I had a great time at AIT. It's a small program, so it's easy to get to know everyone really well.
Course-wise, I was pretty pleased with my classes. They were all really interesting and not the kind of thing I would have been able to take at my home school. The professors were all great. More importantly, the classes weren't so difficult that I couldn't take weekend trips around Europe on a whim.
Budapest is an amazing city, and our apartments were right in the middle of the city, which was fantastic. If there is one thing I regret about my stay, it's not taking advantage of all Budapest has to offer. There were a few weekends where I stayed in and did work or something. Don't make my mistake.
For me, the highlight of the program was definitely the coordinators. They are all wonderful people who put a huge effort into their jobs, from spending a few hours with me when I flew in to help me get situated to arranging for a lot of awesome things for us to do like a weekend trip to Lake Balaton or entering us into a rowing competition.
What would you improve about this program?
This is my fault, but I really wish that I had made more time to do the touristy bit and learn more about the history of Budapest.
I also would have like to spend more time with Hungarians. The time I did spend with them (students, coordinators, and friends) was awesome, and I wish I could have done that more. It would be nice if AIT did more to facilitate that, especially at the beginning of the semester.