Program Reviews

Studying abroad in Rome through IES was a once in a lifetime experience. I owe a large part my incredible time to IES and specifically the wonderful staff and students of this program. Before even leaving for abroad IES was there every step of the way to ensure I was prepared for my departure. From the second you land in Rome they are there for you, literally picking you up at the airport. They do everything they can to make sure you are comfortable, safe, and immersed by holding a week long orientation and approachable, friendly staff. The program offers multiple social/cultural events throughout the semester and each class has numerous field studies into the city so you are learning on site. I was able to participate in cooking classes, historical site visits, and more. One of the best parts is that you are living and taking classes in the center of the city, with everything from the colosseum to the Vatican in walking distance. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

I love my business classes abroad! I learned so much about finance and business in Europe. Although my favorite class would have to be my Italian 101 class. It was nice being able to practice a language I was learning every-time I ran errands! All the professors are very kind and supportive.

The food was phenomenal. I ate endless amounts of prosciutto, pasta, and pizza. I was staying with a host family and they cooked dinner for me every night. Food is fairly inexpensive, I would not spend much money grocery shopping or out at restaurants.

The nightlife is super fun. There are always bars close-by and dance clubs are open very late. It's the best place to meet people and make new friends. It gives you a chance to enjoy the city at night.

My experience at the IES Milan - Music: Voice, Composition, and Instrumental program was life-changing, filled with amazing opportunities to learn about Italian music, language, culture, and social issues. I studied opera there and received the finest instruction from music professors like Patrizia Zanardi, Anna Fre, and Stefano Pintor. I was able to apply what I had learned in recitals and one-act operas that my fellow students and I presented at IES.. Not only that, but I was also able to learn by attending five La Scala opera productions, four of which were paid for by IES. My Staging Italian Opera class also got to observe a rehearsal at La Scala for Mozart's Idomeneo and tour the opera house's workshops. These opportunities shaped my abroad experience, and I am very grateful to IES for having provided them.

Not only was my music education wonderful, but my other classes were stellar also. For example, I took Service Learning and gained insight into the European migration crisis by volunteering at the Municipality of Milan's immigration office, putting the skills I was learning in the seminar (and in my advanced Italian class) to action. I also volunteered as an English tutor to the social worker I shadowed at this office, helping him better serve the English-speaking migrants who came to the office.

I found all of the staff at IES Milan to be extremely helpful. Whenever I had a question about anything, whether it involved an upcoming IES-sponsored trip or a personal health concern, they always answered my questions and showed that they cared about me. I felt that I was in very good hands for the entire semester.

I lived in a homestay with a very kind and loving Milanese family, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, as it was so fun to have younger Italian siblings and to truly immerse myself in the Italian language. My homestay became my home away from home, and in difficult moments I was so grateful to have Italian parents to give me homemade gelato. And the food was incomparable, of course! Nothing in this world is better than a home-cooked Italian meal.

I hope that anyone who reads this will be able to study at IES Milan, especially if you are an undergraduate music student. It was the best semester of my life!

Study abroad was the best opportunity I have ever taken. I was able to grow as a person, and truly gain awareness of the culture around me. In only 5 months, I was able to travel all over Europe and make some new best friends. IES did a great job of helping us adapt to being in a new place and made the experience the best it could be! IES took us on unique trips, provided opportunities to truly immerse ourselves in Milan, and overall did the most it could to help us. The staff were always willing to help us out whenever we needed. The classes I took allowed me to grow in my area of study in new ways. I gained a broader perspective on topics I learned about in my abroad classes. I would highly recommend studying abroad to anyone who is interested in it!

Spending a semester abroad in Amsterdam was an experience that I have absolutely zero regrets about. Not only did I meet amazing people in the program, I got to live in the business district of the city and experience so many different things about Dutch culture. The food especially- wow! The living accommodations were great and I was able to survive off of my savings comfortably and travel quite a bit. Not to mention the school system in the Netherlands allowed me to have a lot of extra time and learning outside of the classroom. I visited world class museums and saw masterpieces. The program was very supportive and I really enjoyed my time abroad. They even organized a trip to Poland that was quite possibly my favorite trip when abroad. The history of World War II is so much more ingrained in the culture of Europe and I definitely felt like my eyes were opened very much during my experience abroad.

I am currently writing this review on the 0743 Thalys train from Brussels Midi to Paris Nord. Gazing at the windmills along the horizon of the countryside with glaring into the cabin brought a smile to my face, glued my eyes to window and brought back many memories as I reminisced of my study abroad experience. As an American Born Chinese student visiting China for the first time, one can imagine how the experience affected me. I sincerely hope this story encourages any student interested in not learning more about a culture, but about themselves as well. The study abroad cliches are real, it really is life changing and was one of the most educational, hands-on experience I could have ever benefited from.
As an eager and outgoing person, I knew I always wanted to study abroad. I know that is not the case for everyone as some are on the edge of going or others believe it is difficult to do so depending on the majors and schedules. Truth be told, it was weird knowing that I was leaving my family for three months, I became anxious and nervous about all the things I will miss from birthdays to life events. The second I boarded the plane, these fears and worries quickly vanished as I changed my mindset from nervousness to openness. I was putting myself out there, in a foregin country with foreign people.
The second I landed, reality hit me. I was in a new country, alone, for three months. It is not as daunting as it sounds as IES Abroad did an amazing job in ensuring that I was escorted from the airport to the campus where the orientations were held and everything was organized. Throughout the summer, IES Abroad planned several cultural trips, all of which were most definitely enjoyable and not frowned upon. I strongly believe that the experience was amazing only because of the people I was able to meet and make life-long friendships. I strongly urge all prospective students to study abroad.

Studying abroad in Santiago, Chile was one of the best choices I have made in my life. I am a neuroscience major, but have always had a desire to become fluent in Spanish. For that reason, I decided to study in the Health Studies Program, to learn more about the health system in Chile, but also to fully immerse myself into a Spanish-speaking culture. This program allows students to take a seminar where they can choose between shadowing in hospitals and clinics, or intern at a Public Health organization in an underserved community. I decided to intern at the Public Health organization, and through that experience, was very inspired by the theory of Popular Education, and experienced first-hand the power and importance of community health. This experience for sure inspired me so much, and made me think a lot more about the type of career I would like in the future.

In addition to the educational aspect of the program, Chile was a great country to study in with the goal to learn Spanish. Even living in the capital city of Santiago, it was rare that you would enter a restaurant or mall and find someone who could, and would, speak english to you. Santiago is also a wonderful city to live in, which many beautiful parks, restaurants, and hills to hike. I also loved the nature that Chile has to offer, and simply by traveling outside of Santiago to these natural environments were very inspiring as they are beautiful settings to both challenge yourself and reflect on life.

Choosing to study abroad with IES was one of the best decisions I have made in my college career. I knew that I wanted to do an immersion program so that I could become a better speaker and I significantly improved! Not only was I able to make connections with the other students but my host family was super supportive and loving; I plan on staying in contact with them! Not only was I looking for a program that pushed me to learn more and improve my French, but I also wanted to be able to travel and experience Europe. I had plenty of opportunities to travel around and visit different countries which was an important aspect for me. I think that if you are looking for a program that will push you out of your comfort zone and allow you the opportunities to get involved in the community then IES Nantes is the place for you!

Before I went to Cape Town, people would tell me that "studying abroad is a life-changing experience," and I had a hard time believing them. Initially, I thought that studying abroad was a chance to experience a different world. But I did not think that experiencing a "different world" would change me. To me, it made sense that study abroad students would experience a different world and gain skills in intercultural communication--among other things--as a result. However, I reasoned that experiencing a different world and having one's life fundamentally changed were two mutually independent events. That said, living in South Africa for a semester and being able to take classes at the University of Cape Town changed my mind. Sure, I acquired skills, but more importantly, the radically different culture and world I got to experience forced me to change. Admittedly, I'm rather introspective, but studying abroad led me to reflect on all the differences I saw between South Africa, America, and their respective citizens. Moreover, I then had to decide how I would think and live moving forward. So, when people say that studying abroad is a life-changing experience, they're not lying or overexaggerating. Studying abroad gives students the chance to reflect on and be changed by all that they experience. And IES Abroad made this process as smooth as it could have been.

I loved my multi-location program! It gave me the opportunity to experience two cultures in the span of one semester, with a trip to Peru included. With its focus being on emerging economies, I really could apply my experience to my studies back in the US. It was fascinating to be able to compare the economies of Chile and Argentina with each other and the rest of South America. Class field studies tied all my knowledge together and gave me a better understanding of what I was learning about. With housing assignments being home stays in both cities (Santiago and Buenos Aires) I felt like I was better able to experience the culture since I was in each place for a shorter period of time. The staff were so accommodating and had the students' best interest in mind.

Feel free to check out my IES Correspondent blog to learn more on what the program has to offer and what my experience was like!

Link: https://www.iesabroad.org/blogs/author/765861