AIFS Abroad Reviews

The weekend excursions to London, Venice and Capri were amazing and so was the 2 week orientation in Florence! The meal tickets saved me a ton of money and they were widely accepted by top restaurants to cool dives. The faculty and staff treat you well and the location of the school is right in the City Center. My favorite detail of the semester was taking Art History courses which were frequently taught on-site of the art piece being discussed. i.e. I had two classes taught right inside the Vatican!

Traveling with AIFS to Salzburg Austria was one of the best decisions of my life. My trip was truly unforgettable, I still constantly tell stories of my memories and experiences. My trip taught me a lot about myself and really helped me to be more independent and courageous. I highly recommend studying abroad to everyone, only in such instances do you truly learn things about yourself, society, and the world. Such life lessons can only be experienced abroad, outside ones comfort and community. Be bold, take a risk, and go for it! I'm sure glad I did!

Seriously, our trip to Granada by far was the best experience of my life. Going to Granada through AIFS was the best decision I could have made when choosing a program. I met many friends from other programs there who were jealous of our program. AIFS provides housing, meals, tours, trips, and schooling all at a great cost. It's a great way to learn how to travel abroad or anywhere. It may be a little more costly than other programs, but it is because of the greatness and the amount of activities that we do that were already paid for so we didn't have to budget them into our personal monies. Many other programs were jealous of our planned already paid for trips to Madrid and to the beach for example. They even helped you plan your own trips and so much fun. They provided times where you could meet locals and practice your Spanish. It was great! They also were such a great help in the schooling. If you had any issues they helped you to make sure it was taken care of properly and in a timely matter. Overall I couldn't of been more happy with my host mom and family, schooling, roommate, and all our great trips we took around Europe! I even recommended it and 2 friends went the following year, a female who stayed with my host mom and a male who stayed with a different family!

This was an incredible summer experience! I loved every aspect of this trip! The staff had so many different endeavors planned for us students. We were always busy and we met so many awesome people. These are the moments that people need experience to get them out of their comfort zones. It was absolutely wonderful! I think the only thing I would change about this trip was the duration of it---MAKE IT LONGER! I did not want to leave! Such a great trip! I promise you that you will not regret this experience if you travel with AIFS!

I lived on the Richmond campus, so I had a commute to some of my classes, but it wasn't too bad. There aren't as many study abroad students that live on the Richmond campus, but this allowed the few of us to become very close friends. Also, this allowed us to meet more of the other international students and get a chance to learn about their cultures. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I would say the classes are the same rigor as American classes, although teachers are less willing to "hold your hand"; therefore, if you have questions it is important to visit their office hours for help. I really enjoyed my program and was able to travel to 8 other countries while studying in London. Living in London can get very expensive, but it is easy to budget your money, while still experiencing everything you hope to.

I had the most amazing semester. Salamanca, is the best city to study abroad and AIFS is a very reliable program. From the beginning to the end, our directors educated us and kept in constant communication to ensure our excellent safety and organization. They choose very secure, fun and immersing homestays. I absolutely loved my host family, they were so welcoming and always made the most delicious food! Having wireless internet was also an added bonus! I loved this program because they made it hassle-free. They handled our airport transfers and always let us know of cultural events on campus. I miss it like crazy, choose AIFS-Salamanca!

I really enjoyed my stay in Salzburg. The city is great and most of the places are reachable within walking distance. I loved the classes and how integrative they were. Coming to Salzburg with a little or no knowledge of German I was able to learn a lot and easily. I took two culture courses and a language class, all of the material learned in the classroom became useful instantly - I could order food, have small conversation and understand local traditions and ways of living. Outside of classroom - the hikes became a part of my daily routine, the city is surrounded with gorgeous nature - mountains, pastures, beautiful river walks and etc. Instead of taking a bus to class everyday, I would wake up early and just take my time and walk through the Hellebrunner allee. Fresh mountain air would get me very energized and ready for class. Also, every Thursday morning I would go to downtown farmer's market - and buy best sandwich meats ever! When weather got warmer, my friends and I started explore local public swimming pools, they are cheap and if you got nothing planned for the weekend, in terms of travel, best places to hang out. Also, I really took advantage of traveling to other cities in Europe, because of Salzburg's central location - it was very easy to take a train to Venice and Rome and Vienna. Many times I would just hop on a train and go to Munich for a weekend or to Munich airport and fly to places like Malta and Dublin. I do admit, if it was easy enough to get an Austrian citizenship - I would move there permanently! Best memories of my life!

My time abroad in Italy through the AIFS Richmond in Florence program was an incredible, life-changing experience! The AIFS and Richmond staff were great- they were extremely supportive both before and during my stay. Our apartment was perfect and located only 3 minutes down the road from the school building. I especially loved the meal card system that Richmond in Florence offered. We got to eat some incredible authentic Italian meals using meal cards that were already paid for. No other program in Florence that I know of did that. The classes and professors were extremely interesting and the cultural activities that the program provided were very diverse and fun! It was amazing getting to learn about a foreign city and culture as you were living and studying there. By the end of the semester, I felt like I was truly a citizen of Florence. I don't regret going abroad with AIFS Richmond for one second!

AIFS was the best program in Rome. Every program gives students the opportunity to study abroad but AIFS is fully supportive, provides travel with the group, covers lots of food/drinks and provides for lots of opportunities to do special things in Rome that they organize such as cooking lessons and tours. They also provide great little extras like happy hours with the staff and welcome events every time we travel.

I lived with people who were using different programs to study in India and AIFS offered more travel and cultural opportunities and support than the other programs and it the cost was significantly less.