Classes at PUCV

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, or PUCV, is the university that I am currently attending down here in Chile. For the sake of making transferring credits back to CMU, I am only taking four (4) classes which will make 12 credits to transfer back, which is all that CMU can take unless you have special permission before leaving to go abroad. Just know that the way they count credits here is different from how they are counted at CMU, so just look as how the classes will transfer back, not just what you are taking.
Here, the credits are based on the number of hours that you spend in the classroom each week for your class, just like at CMU, but some of them have different contact hours and end on different days. It is common to see two (2), four (4), and six (6) credit classes. Two (2) credits meet once a week for 90 minutes (one and a half hours). Four (4) credits meet twice a week, 90 minutes for each session. Finally, six (6) credits meet three (3) times a week, 90 minutes for each session. So, if you are catching on to the pattern you should notice that with each credit you take you will spend 45 minutes in the classroom. Pretty simple. Of the four classes that I have, one is a two (2) credit, two are four (4) credits, and the last one is a six (6) credit class. Therefore, according to PUCV, I am taking 16 credits, but they transfer back to CMU as 12.
As you can see, to the left is a picture of one of the schedules in one of the classes. the classes are set up in 6 class periods. Each period is 90 minutes long, starting at 8:15am and ending at 6:50pm with a lunch break from 1:15pm to 2:00pm and 10 to 15 minutes between each class period.
The majority of your classes will more than likely be in the area of the university called PIIE, which is the area for all foreign students. It is in the building Casa Central (CC). When you enter CC, go to the right, walk around/through the center/plaza area, and you will find stairs to your right. If you take the stairs up half a flight, turn to the left, and you will see the door that leads to the PIIE section. Just push the door and walk down the hall to find your classes. The majority of my classes are on the second floor (which does not require any extra stairs), but there are a few on the third floor (which is where I took the picture of the classroom schedule/availability.
As you may have caught earlier, PIIE is the area for all foreign students, and I do mean all. There are students from all over the world. I have met people from France, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, and Bolivia in my classes. Also, there are several different programs to come to PUCV with. I came with ISA (International Studies Abroad). I don't remember the names of the others, but they also bring in several kids from the US (and other places around the world, of course).
There are many other buildings to PUCV than just CC, but they aren't all in the same place, like they are at CMU. PUCV has buildings in Viña, Valpo, and a few other places much farther away. If you take classes somewhere other than CC it is important to ask about how to get transportation to those buildings. I know for sure that Sausalito, one of the hardest buildings to get to, has a bus that goes to and from CC twice a day.
So, what goes hand-in-hand with classes? Grades of course!! Grades will transfer back to CMU unless you fill out the "credit/no credit" paperwork (as usual). The grading scale here is 0-7. 7 being perfect and 0 being complete failure. Rumor has it that the professors grade harshly here, and it is fairly true, but, just like in the US, if you work hard and do it right, you can get at least 6's and up, which is really good. Do not be disappointed with anything lower than 6's, the professors set their standards high and they want students to try really hard and work for it. So, my advice? Do some extra research, write as close to the maximum page limit as you can, and if professors give you the option to write in English, don't do it (ie. write in Spanish).