Middlebury School in Argentina

With the right attitude and a decent level of Spanish, you have a very good chance of having a very good time. Argentina is amazing and the Middlebury staff and directors in Buenos Aires work very hard to make sure your experience there is safe, informative, and authentic. The option to enroll directly in public universities and complete an internship means you can tailor a porteño experience to what you want to do, and the traveling with and without the program can't be beat.

What I liked most about this program was the strength of the academics. I directly enrolled at Universidad Torcuato di Tella, a very small university in the Belgrano neighborhood. This could not have been more different from the gigantic Universidad de Buenos Aires where some of my fellow students were. The classes at UTDT were small, no more than 30. The course offerings were fairly extensive and I had no problem finding several that worked for both my Spanish level and my academic interests.

The best course I took was a class on the foreign policy of the United States. It was fascinating to look at my own country's foreign policy (and to be honest, its aggression) from a different perspective.

Buenos Aires is a fantastic place to spend a semester. While the Middlebury program has qualified staff to support you, the real value of the experience comes from embracing the independence of living in such a diverse city. Studying at the public university is highly recommended because it gives you a better chance to immerse yourself with local students and ways of thinking.

If you want to study in Buenos Aires and are serious about learning Spanish, the Middlebury Program is your best bet. A smaller program with academic priorities make it a good environment for learning. Make sure you consider carefully which school you want to go to and where you want to live. An advantage of this program is that you only take classes at one school instead of a mix so you become more connected to the people and place. Also, this is a HUGE city, so there are lots of opportunities but also lots of travel time on busses and limited options for fresh air depending on where you live. Studying abroad here is a challenge but an amazing learning experience.

I was in Buenos Aires from 2006-07. I studied at the Universidad del Salvador. I think what Middlebury offers compared to other study aboard programs is a more authentic, language and culture focused experience. This is very rare in study aboard programs. My host family was middle rather than upper class. The house was nice and in a good, fairly central neighborhood but modest. It was really the best of both worlds. The best part of my experience was the opportunity to do an internship while I was in Buenos Aires. This was a great way for me to experience another side of the city.