Program Reviews

My time in Glasgow was the best 5 months of my life. The housing was apartment style, and the people in my program were great. The nightlife can't be beat, and the Scottish people are like no other!
AI recommend joining a club and getting involved with the university, even though you're only there for a relatively short amount of time. It's a great way to meet people from Scotland, as well as all around the UK, and they can get you better acquainted with the city. I joined the cheerleading team and they were an amazing group of girls.

This was the first time I had ever been away from home for longer than a month or two, so I was terrified. I went to Glasgow alone, I knew no one from the program and I didn't know much about Scotland, either. But once I got there, I loved it! I made lifelong friends that I still keep in touch with. I fell in love with Scotland. It is such a beautiful country with the kindest people I have ever met. I can't wait until I can go back! Arcadia provided several opportunities for various excursions around Scotland, but even without those excursions, there is so much to do and so much to explore that I was never truly bored. I highly recommend studying abroad in Glasgow. It was the best decision of my life, and even though I was skeptical at first, I absolutely fell in love with the country and the people!

This program was undoubtedly the best experience of my life. I went to class every morning at the University of Edinburgh, which was an easy 20 minutes walk from where I was staying. There was lecture 5 days a week, followed by a coffee break then discussion in small groups.
There was plenty of time outside of class for sightseeing, both in and out of the city itself. Both SUISS and Arcadia organized several field trips to events like the Highland Games, tours of Scottish Parliament, etc. It was incredible to meet so many students from around the world - I now have friends in every corner of the globe, and I have this program to thank for that.
Food was provided (just no lunch on weekends) and served buffet style. Standard fare, but SUISS made sure to have programs where we could eat authentic Scottish cuisine (and yes, I ate haggis and loved it!).
Throughout all this, Arcadia was an invaluable resource. They laid out every detail of the travel - they even picked me up from the airport. All my additional questions were answered promptly via email. I can't recommend this program enough.

I really enjoyed the ground breaking work trinity college is doing with cs, they are making deals with big tech companies making it a prime destination for cs majors to study abroad there. Plus I was able to take courses that were not offered at my home school.

Granada is a beautiful city on its own and Arcadia made my experience the best it could be! They offer a large variety of trips and activities that enhance the experience, and they have an amazing staff that helps you along the way. It was so easy to make friends on this trip where there are fellow students all around you and so many opportunities to take advantage of. I lived in a home stay with a woman who took such good care of me and my roommate and was VERY enthusiastic about teaching us about Spanish culture. The classes were not extremely challenging, but I felt that I learned a lot, and still had time to enjoy my trip without feeling consumed by school work. I volunteered with senior spaniards to help them learn english and it was one of the best parts of my trip. I recommend taking advantage of opportunities like this to really get involved in your community abroad. I have no complaints with this program and would absolutely recommend it to a friend.

My study abroad experience at University of Otago was incredible; it was hands down the best five months of my entire life. Everyone I met was cool and fun, every weekend we went hiking or camping or just driving to beautiful views, and had a ton of fun with the social life in Dunedin. The program director for Arcadia is like a second, cool mom. Non-stop fun and happiness for an entire semester. Highly recommended!

I loved the Arcadia program at University of Otago! The staff were incredible. Jane, the program leader, was the sweetest, and most welcoming and accommodating leader anyone could ask for. All the housing is really close to each other, so you will be around other internationals. The commute to school is 5 minutes walking. The campus is beautiful. The location is incredible, 15-20 minutes from the Otago peninsula, which is absolutely stunning. It is also a 3-4 hour roundtrip from some of the most epic and beautiful locations in the world. The city is really fun and full of college students. You can either go out to clubs, bars, or flat parties. Whatever your scene is, you will find it there. The academics were solid. The only negative thing that I have to say is that you will most likely be cold a lot because the housing has no central heating and little to no insulation. You'll be given a space heater though!

I had an incredible study abroad experience. The program is located on Ortigia which is a small (~1.5 mile circumference) island right off of Syracuse. There are ancient Greek ruins everywhere and there is so much history/ mythology surrounding the island. The size of the program is also pretty small, between the 3 options (business, marine biology and archeology) there are only 17 students, and I had 5 in my marine bio program. Sicily is cheaper than Italy, and has a culture that is just as interesting. I would highly recommend any study abroad program here.

ACADEMICS
During the summer sessions you take two classes, Italian and then whatever class falls under your program. I was the only student who tested into the advanced Italian class, so the professor of the intermediate Italian class gave me individual assignments that were mostly based on engaging the local community and then writing about my experiences. I didn't really take any exams. Giovanna, the Italian professor was lovely.
For the marine biology class, we had a few tests but the bulk of our grade was determined by a research paper that pertained to subjects we discussed in class. We were allowed to work with other students for the paper and the one I turned in ended up being around 40 pages. The class was challenging but not impossible. What was really unique about this class was that even though the first week was dedicated to regular class sessions, most of the course consisted of field trips where we would hike and examine ecosystems and scuba diving and learning underwater research techniques. I became scuba-certified on the trip and completed a total of 15 dives which was awesome because the Mediterranean is great for diving. Students in this program are also allowed to dive in Plemmirio, a marine protected area, which is off limits to most of the public. It was by far the most rewarding academic experience I've had.

SOCIAL
Our group of students became extremely close over the trip, which the teachers told us was not incredibly common (I've head that sometimes the people who do these programs are kind of weird). A lot of times we would have "family dinners" where we would all go to the fresh air market and then cook at someone's apartment together. There were several bars we could go to, and because the island was so small by the end of the trip we new most of the bartenders well and had made Italian friends as well. Everyone we met in Ortigia was extremely friendly, and they didn't seem to be hostile to Americans at all.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Arcadia puts you up in decently nice apartments. Mine had marble floors and high ceilings and had 2 bedrooms but slept 5. The apartments have a full kitchen and bathroom and a washing machine. Even though Arcadia's website says that you could be up to 45 minutes away from the school, all of our apartments were within 5 or 6 minutes from the school so that shouldn't be a concern for anyone. It is important to note that they don't have air conditioning (like most apartments in Italy) but with the windows open it was never unbearably hot.

TRAVEL
We had several trips built into the program: we went to Catania, Palermo and the Aeolian Islands. On the weekends where we didn't have planned trips we would travel on our own to places like Cinque Terre, Paris, Rome, Milan and Taormina. There is time to travel but it is also nice to just hang out in Ortigia as well.

RANDOM THINGS WORTH MENTIONING
-you should definitely bring bug spray, I had really bad reactions to the mosquito bites (one was almost the size of my palm)
-food is pretty cheap, comparable to prices in the US
-you can drink the tap water, but it tastes salty so we always bought bottled water, which sometimes was more expensive than wine
-if you want to travel on your own on the weekends, the school will often be able to help you find hotel deals, but you should probably start thinking about that before you head on the trip

My experience at Arcadia's Oxford program refined me as a scholar and grew me as an individual. I was placed in Hertford College, conveniently located next to the main library (Radcliffe Camera), one of the most iconic sights at the university. My peers at Hertford were incredibly welcoming. I relished getting to know new friends in the dining hall, where we ate all our meals, and on the rowing team, which I joined and raced with in the Summer VIIIs Regatta in May. The city is beautiful, and I felt I had so much mental space, so much time to linger over a tea in a corner cafe, or walk through Christ Church Meadow. I blogged a lot and even read for fun. There was certainly room to travel on the weekends and on the six-week Easter Vacation between Hilary and Trinity terms, for which I backpacked through the continent.

As far as scholarship--I study Renaissance Literature, and was paired with two expert professors for my one-on-one tutorials. My tutors invested in me and challenged me to engage with a wider range of texts, pushing me to generate a body of scholarship I was truly proud of. The lectures at the English Faculty truly impressed, and you can go to as many or as few as you like--your schedule is flexible to your commitments, energy, and work load. The resources in the Bodleian Library are unparalleled (I got to handle a First Folio!) and the live theatre in London and Stratford was just a train ride away. I took much of this research back to my home university to incorporate with my senior thesis, and I can honestly say that the work done in Oxford is what has convinced me I can make it in an English PhD.

As for the staff of Arcadia, they were always there to support us through the tribulations of adapting to life in a new place. The orientation in London before the beginning of term introduced me to British culture and eased the transition to a foreign university and city. They touched base with us throughout the semester, and made sure we always had a network of support. They facilitate taking advantage of your time in Oxford to the fullest extent.

Ortigia is a small paradise in Sicily, Italy, and one of the sunniest regions in the entire country. It's home to Arcadia's study abroad program through the Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences. A typical day in the life? Heaven: I woke up at 8:00 in the morning and showered. My housemates and I walked the cobblestone streets and soaked up the sunshine until we arrived at our favorite local café on Via Roma. We ordered our croissants and cappuccinos, and we enjoyed our breakfast with one another. Afterwards, we walked to our first class of the day. On our way to Italian language, we admired the garden at school and greeted the old beautiful man who took care of the flowers as if they were his babies. Salvatore, the gardener, is just one person on the island whose soul is as radiant as the place itself. Anyone who calls this region in Sicily home has a big heart and a gorgeous kind of curiosity and patience that is so rare and inspiring. After Italian, I went to my film photography course. This course planted a seed inside of me for this timeless art form, and the professor's passion magnified my own desire to become a wonderful photographer. By the end of my semester in Sicily, my classmates and I hosted our very own exhibit in which we showcased our work like professional photographers. I have never felt better or more proud of anything in my entire life. I cried both tears of joy and sorrow that night because the exhibit meant that my time in Ortigia was drawing to a close. I digress. After classes, I taught young local Italian students how to speak, read, and write English. Two of my peers in the study abroad program voluntarily co-taught this TESOL course with me for the kids in our neighborhoods. They came to our school and we would teach them a few nights a week. Dinner mostly consisted of pizza and red wine. My friends from Ortigia and study abroad sat around my kitchen table together like a happy family. We ate, laughed, shared stories, and enjoyed the company for hours. Dinner was usually followed by a walk to the sea. We sat on a big rock and looked up at the stars, humbled by our insignificance yet feeling larger than life itself in such an amazing place. Homework somehow was completed and my studies went very smoothly. I learned about Sicilian culture and traditions more so by the friendships I made and the rituals I made sure to partake in than the books, but classes definitely set the context for real life situations during my time abroad. The people in Siracusa, Sicily, have become my most special memory of the place. I see their faces and I remember their names, their stories, their friendliness, and how welcomed I felt from my first day there. I knew when I left that I would be missed because I had become a part of a family in Sicily. Whether at the market, relaxing on a bench in one of many piazzas, at a local pizzeria, or even just on a casual night stroll, I always managed to form connections with locals that became very meaningful to me. I can't put into words the feeling I have about Sicily. All I can do is tell you that I left my soul in Ortigia. I still dream about Sicily and about the life I left there, the life I hope to return to one day in the near future. I couldn't have asked for a better study abroad experience. I am truly thankful for every single day that I spent in Ortigia. Arcadia knows how to do study abroad!