The biggest mistakes international students make in Spain are treating studying as the only goal, skipping networking, putting off hard subjects, staying inside a language bubble, ignoring what the university itself offers, and preparing only for admission without a plan for the first year of actually living in the country.

Mistake 1: Thinking university is only about studying

Student status on degree programs in Spain — bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate — lets you legally work up to 30 hours a week, which is close to a full work week, not a token side gig. Language-course students need a separate work permit for this. A first taste of professional experience doesn’t have to mean a full-time job: a small part-time role, a few hours a week, or an unpaid internship — including one at the university itself — all count.

Another option students often forget about is the student exchange program. Any student in Spain can spend a semester studying in another country. That semester can be treated as a break, or it can be used to look for internships and projects in your field at the same time.

A telling case: an engineering student went on exchange to the Netherlands and, while studying there, found a project working on a patent for computer-vision technology for a robot. By graduation, his résumé held not just an engineering degree and study experience in two countries, but also international work experience and involvement in a patent project — exactly what sets him apart from graduates with a degree and nothing else.

Mistake 2: Not building professional connections with professors and classmates

Many students see a professor only as someone who lectures, assigns homework, and gives a grade at the end of the semester. In practice, a professor is a source of professional recommendations and direct tips about job openings and internships.

In the Spanish education system, professors address students informally from the very first class — there’s no formal hierarchy here, and that opens the door to direct conversation. If a subject genuinely interests you, it’s worth asking questions in class, following the professor’s professional profiles on social media — this is common practice in Spain, a kind of professional Facebook — and saying plainly what you’re after: “I’m interested in this area, I’d like to grow in it,” while asking whether there’s an internship or opening in that direction.

A telling case: a student in an MBA program at the University of Valencia was invited to a position in Luxembourg — outside Spain — on a recommendation from one of her course professors. She was offered the opportunity precisely because she had spoken up early: she’d shared which direction she wanted to grow in, and she was remembered once that kind of opening appeared.

The same logic applies to classmates. The person sitting next to you in a lecture today might, in three years, work at the company you want to join; in five years, launch their own business; in ten, become a partner or a client. Spain’s university system supports this: coursework relies heavily on group projects, which make it easy to get to know classmates, talk about your interests, and learn about their plans. Going through a degree entirely on your own, without building these connections, means giving up in advance on part of the professional opportunities that open up after graduation.

Mistake 3: Putting off hard subjects for later

The Spanish education system is flexible: if you don’t pass a subject on the first try, you can retake it later — that’s not a disaster or a reason to panic. The problem isn’t the retake itself; it’s the habit of carrying the same subject forward year after year, counting on closing it out “someday.”

A telling example comes from a student from Belarus now in his fourth year at the University of Málaga: he regrets not pushing every subject to its maximum in his first year. Some subjects really were hard because of adjusting to a new system, but others could have been pulled off if not for the mindset of “it didn’t work out now — I’ll close it out next year.”

A year later, the situation doesn’t get easier — it gets harder: new subjects appear, new workload, the urge to start working, a new social circle, an adult life of your own — trips, internships, relationships. An unfinished subject from a previous year has to be squeezed into an already packed schedule, and free time doesn’t grow with each year of study — it shrinks.

If a subject genuinely isn’t working out right now, there’s no need to push yourself, and the system’s flexibility around retakes exists exactly for that. But if a subject can be closed out now, putting it off just because there’s technically still a chance to retake it later isn’t worth it: debt has a way of piling up faster than free time appears to pay it down.

Debt has a way of piling up faster than free time appears to pay it down.

Mistake 5: Not using what the university itself offers

A university stays in touch with its graduates for years: job offers from the institution reach even people who finished long ago, simply because their data stays in the alumni database. For a good university, graduate employment is part of its reputation, not a formality that ends once the diploma is handed out.

But an opportunity isn’t the same as a result: the university can offer it — using it is up to the student. A telling case is a marketing master’s student at the University of Salamanca. She was actively involved in university life and career fairs starting from her bachelor’s degree, and that led to a job in the university’s own marketing department — not a temporary placement, but a permanent contract with solid working conditions and pay.

The difference between a student who simply received a diploma and one who got hired comes down to who actually used what the university had to offer.

Mistake 6: Preparing only for admission, not for the first year of actually living in the country

A family usually spends several months on admission alone: choosing a university, gathering documents, getting degree validation (homologación) and sworn translations, taking exams, getting the acceptance letter, applying for the visa, finding housing, and buying tickets. Once admission is done, it feels like the hard part is over, but in reality, admission is the starting line, not the finish.

Before classes begin, it’s worth settling questions that usually get pushed aside:

  • the budget for living in Spain and the commute time to the university;
  • the actual language the program will be taught in, and the schedule — morning or afternoon shift;
  • whether this specific program can be combined with work, and what internships the university offers;
  • whether there are student exchanges and partner companies that hire graduates.

These questions matter even more if, after graduation, the student plans to stay in Spain: in that case, the academic path needs to be lined up with the immigration path from the start, with a strategy covering both at once — not something to figure out after the thesis defense.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if a subject never gets closed out through retakes during the whole degree

The material doesn’t address this as a separate scenario directly, but the logic of the system is that subject debt piles up rather than disappearing: the longer a retake is delayed, the tighter the schedule gets in later years because of new subjects, work, and personal life. That’s why a subject that can be closed out now is better not pushed aside just because there’s technically another attempt left.

Can a language-course student work the same way a bachelor’s degree student can

No: the right to legally work up to 30 hours a week applies to degree programs — bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate. Language-course students need to apply separately for a work permit; it doesn’t apply automatically to them.

Should you talk to a professor about your plans if you’re doing well but feel shy

In the Spanish system, professors interact with students informally, without a formal hierarchy, and that alone lowers the barrier to starting a conversation. Plainly stating your plans — “I’m interested in this area, I want to grow in it” — is exactly the step that turns a professor from someone who assigns a grade into a source of recommendations and leads on job openings.

How do you find out which partner companies a specific university has

This is worth checking before admission, alongside the question of internships: finding out whether the program has student exchanges and partner companies that hire graduates is part of general preparation for the first year, right alongside budget and the language of instruction.

What if you want to stay in Spain after graduation but you’re on a student visa

If staying after graduation is the plan, the academic path needs to be lined up with the immigration path from the start, with a strategy covering both — not something decided only after the thesis defense.

Is it worth going on an exchange program if it pushes back your graduation date

The material doesn’t tie this directly to a delayed graduation date: exchange is described as an option to spend a semester either as a break or as a parallel search for internships and projects in your field. The decision depends on what the student actually wants out of that semester — practical experience or simply a change of scenery.