Program Reviews

Studying abroad in Melbourne was an amazing experience! Located in the cultural capital of Australia, there was never a lack of activities to keep me busy. From jazz concerts to days at the beach to amazing dining experiences to unbelievable nights out, Melbourne certainly lived up to its reputation as the World's Most Livable City. Arcadia provided housing with ten other American students and this was a great way to start of my adventure with some friends right off the bat. It was also easy to travel to and from Melbourne with the airport so near by and easily accessible. This allowed my to travel to the Outback, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, Port Douglass and all over the state of Victoria, including the Great Ocean Road, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges. It was the absolute best immersion and travel experience of my life!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Perugia, Italy. Umbra Institute definitely prepared me for my semester in Italy, as well as for future experiences. To start the semester, every student participants in an intensive Italian language course, which allows students to learn Italian and apply it within the community by interviewing people in the piazza or making Italian desserts by following directions solely in Italian. After this week, all students take an Italian course which provides a lot of practice and out of class experiences as well. The other courses are all very interesting and most of them consist of field trips in Perugia and also different parts of Italy as well. I took two of the three courses in the Food Studies Program--learning all about Italian food, culture and sustainability while attending many taste tests, having real Italian meals and even going truffle hunting (not for chocolate, for actual truffles--mushrooms!). This program was absolutely incredible and allowed me to see different parts of the food system in general, as well as specific parts of the Italian food system. With this program, I toured the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory, the Parma Prosciutto factory, and visited Dario Cecchini's meat store. All of these field trips gave me outside experience to further understand the material in class--exposing me to experiences I probably would not have in the United States. Although not located very close to major cities (2 hours by train from Rome and Florence), Perugia is located in the rolling hills of Umbria and surrounded by many historical and beautiful towns in this area. All of these towns are necessary to spend time in because each are unique and valuable to this area! All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Perugia and at the Umbra Institute; I learned a lot and the staff members were very nice and helpful to all of the students!

I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in an immersive experience in Spain. To begin with, Granada is a wonderful city to study abroad in, its main advantage being its size. The larger cities in Spain, while perhaps being bigger centers for arts, culture, and partying, are so large that as a foreigner, you're unlikely to be able to experience the repetition and familiarity that constitutes a study abroad immersion experience. Granada was walkable, safe, and small enough that I was able to make friends with Granada natives, but large enough that I still never stopped exploring its corners. Its one of the most inexpensive cities in Spain, its close to Morocco, it has a North African influence...
You'll be able to practice your Spanish everyday. Granada is one of the most popular spots for European students to study abroad, so the entire city welcomes college students from all over the world, and a lot of the bars even have nights where your drinks are cheaper if you are there to practice languages with Europeans.
I chose to live in the international apartments, and ended up living with 4 Spanish girls my age and 1 Argentinean woman. They welcomed me like family and I still talk with them a year later. My Spanish improved an immense amount this way, and I was able to learn colloquial Spanish and go out the way that Spanish people my age do. The international apartments also host other Europeans... I became good friends with a few Italians this way as well. Spanish became the common language in the apartments, even when I was speaking with my American friends living there.
A typical day would consist of waking up pretty early, heading to class at the Centro de Lenguas Modernas for Spanish and Culture classes, and then coming back for siesta. I would hang out with my roommates in the kitchen during this time, cooking and talking. I'd often go for a run later, or out exploring the city in the afternoon, and then would often get tapas or a coffee with my Spanish friends at night.

All in all, after completing this program, I think I avoided a lot of the complaints people make about studying abroad... I was able to learn colloquial Spanish from natives through immersion, I was independent because I wasn't living with a family that cooked for me and had strict rules, I was actually immersed in the Granadian student way of life with my friends, rather then only hanging out with Americans and traveling all over Europe every weekend (which you still could do)... I also wasn't broke after the whole thing because Granada is incredibly cheap.

One of the highlights from my trip was renting a van with a few Spanish, American, and Italian friends, and driving out to Salamanca for their new years party, as well as cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my Spanish and Italian friends.

The program also provides you with amazing excursions throughout Spain... hiking in the Sierra Nevada, going to Toledo, seeing professional Flamenco dancers, eating expensive and delicious Spanish food.

Arcadia guided me through the entire application process, which included complicated financial aid portions. The orientation experience was easy and a great way to meet friends, because we were all in a new country and mostly didn't know anyone else. Arcadia also gave us an extensive amount of activities to participate in during our time abroad, so all of us were able to become more familiar with Scotland.

The only difficulty was registering at the beginning of the semester. The university's system is very different from the American system, so we could have used more guidance in that experience.

My time in New Zealand was truly amazing. The Arcadia staff did an excellent job of keeping us informed on events and making sure we were enjoying ourselves. The landscape of NZ is incomparable to any other place in the world. Each day we were met with a world class view, great people, and exploration opportunities everywhere. I would recommend to anyone a trip to New Zealand for their study abroad semester.

The General Course is a really great program if you want to add a really impressive school to your resume but also have a chance to have fun. Classes are fairly difficult but you get a lot of time off. I had the chance to network with other ambitious students in my field of study.

Wellington stole my heart. With mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, it's impossible not to fall in love with this city. The Kiwis were so kind and accepting, the classes were interesting and engaging, and the landscape was breathtaking. For anyone who likes to adventure, New Zealand is unmatched. With Great Walks and Victoria University's Tramping Club, every weekend was full of more beautiful views. Arcadia's New Zealand staff is incredible. From orientation to the farewell dinner they were there to support me, answer any and all questions, and help to resolve any problems, no matter how big or small. I truly believe that there is no better program I could have chosen to go abroad with. There are no better people and there is no better place.

10/10 for Arcadia NZ

The Arcadia in Rome program was an unbelievable experience for me. The classes were incredible, with classes both in and outside of the classroom, as well as field studies to different parts of Italy. The staff in Rome was great. They helped with whatever you needed and were always there to lend a helping hand. Of course, you cannot forget that you are in the Eternal City of Rome either. The people, scenery, and food of Rome is second to none.

Goldsmiths was perfect to get a few credits out of the way while be close to Central London (but not having to pay the ridiculous inner-city rent). Great fun and beautiful being next to Greenwich (great if you need to get out of the inner-city scene). Make sure to go to the ministry of pie at burough market.

Well, I was taken by surprise when I arrived in Barcelona and found the region to be so different from what I had expected. They spoke a different language, had different cultures, and didn't consider themselves Spanish at all. At first this made me nervous and a bit irritated but I leaned to love the culture and language when I started to take the history and language class at Arcadia. My landlord was extremely nice and helpful. My roommates were very nice, my classmates became my very good friends and I met some amazing people. Everything was great, only thing is that I wish they would've offered a more advanced Spanish course.