IES Abroad Reviews

My time in Santiago, Chile was one of the greatest yet hardest experiences of my life. I came in with a pretty good level of Spanish but quickly realized that classroom Spanish and a background of 7 years in class isn't real life Spanish... especially Chilean Spanish. I remember being afraid to say things incorrectly at the beginning, but by the end understood better that it really is okay to make mistakes and was more comfortable asking questions/really trying to understand the language in its entirety. My host family was great, and although we started at a slow place with getting to know them, by then end I felt like family. I also learned that it takes a lot on the student's part to build that relationship, and I feel like it is extremely valuable to build those because the home is where you get a lot of good practice with no pressure. But again, the way you feel about making mistakes is ultimately up to you. The more you accept yourself for them, the more you will learn and improve. While the Spanish learning, cultural learning, traveling were great experiences, I had a major health issue going on. I share this to demonstrate how safe and cared for I felt the entire time that I was dealing with this issue. If you have a health condition, please don't let it stop you from studying abroad. I have a complicated story with too many details, but I made 1 hospital visit and 3 doctor visits (all in Spanish) but was accompanied by program advisors who made me felt very comfortable and understood... despite any potential language issues. My host family was very caring and always asked how I was feeling, and the school even let me take a week off from classes. It was hard, my days were long and tiring with this issue... but would I take it back and not go? No way. I will never regret my decision to stay because I made long lasting relationships, seriously improved upon my Spanish skills more than I ever would staying at my university, and got to experience another part of the world that functions slightly differently from what I'm used to... and these are experiences I will carry with me forever. Chile is an amazing country that is highly dismissed. If you have the opportunity to go, do it. You won't regret it.

IES Madrid is a great program that I highly recommend! It is in an incredible location and I loved being in Madrid and getting to know the city. My host mom was incredible and the staff really wants each student to feel comfortable. My classes were challenging and ranged from analyzing Spanish film to going to the Prado museum twice a week to study paintings. I thoroughly enjoyed this program and all of the different academic options as well as the program trips. The staff is incredibly kind and patient and I made some great friends!

My study abroad experience was made 10x better because of the people I met through IES and the excursions we went on through the program. Christchurch is a cute city and soon felt like home. It is rebuilding from the 2011 earthquake still but it's adding quirky and fun additions, and it has perfectly cozy coffeeshops for studying. It's also perfectly located to easily reach the best destinations in New Zealand over the weekends. IES, and Eunice our program director, made the experience even better. The first week, you're exploring and instantly making incredible connections with people. You also have occasional meetings to reflect so that the semester has a meaningful impact on you. And the semester break fieldtrip to the Cook Islands... do it! IES has us do activities that you wouldn't think of doing or wouldn't know how to book on your own, and it's just all so fun! I have absolutely no regrets on choosing IES Christchurch and it was the most amazing experience of my life.

Salamanca was a fantastic experience, and I can’t wait to go back and visit again. I am really grateful to the IES program for giving me a strong basis for exploring Spain and Spanish culture. The homestay was one of the best experiences-living with a local family, being immersed in the culture almost 24/7 helped me adjust quickly and start experiencing Spanish culture less as a tourist and more as a temporary resident.
I do have a couple regrets though. In taking classes at the University of Salamanca, I met a lot of Spanish friends, and got to know them and Spanish people my age better, but I wish I had spent more time with them. I think that one of the best ways for me to improve my Spanish is to spend it surrounded by native speakers, and my friends were always enthusiastic to spend time with a foreigner. Of course, I did enjoy my classes at the IES center, but there I wasn’t as immersed in Spanish culture as I wanted-my classmates were fellow Americans, and the classes were presented in an American style. Although we did have Spanish teachers, and the American style was to help us adjust, I would have preferred taking more classes at the Spanish university.

IES provided the best experience I could ask for in a study abroad program. I participated in the IES Barcelona: Liberal Arts and Business program during the fall semester of 2016. Before I left, IES was very communicative with all the necessary information about things to do before departure. It all feels very overwhelming at first, but IES explained all the steps, including housing, Visas, and more in a clear and immensely helpful way. They offered a wide variety of classes so I was able to take some in my field as well as others that fascinated me. I can say with certainty that the quality of the education IES provides is amazing. As a foreign affairs major, this was the absolute best opportunity for me to learn about the world in an immersive and engaging setting. The faculty were incredible and always there to help or talk to. The classes were probably more challenging than most study abroad classes, but I learned so much, and it definitely was not too much work because I traveled or explored Barcelona every weekend! I stayed in an apartment with four roommates. I did not get a language immersive experience as I would have had in a homestay, but I enjoyed being independent and the freedom it allowed. Also, I have heard there is a discrepancy in the quality of the apartments, so while mine was decent, others were much better and others were much worse. For the city specifically, Barcelona is the best! There are endless amounts of things to do, the weather is gorgeous, and it is a central travel hub so getting around Europe is so easy. I miss it so much and this experience will be one that I will never ever forget. 10/10 would recommend Barcelona and IES!

Studying abroad was one of the greatest experiences I have had so far in my life. Studying abroad and travelling by myself to a new country really taught me about responsibility and independence, much more so than moving to another state for college did. I also solo traveled to other countries during my study abroad experience for the first time and I learned a lot about myself, became more comfortable with myself, and gained a lot more confidence. The classes I took as a part of the IES Dublin Writer's Program were also incredible. I loved getting more insight into Irish history and culture through classes, whether it be through literature or discussions about the Irish professional culture. Many of my classmates and friends, as well, during my stay in Ireland are still some of my closest friends to this day and we continue to stay in touch despite attending different colleges around the US. I also made many Irish friends outside of the program through travel, my internship, and religious services, many of whom I am still in contact with and am still close with today.

I simply cannot say enough wonderful things about this program and this city. I felt right at home in Freiburg while taking intriguing and challenging courses and still getting ample opportunities to travel. I was forced to use German about 80% of the time, which really improved my language skills. I lived with an amazing host family on the outskirts of the city and I felt that was a great living atmosphere. I highly recommend the IES Abroad Freiburg Language and Area Studies program to anyone interested in furthering their German language skills in an adorable little city!

Going into my undergraduate career, I knew I wanted to study abroad. My original intention was to go somewhere in Europe, since at the time I was quite the Anglophile. But I ultimately decided to study in Japan to learn more about my cultural heritage. Having grown up in a white household and in a predominantly white suburb, I didn’t know much about Japanese culture at all. IES Abroad Tokyo certainly changed that!

There’s no good way to explain how studying abroad in Tokyo changed me. I am a pre-med student, and my academic life at my home institution is very rigorous and extremely challenging. In truth, I was pretty unhappy during my first three years in college, mostly due to how cutthroat life is on my campus. Being removed from that scene really changed my outlook on life, and helped me to become a happier and mentally healthier person. A lot of this has to do with the way the program is set up socially. There is a deep sense of community in IES Tokyo. The staff is so helpful and they make the IES Center feel like your “home away from home.” They can give advice on almost every aspect of life and really get to know each of the students personally. The staff does a wonderful job of pairing each student with a Japanese e-pal, a friend who you will get to know and will spend time with you throughout your stay (not just during the first couple of weeks). They also do a great job of choosing host families, if you apply for one. I did find that the academics are not as challenging as I thought they would be. While I did learn a decent amount of Japanese, I found that I was not very well prepared for taking Japanese at my home institution. With that being said, I did learn a lot about Japanese culture. The field placement program is also hit-or-miss. I was pretty satisfied with my placement (they do their best to match your interests with the job site); however, I wish I could have done more to help my placement, and I almost felt like a burden to work flow when I was there.

Seeing lots of Japan was no issue at all. I travelled into the center Tokyo at least 5 days a week. (I actually lived in Tokyo, unlike most of my peers who lived in Chiba, where Kanda University is located). I was constantly exploring and enjoying the food scene. There was never a shortage of things to do and see (there are many events going on in the city all the time, and the IES Center staff can really help you out finding what to do!). We were also able to travel around Japan, since the program includes a couple of trips to other Japanese cities. The staff is also really helpful in planning independent trips.

Overall this was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t ask for anything better!

I had an absolutely amazing experience abroad. I lived with a host family and learned Italian while traveling Europe and Italy. I played lots of violin and learned from an incredible teacher who taught me everything I needed to know. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to immerse themselves in Italian culture and experience music from a different worldview. Italians are amazing people and the administration at IES abroad is extremely equipped to handle just about anything.

I had dreamt of going abroad to Germany for many years, and had very high expectations, IES Berlin's Metropolitan program managed to beat them! I can proudly say that my experiences in Berlin and in many other cities and countries around Europe in large part do to IES staff help. The school's location was unbeatable, my host in the country truly became my friend, and I had experiences that I could never forget.

My favorite memories are related to being able to take part in diplomatic and other amazing events and trips around Germany, thanks to an amazing set of professors who I will never forget.