AIFS Abroad Internships in London, England

Coming from Tennessee, I was excited to live in such a big city! Greg was my coordinator and made sure I had everything I needed, plus more. Greg showed me the beautiful city of London, recommended places to visit in his free time, always replied quickly, and offered to bring me stuff when I became ill and could not leave home. I truly appreciate Greg’s support throughout my entire time in London. Honestly, I would not have survived the big city without him. I thank Shani for taking the time to help me and give me advice before the placement and after. Shani led me through each step to secure my internship and was right there every step. Shani and Greg have also offered to help me with my resume and building my connections, which I love!

I'd always known that I would study abroad in college, but when I was introduced to programs that would allow me to be an exchange student in high school, I knew it was something I wanted to do. Unlike college where you've already had a few years of independence as an adult, going abroad in high school can seem quite daunting, but is so worth it! My time in Sardinia, Italy taught me not only another language and culture but helped me become more mature and independent as I learned to advocate for myself amidst changing host families and taking 3rd year Latin (in Italian) at a scientific high school when I'm more linguistically/artistically inclined... I still keep in touch with the friends I made during my year abroad and have visited a few of them in their home countries in addition to reuniting with my host siblings as adults in various European countries.

Coming from New York City, London was an easy transition for me and a great way for me to experience urban life in a different city—to the point where I decided to come back in a future date. Thanks to Gregg and Shani, natives to the city, Gregg curated amazing itineraries for the interns and recommended spots that made one feel like a local to the city. Shani was in-charge of the logistics of our stay while in London and always open to answer any questions regarding our stay. Both Shani and Gregg were great conversationalists and were stars at making sure the interns and I had a pleasurable time while in London. Gregg’s insight, attentiveness, and enthusiasm for anything UK-related made my stay so interesting and exciting and would do it over again in a heartbeat outside of Global Experiences.

Aside from my overall experience being in UK/Europe for the summer, please reconsider this program heavily if you do not have the sufficient means to not only live in a city as expensive as London through this costly program (roughly over $10k spent). Keep in mind the Pound is stronger than the Dollar.

Not only is the program extremely expensive for unpaid interns, but GE false markets the program on their website. I was interning somewhere where I initially did not want to intern at because of bad reviews, and brought it up to GE about it before submitting my visa paperwork, for which they refused to change me to… even if I am spending huge amounts of money to be able to do go abroad. While there, my coworkers were nice, but I did not receive the experience I ultimately wanted, studied, and paid for. I knew I did not want to continue working there, and ashamed in myself that I didn’t push GE to help me find another worksite.

Spending over $10k for your free labor, in retrospect, is a poor decision—especially if it is not in your field. Although I am thankful for the opportunity to have interned abroad and diversified my portfolio, networked with people abroad, and gained experience in my field, GE failed to include sponsorship fees, expedited visa costs, and flight costs—very important expenditures related to your trip. You are made to pay a set fee of $8k, but this does include transportation throughout your entire stay, your flight, your visa, or your sponsorship, although GE crafted the program in a way where the $8k had already included everything. Reconsider this program if you are already a college graduate and aren't at least getting college credits for this program, at minimum.

Fragomen, the sponsor, was unresponsive and did not care to help answer any questions in relations to my visa, but quick to charge interns over $1k while we were on our last pennies on the last week of the program. When asked to provide proof or an itemized list about the cost, it was not given to me and failed to mention why the sponsorship visa fee was as high as it was. This was highly inconsiderate and was briefly mentioned in the website.

Apart from the extremely high costs, London is an AMAZING place to build your career and an easy transition if you had lived in a city prior to this one. Reminiscent of my hometown, NYC, London’s diversity, work-life balance, and academic/career opportunities are highlights and easily digestible than in America, especially if you want to pursue a career in marketing.

This past summer has been an amazing experience. My biggest takeaway has been the people I’ve met thanks to this program. GE encourages relationship building between students within the program. Our first night orientation set the foundation for what turned out to be an amazing group of friends made this past summer. This includes the location coordinators, Shani and especially Gregg, who made efforts every weekend to find exciting day trips for interns to go on, and even took me and a few others out after all the other interns had returned home, as we had an extended time program, even though he did not have to. They were always looking to help whenever issues arose, and made the summer great. The accommodations were located in an ideal location in zone 1, with access to 2 major tube lines - hammer smith and city & the circle line, located 1 minute down the street, making you only a few stops from central London. You get your own flat with a bathroom, and a common area. In terms of internships, it’s different for everybody, however my biggest takeaway was the experiences made in London and abroad in Europe with the great people I’ve met. While the program is expensive, I would recommend it based off my experience. I would recommend those who do the program to meet the others in the program, and make the most of the time even if their internship isn’t exactly what they want or any other potential issues.

I believe that the experience is what you make it and personally, I had a great time in London. The on-site GE advisors for this location, Gregg and Shani, were very involved and genuinely cared about my experience. Gregg planned social activities around the group's interests and was very knowledgeable about the city.
One complaint I have, however, is with is the GE marketing of the program. When I applied for my internship I thought that I was applying for a specific internship, but you really only choose the location. Shani did a good job of setting me up with an interesting company and it was a great opportunity, but I did not necessarily get to choose the job like I thought from looking at the website.
Overall, I am grateful that I was placed with a really engaged boss who cared about my experience. Some of other interns are incredible people as well and turned into friendships I will cherish forever when I think back on my time in London.

I went in not knowing anyone but in leaving I left with so many friendships that I know will last a lifetime. The location coordinator was so helpful in everything. Gregg took us to some of his favorite places and it was really cool to feel like you were apart of the city and not only visiting. Thrifting with Gregg and my friends was a highlight of the events GE hosted because I was able to not only see history but touch it and bring it back with me. I’m so thankful for my time in London and I will never forget it.

It was such a cool experience visiting Europe for the summer. Gregg and Shani were super helpful and supportive. This was my first time traveling abroad by myself so I appreciated their help and commitment to making sure we were comfortable. The program was structured to encourage relationship building with other students, and I made a lot of potential life long friends on this trip. I enjoyed my internship, and look forward to seeing what opportunities will come from this. 10/10 highly recommend!

I underestimated the amount of learning and fun I was going to have when I arrived in the UK. If I am being completely honest, I didn’t think I would get a placement at all. However, global experiences worked tirelessly to provide me a placement that I would love allowing me to build my resume and expand on my work with children. Gregg and Shani have been there every step of the way and answered my questions and texts promptly. Gregg’s outings to hidden London allowed me to feel like a true Londoner