Community Choice Awards 2019: Study Abroad

When Go Overseas was founded, some of the first resources we ever provided were for students interested in studying abroad. We believe that studying abroad is a critical component in higher education, and we work daily to increase the opportunities for students to study abroad through scholarships and the best information available to help them choose a program.

Reviews of all study abroad programs on Go Overseas are an important part of how students choose which program to study abroad; especially if they're planning to study abroad independently, or are working to convince parents or family that it's the right choice for them. Our study abroad reviewers help future students make life-changing decisions!

For the annual Go Overseas Community Choice Awards for Study Abroad providers, we looked at those providers who truly excel at offering students an unforgettable study abroad experience. We also considered the five categories we ask students to rate each program on: Academics, Support, Fun, Housing, and Safety. We've crunched the numbers, and here are the top study abroad providers from 2019 here on Go Overseas.

Learn more about how we scored programs for this year's awards by clicking here.

Overall Top Study Abroad Providers

In the Overall category, we looked for those study abroad providers whose scores across all factors was highest. The following providers offer a variety of programs in destinations around the world – and alumni are consistently positive in reviewing their experiences:

IES Abroad

Review Highlight:

"My summer interning abroad with IES was an essential growing period for me." -Jeshurun

The Education Abroad Network

Review Highlight:

"The Education Abroad Network made preparing to study abroad easy!" -Cassidy, 21

Seamester

Review Highlight:

"This trip brings new experience and friendships that you just can't find anywhere else." -Ashley, 22

Top Study Abroad Providers: Academics

Study abroad is an opportunity for many things: freedom and independence, travel, exploring the world, and expanding one's worldview... but it's also a time to learn. Academics are an important part of studying abroad, and we ask all study abroad alumni to rate their academic experience abroad. The following providers had the top scores in the Academics category:

Qalam Center for Arabic Studies

Review Highlight:

"Learning languages is a lifelong goal and in this school I had the opportunity to continue to grow after my university studies." -Piera, 25

CodeOp

Review Highlight:

"I attended this bootcamp as a launchpad to pivot from a business career into tech, and CodeOp gave me just the rigorous foundation, with the right mix of complexity and support I was looking for." -Emefa

The Great Connections

Review Highlight:

"Highly recommended to anyone who wishes to achieve a higher level of understanding on any subject area." -Hana, 24

Top Study Abroad Providers: Support

While study abroad is an opportunity for students to experience freedom and independence they might never have before, it's also critically important that the study abroad program they choose is available for any support students do need. We ask alumni to consider how much support the study abroad program staff provide; the following providers had the top scores in the Support category:

Oxford Royale Academy

Review Highlight:

"The two weeks I spent at Oxford Royale Academy were undoubtedly two of the best weeks of my summer." -Danae, 17

Loop Abroad

Review Highlight:

"It was an extremely safe, overwhelmingly fun, and remarkably educational experience!" -Hannah, 18

CAPA: The Global Education Network

Review Highlight:

"Being able to study, work and live in a foreign country was the best decision I've ever made." -Kelsey, 21

Top Study Abroad Providers: Fun

We obviously think that studying abroad should be a fun experience -- in fact, we ask every reviewer to tell us how much fun they had overseas, for almost every program they rate on our site. For study abroad programs, we ask alumni to share what they rate the social scene for their study abroad program. This could include extracurriculars, weekend trips, or daily activities arranged by the study abroad provider. The following providers had the top scores in the Fun category:

Therapy Abroad

Review Highlight:

"Therapy Abroad's Dominican Republic program was a well-structured, safe, fun, and unique way to help children, develop clinical skills, and broaden appreciation for other cultures and populations." -Rachel, 39

Toucan Abroad

Review Highlight:

"Going on this trip was the best decision I've made hands down." -Mia, 20

USAC

Review Highlight:

"I was able to end my last semester of college in the most spectacular way, thanks to my USAC study abroad program in Seoul, South Korea." -Kaitlyn, 22

Top Study Abroad Providers: Housing

Housing is an important part of the student experience abroad. Good, safe housing options -- be it a dorm room, an apartment with fellow students, or a homestay -- have a huge impact on student perceptions of studying abroad. As many study abroad providers are responsible for arranging or suggesting housing options for students, we ask study abroad alumni to rate this for each program. The following providers had the top scores in the Housing category:

University of Illinois

Review Highlight:

"I went on the Year in Japan (YiJ) program my senior year of college (2015-2016) and it was by far the best year of my college career." -Alexandria, 25

Instituto Estelar Bilingüe

Review Highlight:

"I am absolutely loving the experience and the school." -Dayana, 40

Living and Learning International

Review Highlight:

"My time in Ecuador is one of the most treasured and precious times in my life." -Amberly, 20

Top Study Abroad Providers: Safety

Safety is one of the most important factors we ask reviewers to rate; almost every program on Go Overseas (even those that aren't in the study abroad category) is rated on safety. In particular, we want to know how students felt about the safety of their school and the local community. The following providers had the top scores in the Safety category:

Wroxton College of Fairleigh Dickinson University

Review Highlight:

"A semester at Wroxton College is one not to miss!" -Kenneth, 36

World Campus International

Review Highlight:

"I went on the 2018 Session 3 trip to Mito, Ibaraki; Abiko, Chiba; and Tama, Tokyo. To put it simply, this was the best trip I had ever gone on." -Daniel, 18

Adelante Abroad

Review Highlight:

"Adelante provided me with the resources to grow both personally and learn more about my field in a different country." -Madhu, 21