AIFS Abroad Reviews

Studying in Barcelona with AIFS was unforgettable! Barcelona an amazing city to study abroad in, as it is easily navigable and filled with tons of fun activities. AIFS was amazing with preparing me before and during my time abroad.
Before leaving for my program, AIFS helped me step by step with my visa, and even had a packaged flight deal that booked both my flights, including a 3 day excursion to London before my program started, which allowed me to meet most of the people on my program and was an amazing bonding experience! This was an amazing experience as I got to meet my roommates before arriving in Barcelona.

Upon arrival in Barcelona, AIFS brought us to out apartments, gave us a city tour, and explained hw the metro and buses worked, so that we were prepared to venture the city on our own. Not only that, but they were always available in their office, which was only 3 blocks from my school, whenever we needed help. AIFS also offered several excursions and activities included in the price, which were amazing! My favorite excursion was to Andorra, which is a small country in between Spain and France, and my favorite activity was a cooking class, where we got to learn how to make our favorite Spanish foods!

Overall, I absolutely loved studying abroad in Barcelona and not only that, but AIFS made sure we were always safe, happy, and if we weren't, they were always available to help. I would 10000% recommend going on this program, it was the best decision of my life!!

When I decided to study abroad in Granada, Spain, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was nervous and anxious but also really excited to discover my new home for the semester. When I first got off the plane in Spain, I immediately felt at ease. The AIFS staff were incredibly kind and helpful as I adjusted to my host country. My host family in Granada was amazing. They were very accommodating and kind and made me feel like a member of their family almost immediately. Some of my fondest memories of my time abroad are of me sitting on the couch with my host parents and host siblings watching Spanish game shows on TV. The University of Granada was also an amazing place to go to school with interesting classes and good professors that encouraged us to learn as much from being in the city of Granada as we did in the classroom. The AIFS Program introduced me to new places on weekend excursions and helped me make the most of my time in Granada by introducing me to workshop and volunteer opportunities. By the end of my trip, Granada had become my second home. I knew all of the best places to get tapas, could navigate the Albaicin (a maze-like part of the city) like a professional and had made some amazing friends. Overall, my study abroad experience has changed my life for the better and Granada will always be a place that I go back to.

I knew I wanted to study abroad after meeting foreign exchange students from high school. It was not until Fall 2018 that I got the opportunity to study abroad in Grenoble, France with AIFS. I recommend AIFS to anyone who is looking for a study abroad provider for many reasons. AIFS helps students through the whole study abroad process from obtaining a visa to booking the flight. The resident director in Grenoble, Miranda, is wonderful. She helps students with pretty much everything and always there when the students needed. She really does care about all the students and want each and every one of them to get the best out of their experience abroad. Going to a new country that has a different culture and language from the ones I know was nerve-wracking, however, thanks to AIFS I was able to overcome my fear and had such an amazing experience abroad.

I studied abroad at Maynooth University during the spring semester of 2019. I chose Ireland because I wanted to explore the country my grandparents grew up in and to meet my relatives that still live there. I chose Maynooth because of it's proximity to Dublin and I am so glad I did! It was so easy to get into town and explore Dublin! There's buses and a train that leaves right from Maynooth and takes you right into town. There's also a shuttle that leaves from Maynooth that takes you directly to the airport. As part of the AIFS program, I got a LeapCard, which was essentially a public transportation pass. It came preloaded with 100 euros and was super easy to refill as necessary. The initial amount lasted until about halfway through the semester, but I also went into town a lot!
For the campus itself, Maynooth is STUNNING. There are two halves to the campus, North and South. The North Campus was made up of the majority of the class buildings, the gym, the dining hall, and the dorms. It was constructed fairly recently and the campus had a very modern feel. The South Campus is much older, but not like an American old. The South Campus has that authentic Irish feel. The buildings are beautiful and are updated on the inside to keep up to 21st century standards. There is a massive old church that looks like it's right out of Harry Potter, a gorgeous backfield area that has walking paths, a cemetery on campus (so fun to explore!), and an old castle just off of the campus grounds that students can go in and visit. Both halves of campus connect to the town of Maynooth, which was so homey and welcoming. There are two grocery stores within a five-minute walk of campus, multiple barbershops and food options, and the town has walking paths and trails all over it! One goes through the golf course, which many people utilize, and another follows the train, which is situated along a canal, and the trail leads almost all the way into Dublin.
While there are recommended courses on the AIFS website, I was able to take any course I wanted at Maynooth, with approval from the head of the department. Maynooth is a big international school, so there were lots of courses offered for just international students, which included students from all over Europe. Maynooth offers an Irish Cultural Heritage Certificate in which one takes four classes and revies this certificate. There is one required history course and the rest of the courses offered covered Irish history, Irish literature and folklore, and the Irish language. These classes all included field trips to Irish monuments that international students otherwise wouldn't see, such as Newgrange and Clonmacnoise. My favorite out of these courses was the Irish language course. I was able to have a (basic) conversation in Irish with my grandparents when I came home!
The AIFS program included trips to different locations in Ireland, such as Cork, Galway, Belfast, and a traditional Irish farm. A two night stay in Dublin is also included as your first two nights in Ireland and that experience is a great way to see Dublin for the first time. There's a guided tour of the city and the resident director, Cliodhna, showed us the best time. She was absolutely incredible as an RD. She was always available on campus and went on all the AIFS trips with us. She truly went above and beyond in her position and the semester would not have been the same without her. The AIFS trips were an incredible way to see the country.
Overall, my semester in Ireland was incredible due to the location and provider I chose. I would not have learned as much as a did about Ireland or had seen as much of the country as I did if I had not chosen Maynooth University. I would not have had such an enjoyable and wholesome semester and experience if I had not chosen AIFS as my provider. I made lasting memories and friendships due to both of my choices and I would highly recommend that anyone interested in studying abroad in Ireland do the same!

There are so many different program options when it comes to going abroad, but AIFS makes going abroad easy, fun, and worth every penny. I was blown away by how much was provided within my program. Before arriving in Florence, I did the two day London stopover and then we had our orientation in Rome. The AIFS staff did such a great job in letting us get to know the others within our program, providing us with tours, and so many unforgettable moments before our time in Florence even began. While in Florence, I had the best meal plan ever where I got to eat out at restaurants around the city. The staff were helpful and easy to talk to, which really helped me when I got homesick. They made my time in Florence worth every moment, to the point where I want to go back more than ever! AIFS cares about their students and made my time abroad so memorable, I definitely recommend their program.

The best part of this program was our onsite director, Hestea. She is a Stellenbosch local and took us on excursions to see the most beautiful parts of her hometown. Being able to travel with her was a unique opportunity that added so much value to all of our trips. The academic life in Stellenbosch is very different from a standard university in the United States. Classes meet once a week, and there is usually only a paper and a final. It takes a lot of independent commitment to make sure you do well. Class discussions were interesting because there are students from all over the world. This made group projects a challenge, especially with some language barriers, but I always looked forward to gaining new perspectives from my international peers. I liked that our class schedules made it easy to have time for seeing more of the town and taking trips to Cape Town (about 40 minutes away). Stellenbosch is a fun town for college students. There's always something to see or do, and it's fairly easy to navigate. I enjoyed walking or cycling most places, but uber is also a very affordable option. The housing situation looks different each term depending on how big the group of international students is. I had a great experience with housing. I lived in an apartment with 3 other girls from the United States, and we had plenty of space. It was cool to live in a building with other international students, because I made connections from all over the world. It did make it more difficult, however, to connect with local South African students. Still very doable, but it's definitely something you have to seek out for yourself! There is so much diversity in South Africa, and I'm thankful for the friends I made there. Can't wait to visit again soon!

I am so happy that I made the decision to study abroad through global experiences! Halfway through my internship, the fashion marketing company I was working for shut down their showroom. Kristi, my location coordinator, instantly found me a new internship and made the process go as smoothly as possible.

I was very lucky and got an amazing random roommate whom I became very close with. I also got to know other interns in the group through the social events that the program put together for us. Kristi made an effort to get us all together as much as possible.

Overall, I really enjoyed this program and would recommend it to everyone. Global experiences ensures a very safe housing situation as well as helps through any troubles you may have!!

I would absolutely recommend this program or any AIFS program to anyone looking to study abroad. This program gave me the once in a lifetime chance to travel to a beautiful country and immerse myself in a culture that I would not have been able to if I did not study abroad. I so appreciated the fact that AIFS is an inclusive program, meaning that your meal plan, housing, travel insurance, excursions, etc. are included in the cost of tuition. I also found the flight package they offered unbeatable. My favorite excursion I went on during this program was completing the world's highest bridge bungee jump! Through my photograph course provided, I was able to learn how to take professional grade photos of all the wildlife I saw, including a family of elephants. I highly recommend this January term program to anyone looking to go somewhere amazing and adventurous.

Overall, my experience in Dublin was very positive. GE gave great support throughout the entire application and interview process. Once in Dublin, the move in was seamless and we were given the opportunity to meet everyone in the program casually. I really enjoyed my internship, which was exactly what I envisioned from the beginning. I got hands on experience and the opportunity to be fully immersed in the business world here, despite only being a junior in college. Other than the internship, GE organized so many activities which were spur of the moment or planned. My favorite was most likely the Belfast trip, where we got to do the Black Cab tour. Also, the scavenger hunt was so much fun and brought us to places in the city that we didn’t even know existed. My only issue with the program was the accommodation, which had great facilities. However, the administration there was very strict (they were encouraging a safe atmosphere) and made it seem as though we needed to check in for everything we did in the city. As the semester progressed, the accommodation only got stricter. However, it was in a great location and the rooms were brand new. Dublin is the most amazing city and GE made it possible for me to experience it.

I found Global Experiences while searching for an internship program to complete during my gap year. The program helped me especially in building my resume/cv as a young professional who had just graduated high school. Not only did GE help me prepare myself to be a professional through preparing my application and interview techniques, but they also connected me with a dream job. GE matched me with a company so perfectly, I would recommend to anyone seeking to gain professional experience to apply to GE. Three months is a short time for an internship and to be living in and exploring a new city so make sure you take advantage of every opportunity! Take advantage of GE's organized social events as well so that you have a base of peers and can easily explore the city you're based in.