Program Reviews

I loved my experience in Cuba! From the start, IFSA is incredible. They process all the visa paperwork, etc. And, they prepare you with weekly newsletters with great reading materials etc. Once you are there, you live with a host-family (all incredible people!). I loved my host-mom, with her constant music and delicious congrí. IFSA will also put at least one other US student with you in the home-stay. For me, it was really nice to meet someone else from a different school in the US who was interested in the same things I was and who was always there to process what we were seeing and learning on the ground in Cuba! Then, there are the classes at the University. While they are definitely not the most academically rigorous, it is an interesting peek into another university system. There is one core-course that the study-abroad students that semester are required to take. It is a little bit disorganized, and not very academically rigorous either. It is the only major draw-back of the program. But, IFSA supplements the classes with an very cool series of lectures based on what you and the other students that semester are interested in. There are also some really fun excursions to Viñales, Santiago, and the countryside. And, you are really free to explore the city and the country on your own. Overally, traveling to Cuba is a really unique experience and IFSA is an amazing support system! I definitely would recommend this program

I studied abroad in the 2017 fall semester with IFSA-Butler in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was one of the most challenging, inspiring, at times frustrating, intimidating, rewarding (ect.) experiences of my life. I found I was able to immerse myself and connect with a whole new culture and way of living, most of which was done outside of the classroom. Considering that all of my courses were taught in Spanish--that was a challenge to begin with, so I was thankful for the level of difficulty in the classroom. The professors emphasized that it was more important to learn from trial and error while actively practising the language rather than determining your grade from a test score. I was able to explore art, history, politics, and film in a whole new way, all the way working on the most important component, my language skills. From learning about the life of my host mother to playing on a local soccer team to travelling on a whim to some of the most far-out and remote locations I never knew existed; I loved every minute of study abroad, even the hard moments when I didn't know I could do it.

The staff of IFSA Butler in Costa Rica was incredible. They supported me 24/7. They even offered free tutoring, which was great because we were learning and taking classes in a different language. The staff helped with getting packages, directions, culture shock, and even found us a dance teacher because we wanted to learn how to do latin dances.
The country itself was absolutely beautiful. While Heredia has a lot of litter, Costa Rica is a country of national parks and reserves, and it didn't take long to get someplace beautiful. Beaches, mountains, volcanoes, and wildlife refuges- this program has it all.

Going abroad was the best decision I’ve ever made. IFSA advisors helped me throughout the entire process. From helping me find a syllabus for a class I was interested in to a year later helping me request another transcript. While there, advisors made frequent visits to the campus wanting to catch up or be there if we needed some help or advice! They were all simply amazing and I couldn’t have done it without them!

When I decided to study aboad, I rode my bike over to the international programs office at UMass and said one thing; I want to leave my abroad experience fluent in Spanish. Having only met the minimal Spanish requirements for most programs, this was a tall order. My advisor suggested only one program--IFSA Peru.

After spending a summer in Guatemala working for a non-profit, I took off for Lima, where I would spend fall of 2017. The experience was organized wonderfully down to the homestay--I lived with an older Peruvian couple in the center of Miraflores that effectively became the grandparents I never had. Each day, I engaged in conversation in spanish from the moment I woke up to the time I went to bed, taking classes at the PUCP and learning to navigate a city twice the size of New York City on my own. I had the chance to travel and have AUTHENTIC cultural experiences in 6 different regions of Peru, and engaged in independent research projects at two nonprofits as part of my coursework. The grey city slowly but surely turned into my second home, with phrases like manyas, pituco, and chela flowing from my mouth as if I were a true peruvian by the time I left. I wouldn't trade it for anything--would highly recommend for anyone looking for a true study abroad. No hand-holding, no tourist traps, and a whole lot of hard work and fun.

I loved my time abroad with IFSA-Butler! In my 6 months in wurooe, I visited 16 countries, made countless friends and learned an incredible amount about scotland, its history and people. IFSA-Butler plans two trips each semester, our year it was to the Argyll forest and to the isle of Skye. These trips were an incredible way to immerse myself in scottlanss natural beauty while getting to know my cohort better. The natural beauty of scottland never ceases to amaze me, as does the friendliness of the population
One of my favorite memories is the honestly i completed as part of the program with a dairy farming family in northern England. I took over 20,000 photographs while abroad, with even more memories that I will cherish forever.

Probably the best experience of my life! If you are looking for a super culturally and language immersive experience, this is the best program/city combination you can find. It is an academically challenging program, but allows for a lot of free time to travel and explore the city. The locals are amazing and so willing to interact. My host family experience was amazing, and probably my favorite part of the experience.

This program was the perfect balance between creating your own semester and receiving support in order to guide your decision making. The most unique part of this study abroad experience was balancing big city life with exploring the culture. I miss the city beyond anything, but I know I’ll be able to return and resume my experience if I were to go back. I was able to become comfortable, but I could also find challenges if I wanted to test my skills.

I would highly recommend the experience of studying abroad in India, just maybe on a different program. The staff are really nice but they are pretty disorganized and absent and struggle to receive feedback. The homestay experience is worth while and the classes vary by professor, but overall they’re pretty good. There’s room for improvement, the core course is awesome and the electives depend on the professor. Feedback isn’t received by the staff so the professor of the core contemporary India course takes It upon himself to get feedback and improve his syllabus. It was a good experience but would have been better on a more organized program. I’d like to see the staff succeed. Things however fall apart when it depends on their follow through.

If you love being outdoors and meeting friendly people, Dunedin is the place to go and IFSA is the program to go with. IFSA staff helped make the first few days in New Zealand a great experience and prepared us to succeed in our respective universities. Once at school IFSA maintained contact with all of us and provided exciting trips (boat cruise in Doubtful Sound) for everyone in the program to reconnect on. While I made many friends at Otago, I can say that the best ones were found within the group of students participating in IFSA.