IES Abroad Reviews

In Amsterdam, I was enrolled as a jazz trumpet student at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. This is truly a great school to study your interests in the area of jazz and explore new styles and/or curiosities. My course schedule allowed me plenty of time for practice (nice rooms), attending jam sessions, and some more touristy activities. I got a strong impression that my instructors sincerely cared about my musical development. The helped me to become more fluent in technique, expression, and adapting to new situations. Amsterdam is a musician-friendly city and there is a great culture of musical excellence.
The living situation is only a 5-10 minute bike ride to the CvA, which is situated not far from the center of Amsterdam. I had one roommate in a room with a bathroom, kitchen, and extra storage space. Compared to a typical dorm, the room is quite spacious. I found out shortly after arriving that many conservatory students ride their bikes 30-40 mins to and from their living placement, so I felt really fortunate with housing.
The IES office staff were delightful to work with. They communicate, via email newsletters, upcoming activities in Amsterdam and The Netherlands, as well as pieces of Dutch history and other tid-bits about the people and culture. There are also opportunites to go on some great field trips sponsored by IES. I participated in the overnight trip to the island Texel and attended a soccer match.
Overall, I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in studying at one of Europe's and the World's finest music schools.

Studying abroad helped me become a more independent and confident person. Through IES I was able to meet new people and learn about different cultures. Vienna became a second home to me, and throughout the semester I was able to get outside of my comfort zone and explore new things!

My advice for someone considering studying abroad is to stop considering it and make it happen. You will experience the biggest and best adventures of your life studying in another country and you will learn things and meet people you never imagined. The IES program in Milan is very organized and the staff provides everything a student needs to succeed during the semester. I lived in an apartment on a very central and busy shopping street with 2 American roommates and a 28-year old Italian IES employee.who was very cool and helped us with anything we needed. As far as classes go, I took Italian, Entrepreneurship, photography, and an internship seminar to go along with the internship I had when I was there. The professors are all very knowledgeable and are available to offer help when you need it. I took all my classes at IES and the center was less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment. IES does a very good job of catering to the needs of students and the staff is fun and friendly. I experienced so much more of the culture through IES than I would have on my own. The program even paid for us to go to a spa one night. The program made me feel at home and I definitely suggest you sign up ASAP

Rome is an absolutely beautiful and amazing city! The center is right across from Castel Sant'Angelo and less than 10 minutes from St. Peter's. I lived in a spacious apartment about 25 minutes from the center with an Italian Student Companion and 5 other girls. I cannot recommend the ISC enough. It is so nice to live with a native Italian who understands the language and customs. They also show you the best places to get a beer and slice of pizza.
Compared to my home institution the classes were not difficult. The subject material is fascinating and many classes do weekly field trips throughout the city.
The staff is absolutely amazing. They truly care about your study abroad experience and are some of the nicest people I have ever met.
I loved my time abroad and cannot wait to go back.

Studying abroad with IES Vienna European Studies could not have been a more positive experience. I did not know much about Vienna before arriving, but it turned out to be a great place to study abroad. Every night there are tons of cultural activities going on in the city and it is also one of the safest cities I've ever been to, so I never felt inhibited because of that. The program was also very good about organizing events for the students and helping out with any issue we had or any housing complications.

I travelled with class trips, studied things I would have never been able to study at my home University, but still were relevant to what I want to learn, met amazing friends, experienced living in an apartment for the first time, and enjoyed the day to day life, taking in whatever was around me. The people in charge of the program were not only helpful, but also helped me whenever I needed something, or even were around if I just wanted to chat. You definately learn what you need to on your own, but you can always get advice or learn about things whenever you want.

My abroad experience was fantastic. I made friends with my German roommates in our student apartment. They showed me the authentic German bars and restaurants around the city. I bought a bike during the semester, which also made me feel authentically German. The workload in classes was fair while increasing my German skills. Put simply, this program was so great; I wish I could have studied there for an entire year.

IES Barcelona is a great program that accomplishes a lot. Barcelona in of itself is an amazing place to live– the city is rich with culture, opportunities, great people, fantastic food, and has an international airport to take you all over the world when you have time. The IES Barcelona Administration is great, everything is well organized, and they work hard to provide a great time for the students – from a mandatory trip we took to Tarragona in the beginning of the semester to trips you can sign up for. Even though I prefer traveling with a small group of people and booking my own stuff to do, hostels, and so on, I loved the IES trips I went on. They were fun, well planned out, and great experiences.

Yes, a lot of the fun of study abroad is what you do outside the classroom, but you do spend time in a classroom so it's important for me to note what classes are like. I had a few classes through IES that fascinated me. One of them – Self and Identity in a Postmodern World was one of the best classes I think I've ever taken in my career as a student. Other I took to satisfy general requirements, and while they weren't quite up my alley, I learned a lot from them. I found I was gaining a lot of knowledge about the architecture and the city, and it made my stay in Barcelona even better.

Overall, this is an awesome program. Suggestions for you should you do this program – a) live in a homestay or a dorm because either will likely immerse you more in Barcelona culture in terms of people (trust me so worth it), b) take classes related to the city, you'll be surprised what you retain and how much better it makes your time in the city, and c) travel everywhere and explore Spain, and if you leave Spain don't just go to European cities – Marrakesh, Morocco was without a doubt one of the best places I went.

I can't even begin to express how I feel about the IES Abroad European Union program. At risk of sounding cliché, I can comfortably say that my semester was the best four months of my life. Seriously. I forged lasting friendships, experienced a wide variety of new cultures, and formed a new perspective on the world. Getting on the plane to leave was one of the hardest things that I think that I've ever had to do.

LOCATION
Freiburg is the ultimate city in which to study abroad. Not too small, not too large, and in the middle of Europe. It truly is an incredible "home base"--Deutsche Bahn trains are within easy reach and EuroAirport Basel is close by. Freiburg is authentic but cosmopolitan, fresh but refined, young but diverse. Which should come as no surprise. It's been called the greenest city in Germany, and it's a major university town. In keeping with that, it's bar/club scene is fantastic. The student bars (StuSie, Mudom, and Vaubar) in particular are quite fun.

ACADEMICS
Much more time-consuming than you may expect. Classes were not necessarily more difficult than my classes at my home institution, but they were certainly more work. I've never had to write two 15-20 page papers in a single academic term. But in Germany I did. Which, given their system and culture, I probably should have expected. Regardless, it was a big struggle. I didn't really mind, but I do think that it's important to keep in mind that this is a more academically rigorous program than most. Also, you will have class on Fridays. There's no way around that.

FIELD TRIPS
So insanely awesome. The program includes 22 days of field travel. I traveled with the program to Berlin, Prague, Luxembourg, Brussels, Paris, Strasbourg, Lucerne, London, Stockholm, and Tallinn. In each city, various course-related and general meetings were required. While some were snoozers, others were incredibly stimulating intellectually. Our meetings with the European Commission or the European Court of Justice come to mind. Even more amazing, I think of our candid meetings with representatives of the Permanent Delegations of Russia and Turkey to the EU. The meeting with Russia's diplomats came right during the Ukraine crisis. What an incredible opportunity! His perspective was interesting and comparing it to the EU/U.S. perspective was even more fascinating.

HOUSING
I lived in a student housing complex in Vauban, where I shared a flat. Everyone gets a single room and shares a kitchen and bathroom with German and other international students. You may have someone in your program in your flat, but you might not. That said, you'll definitely have at least ten members of your program in your housing complex, and that means that group dinners and parties will become a fact of life. Get to know your German roommates! Not only are they likely super cool (especially if they live in Vauban), but they also are a wealth of knowledge about Freiburg and Germany. Some of the best conversations I had were spur of the moment and unexpected conversations with Germans about the United States, Europe, and international relations. One particular conversation about gun control will always stick in my mind.

SOCIAL LIFE
God. I couldn't have wanted anything more. While IES EU is not set up in a way that would invite a high degree of intercultural dialogue and interaction, it certainly is set up such that you will become great friends with the other Americans on your program. That's not a problem. In fact, it's a huge blessing. I made friends who I will be keeping in touch with for some time to come, and I expect many others would do the same. We went on trips, out to clubs/bars, and on short hikes/daytrips together. With only 60 people or so, it's no surprise that you'll become really good friends with your American classmates. Just don't expect a hugely high amount of intercultural interaction, unless you consciously seek it out. (For example, several of my friends played ultimate with the local team while in Freiburg, but they had to look for these opportunities themselves.) You also need not travel outside the program, although you totally can and should at some point. I went to Rome and Munich and couldn't have been more pleased. Other people visited Amsterdam, Dublin, and even Kiev. Bear in mind that almost anything is possible; you just have to find time (and money!) to make it happen.

OVERALL
I could not recommend this program enough. It's one thing to say that study abroad changed your life. Everyone says that. It's another for a program to actually do it. I seriously can't think of one regret I had in going abroad, and I'm glad that that's the case. If you want a high degree of cultural interaction and to become fluent in German, don't apply to this program. But if you want to work hard/play hard, experience Europe while engaging with decision makers and thought-leaders and making incredible friends all at the same time, then stop reading this review and go apply.

My experience in Freiburg was seriously amazing. The town itself is gorgeous and looks to be straight out of a travel brochure with a wonderful mix of traditional mid-evil German and French architecture. Everyone in Freiburg is super friendly, especially the other German students studying there. The dorms are pretty nice, about on par with an average American college dorm, but it is nice that they are set up like an apartment, with a kitchen and single bedrooms. They are also all (with the exception of the Littenweiler dorms) within reasonable distance from Freiburg's center and the IES Center. Academics were not too strenuous, and professors were very helpful and understanding of German being students' second language. The IES Center staff could not be nicer and more willing to help students with any problem they may have. Overall I cannot give enough praise to IES abroad Freiburg, it was truly an incredible experience.