city in the Mediterranean side of Spain and your kindergarten, elementary and high school years there will surely be boosted up. Just like any other country in the world, public school systems here in Spain, particularly in Valencia for example, are subsidized by the government and therefore, tuition is free. Of course, there are a fair number of miscellaneous expenses such as transportation and meal allowances but that’s just it. Even officially-sanctioned laboratory fees are waived but these are only for students who are members of indigent families.

Those who can afford to send their children to well-off schools run by religious orders can fairly do so. Most of the private school systems in Valencia and in all of Spain for that matter are run by Catholic religious orders in ode to the dominance of Catholicism in the country. There are some madrasahs and some Jewish schools which will pop out every now and then particularly in regions where they have the most influence such as Granada. But the majority of the schools here are run by such orders as the Jesuits. Then there are also schools here which are part of the Waldorf and the Montessori systems.

They offer a wide variety of subjects such as arithmetic, geometry, biology, zoology, human physiology, physical education, the arts, music, home economics and everything in between. Once you have graduated from high school, there are several choices to consider. You can go directly to a regular college or you can go to a vocational school and assure yourself of a collegiate education. Before you can go to a regular college, you need to take the institution’s entrance exams but once you’re a graduate of a two-year vocational program, you can immediately enroll in a regular college without undergoing the college admissions essay test. But for those who are yearning to get to a regular college immediately, you must pass your college admissions essay with seriousness. There are also other means to get tertiary education – you may apply for both academic and varsity scholarships. But these are only intended for indigent individuals. Well-off students must pay their tuition because are also used to offset scholars.

There are various programs to choose here in Spain which lead to a bachelor’s degree ranging from agriculture to food technology and electronics engineering to nursing. The most common trend nowadays is for students to go to the medical and information technology path. Thus, we hear of schools offering degrees in medical transcription, medical technology, phlebotomy, caregiving, physical therapy, reflexology and the like. We also hear of schools offering courses in information technology, information management, computer science, computer engineering, sonar and acoustics technology, digital engineering and similar outings. Aside from traditional colleges with classroom-type settings, there is also an emergence of online schools here. Just like your regular college, online institutions are accredited by the Spanish educational ministry and the diploma that you’ve earned there as a graduate is as good as in a regular university.