If you are thinking about going to NUIG and Galway, GO!!!!

I absolutely adored my time abroad and with Arcadia. Galway is the cutest, most quaint little town you will ever see. It is very easy to get to know and navigate. Through Arcadia, you are directly enrolled in NUIG and you take classes with Irish students! I lived in an apartment (in a place called Gort na Coiribe) with 1 other student from my college and 3 Irish lads...it was definitely an interesting experience! They loved to party and weren't the cleanest but I still enjoyed living with them. Living with the guys really helped me to dive into the culture hands on and learn how they live, talk, etc. Getting to know the Irish people and how they live (especially people our age) is one of the best parts of my study abroad experience I think. They are all so friendly, kind, chill, and hilarious.

The social life is absolutely fantastic! There are tons a pubs to go to (if anyone asks you if you want to go to the Silent Disco at the Rosin Dubh, GO! Other great pubs include the Kings Head, the Front Door, and Taffees (but you'll find this all out when you go CAUSE YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GO TO GALWAY).

It was nice because our program was made up of about 60 students from colleges all over the U.S. We had orientation for 3 days in Dublin before we got bused over to Galway.