IES Abroad Reviews

My time abroad was such an incredible and rewarding experience. I think about London every day and can only say how amazing my time there was because of the opportunities, guidance, encouragement, and passion that my program provided. I went through IES Study London, which is an unique program because we are not directly enrolled full time at a traditional University. There are intern programs and the option to take a course at an outside University, which is something I did do. At first I thought this would “hinder” my abroad experience, but the dynamic ended up truly making it because my entire program was able to get to know each another so much better through classes, living in the same building, and participating in IES trips together. The classes at IES are taught by credible professors and the class-sizes were small and challenging. I learned a whole new perspective of international politics that I hadn’t been exposed to back home and really took away valuable skills and a better understanding about the world around me. London is such a vibrant city and IES does such a wonderful job helping us transition and encourages us to take full advantage of our time abroad. They really made London feel smaller and much more personal. I was able to learn and grow so much during my time in London and am so thankful for such an amazing experience. The chance to truly live, study, and experience a city for more than a visit is an opportunity that everyone should take full advantage of— I promise you will only regret it if you don’t go abroad!!

My study aboard experience in Rome with IES was better than I ever could have imagined! During my time abroad I lived in a homestay and was also able to work for a local tour company as an intern. Both of these aspects of my time abroad were highlights for me because they allowed me to truly feel immersed in my city and it’s culture. And neither of these aspects of my trip would have been possible without IES and their great staff on site in Rome. Additionally, the classes that I took at my center were incredible. The professors were all kind, engaging, and helped me to make the most of my experience. It was truly an amazing and life changing experience. I would recommend IES Rome to anyone who is looking to study abroad!

I would highly recommend this program to someone interested in studying abroad with the goal of immersing yourself in Spanish language and culture. The classes (which includes any homework and projects, exams, etc.) are all in Spanish, and you have a couple of choices for living options which is sometimes hard to find in other programs. I chose to live in the dorm with other local Spanish students, rather than a homestay or an apartment with other American students, and it was the best decision for me. I learned things from my Spanish and international peers that only a local would know about Madrid, and I got to practice my Spanish.

My highlights for this term abroad were:
-Participating in the cultural activities that the program offered once a month. This included everything from a cooking class, to Flamenco lessons, all at no extra cost.
-Being forced to really use my Spanish by the local staff and professors. It's very easy to avoid speaking Spanish and I can sometimes get away with speaking English during some classes at my home university, however, here you are required to speak Spanish and it was a challenge that improved my language ability.
- Madrid is just a great place to be. Nothing compares to the nightlife in the Spain's capital. The food, the culture, the "cafe con leche", is all just a wonderful thing to experience in this great metropolitan city.
- Another item that drew me to studying with IES was the opportunity to take classes at the local university. This was an eye-opening and unforgettable experience because it was both exciting and intimidating to learn that not all classrooms and universities function as those do in the States.

Do you love adventure? Do you love meeting new people? Do you want to experience a new culture and become more independent? Then IES Abroad is the program for you. There are so many cities across the world to choose from, and I ended up at the University of Sydney in Australia. It was a dream come true to travel so far and call a new city home. IES covered so many bases for us before departure by arranging housing, step by step directions for visa applications, and having awesome events and trips set up for the group once we were in Sydney. The advisers Matt and Kristin were always willing to go out of their way to find out what sort of things we wanted to do and bring us to exciting new places. The mid semester break trip is a must for a great cost and the perfect bonding experience with fellow IES members in other schools in Sydney. The city is incredible, but don’t forget to take advantage of long weekends and see other cities in Australia! Our experience ended with a beautiful IES dinner in the Sydney harbor with photo montages of our semester and hilarious superlatives. It was a great chance to see everyone together one last time and thank our advisers for the continuous support. I would go back to Sydney in a heartbeat if I could. So take the amazing opportunity from IES and “give it a go”!

IES Abroad Nantes gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I improved my French both in the classroom and in everyday conversation through the challenging but enjoyable academics and host family living situation. Nantes became a second home to me as the semester continued, leaving me wishing to stay with my amazing host family, the supportive staff, and adventurous new friends. This program allows students to be fully immersed in the French culture through living with a host family, incorporating important lessons into orientation, and allowing students to meet other French students in Nantes. I cannot imagine having a better semester abroad In four short months, I was welcomed into not only a host family, but the entire IES Nantes family, who will always be dear to my heart. With an amazing city, filled with friendly citizens who want to speak French, you can't go wrong with IES Nantes.

I chose my study abroad program based on the classes I needed to take to graduate on time. Though my original reasons for coming to Vienna were academic in nature, the program and the city itself made the experience truly fantastic.

The IES Vienna program provides many opportunities to experience the local culture and meet the local people, and the staff is filed with friendly people who are always happy to recommend new places to go. As residents of Vienna, the IES students are able to register in the Sports University, which offers almost any sport you can imagine with local students. Students are also encouraged to sign up for language buddies. This allows us to break out of the"American Bubble" American students at a program like this might find themselves in. Of course, you are still required to attend classes, but these are not overwhelmingly difficult. The professors tend to be passionate about their respective subjects, and many classes offer regular field trips to explore the city. Each class works to intertwine the history and culture of Vienna and Austria into the subject matter.

It did not take me long to fall in love with Vienna. Though a decently large city, constant community events make her feel like a much smaller town. At any given moment there could be a festival in front of the Rathaus, a market in front of Schönbrunn, or even a ball in the Hofberg. The city is a center for culture and history, but also has plenty of choice regarding bars and nightlife, combining the old with the new. The city is full of interesting museums, but you don't need to enter one to fully experience the history of the city: all the buildings speak of the influence of the Habsburg empire. Friends meet up to lounge in one of the many parks, or drink coffee in one of the many coffee houses. Since the city is located in the middle of the Vienna Woods, it's easy to leave the city to hike or enjoy the view from on top of Kahlenberg.

Vienna is ideally located in the center of Europe, making it a perfect home base for visiting the surrounding countries.

I never expected to love Vienna as much as I did, but it's hard not to fall in love with this beautiful city. Spending a semester there was a great choice, and one I'd happily make again!

I arrived in Freiburg, Germany with zero expectations and that was the best way to go about my study abroad experience.

Location:
Freiburg is the quintessential German college town. It's located in the heart of the Black Forest and is known as the sunniest city in Germany. The size of the town is about 200,000, which perfect to explore the ins and outs of it without being overwhelmed. Freiburg is also mostly students, so international students are not uncommon, which is relieving for those who are unfamiliar with the language. It's close to Switzerland and France, making day trips easy and a great option on the weekends.

Academics:
Classes and the workload that comes with them is reasonable. European politics and studying the European Union may seem confusing at first, but once you understand what the Parliament, Council, and Commission are, you'll be in good shape. There are also a variety of classes to choose from, such as understanding conflict in the Balkans and migration in the EU. The field trips that are included in the program are also an excellent way to get direct exposure to hot-button issues.

Housing:
Students live in apartments owned by the University of Freiburg, which gives them a great opportunity to interact with German students. Although I wasn't too happy about my housing situation because of the condition of my apartment, I was glad I got to know my flat mates and became friends with some of them.

Overall:
Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I've made in my life so far. I made some great friends that I know I'll keep in touch with and had some major revelations while in Freiburg. I highly recommend this program, especially for people who love traveling and aren't afraid to go outside of their comfort zone.

Studying abroad is a difficult experience to transmit through a review. I don't feel I could ever give a complete picture of my time in Madrid through words but I can at least give advice about the IES program.

Definitely a program I would recommend to others. The IES directors/advisors are extremely helpful, accessible, and concerned with the well being of students. There were many included trips that students could go on to other cities in Spain...and they were amazing! There were a lot of mixed reviews on academics. Personally, I am a science major and was only taking general education requirements abroad. All of my classes were arts, history, and language and this made it difficult to always feel a real purpose/investment in class because they were all studies outside of my future career interest. However I did feel the material of almost all of them was always interesting and I was just happy to be practicing Spanish! (all classes are in Spanish. Some felt the classes were too easy but I was happy with the amount of work - enough to feel productive, but not so much that it inhibited experiencing Madrid and Europe.

Because all of the classes are in Spanish and I did a home stay my Spanish improved immensely. IES gives you many opportunities to become better at Spanish you just have to take them! I recommend home stay because I had such a positive experience. I know not everyone loved their family, but I loved my host mom and it allowed me to gain a better understanding of Spanish culture than any class ever could. I would recommend a home stay to everyone. Get out of your comfort zone and experience something completely different.

General Advice:
-Don't feel really pressured to travel. Some people went to a different country every weekend, others spent the majority of their time in Madrid. Do what you want! /Can afford! Either way you made it to Europe.
-You would rather under-pack than over-pack.
-If you do a home stay bring slippers. They are worn inside the house.
-Don't bring your phone to the club. They were often stolen out of zippered pockets in zippered bags.
-You'll improve your Spanish as much as you want to. If you really want to improve you can (home stay, intercambios, trying to not speak English), and if you don't care as much that's cool too!
-go to the Cercedilla mountains outside of Madrid - most memorable experience of my entire study abroad
-go to Porto, Portugal! And Tubingen, Germany. And Granada and Toledo.

I stayed at a home stay family- a family of three. There was the mother, the 15 year old daughter and the 22 year old daughter. Although Carlotta, the 22 year old daughter was very busy with work, school, and internships, when she had little time to see and talk to me, she was a very sweet and nice person. I am glad that I was able to bond with someone that was Italian and around my age since that was what I wanted to do most. However, Virginia, the 15 year old teenage girl was who I connected with the most. She loved Japanese culture and since I am Japanese, we were able to exchange cultural information and differences with each other. I would speak Italian with her on a daily basis (although the mother wanted me to speak English to her) while other times, I would sit down with her and teach her some Japanese grammar and vocabulary. Virginia also showed me different cultures of Japan and that I had not known before, such as different anime television shows and dance moves. However, the person that I appreciate the most is my home stay mother. Whether it was eating cheese and drinking wine at 10 pm or taking me to the supermarket to show me that you need a 25 cent euro to be able to use the carts, she truly treated me like her daughter during my stay at her home. These are what I liked best about my accommodation. The times that I spent with my home stay family is something that I will never forget and is something that I will appreciate for the rest of my life.

My one month in Rome is something I will never forget. It was absolutely amazing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Everyday I would get up early and go grab a cappuccino before going to class. Class was never boring and was always about something we would encounter the next day when we went on site visits. Being able to visit the places we studied the day prior was the best part of my abroad experience. It made everything seem much more real and rather than just something in a textbook. The staff at IES abroad Rome were extremely helpful, I planned a weekend trip to Florence and Venice and the staff helped me find hostels to stay in and how to book train tickets. When in Rome I stayed in an apartment with two other girls from my school and an Italian student who was studying at university in Rome. The apartment was in a great location, with a quick walk to to the center and a five minute walk to the Vatican.