Program Reviews

I loved my time at the Burren College of Art. It is difficult to find design/art programs abroad, and the Burren College is one of the best kept secrets of the study abroad world.

It's located on the West Coast of Ireland (not far from the famous cliffs of moher) in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, The Burren. It's a small program, usually between 15-20 students (more in the spring and summer) but there is plenty of quiet and beauty to inspire and plenty of time to develop skills and projects.

As a graphic designer, I wanted to use the time to really develop new skills and interesting projects. The staff gives you the room to do what you want while pushing you to think bigger. I included some of the projects in my portfolio, and the experience overall changed my design process and was instrumental in getting me my first job post-grad.

The town itself is small and isolated, but if you are more introverted you won't have a problem with it. I loved everything about my experience. If you have any interest in art or developing any creative skills, this is a program to consider!

The IFSA butler staff were really helpful before and during my experience and it was nice to have additional resources beyond the college. I also got to participate in group trips to Belfast and Connemara, which was a nice break away from the isolation.

I had an amazing adventure in Galway with IFSA Butler. I felt well taken care of and Ireland was a perfect place for me to be. Even though I traveled extensively throughout Ireland, I was always glad to be home in Galway. The staff were so friendly and helpful and the adventures together were always fun. A great choice!!

Loved the program coordinator, Mario. At the beginning of the semester he invited us all to his amazing house in Uruguay, on a lemon farm, where he cooked us delicious food and we hung by the pool for a day. It was unreal.

My favorite part about this program is that you are given a Chinese roommate - mine became a very close friend, and hanging out with her improved my Chinese skills more than anything else could have!

I loved this study abroad program so much that I returned the following summer to intern in Shanghai - and all of my closest friends that summer were people who had studied with the Alliance the semester AFTER me! We didn't overlap at all, but the Chinese roommates were the same the whole year and connected us, creating a half-Chinese half-foreign social group that was the thing that made my summer great.

I honestly don't think I could have picked a better program to study abroad in China. The Alliance does a great orientation to help you adjust to the new culture, which was huge for me considering I'm from the South and am not used to large city environments. The staff was great, caring, and available when you needed support. The housing situation was ideal and located in a fairly convenient area. The academic components were great. Classes were small so I was able to maximize class time to practice my Chinese. I really enjoyed all of my professors and the site visits gave me a great look inside business in China. The Alliance also set aside lots of travel (and will also help you set up outside travel), which is great for those who are nervous about arranging things for themselves. The Alliance does a great job of making sure that you can make the most of your time abroad. I learned so much about the world and myself, and would have studied longer if I didn't graduate. I assure you, if you choose this porgram, you're making a great decision.

I studied at the University of Limerick through IFSA-Butler and it was grand! UL is underrated in my opinion; great school, the academics are different but manageable, and the area is safe and close to the city (UL is technically in Castletroy). The IFSA-Butler staff in the U.S. and Ireland are extremely helpful and understanding. No question is unanswerable or too "dumb" to ask. IFSA-Butler also provides two weekend trips with the other IFSA abroad students in Ireland and exceptional support after you come home. Overall, a great and worthwhile program.

Expect the Unexpected in New Zealand. Their culture is definitely different than anything you have ever experienced in America. In my brief time in New Zealand I experienced so many things that I would have never known I enjoy. Great walks, sounds, cricket, kava, penguins, driving, grading scales, surfing, fish and chips, meat pies, botanical gardens, flats, and so much more. These are just a few things you can look forward to in New Zealand. To go in to depth would take away from your experience in my opinion, but if you want to know just ask.

I reflect back on my experience studying abroad in New Zealand as the great "5 Month Adventure." Filled with academic enrichment and backpacking trips galore, my 5 months in New Zealand are impossible to describe in just one sitting of chatting, photos, and even videos. I was taken back by the Maori culture and it's relationship to the Earth. As an Earth Sciences major myself, I was constantly intrigued by the diversity of geologic activity ranging from geothermal vents, fault zones, pillow lava, and more.

After five months in Edinburgh, I never wanted to leave. The excellent quality of the University of Edinburgh, the city's myriad attractions, and the friendly and welcoming nature of the locals all made this a memorable trip. I can't wait to go back and visit.

It was my third week in Buenos Aires and I was sitting in my first class of neurociencias (Neuroscience) at la Universidad del Salvador, I was extremely intimidated, being the only foreign student in the class. Looking around seeing all of the students speaking very quickly in a Spanish that was difficult for me to understand. A poster in the back of the room caught my eye, advertising tryouts for the university's women's soccer team. After much debate, I decided to go to the first day of tryouts that evening. Being on the soccer team changed my life. I now consider my teammates and coach to be my best friends and a part of my family. They helped me to become fluent in argentine spanish, learn the way of life and culture in Buenos Aires, and to eventually feel as though Buenos Aires was my home even more so than Chicago, IL where I had lived my entire life. They were the reason that I extended my stay from 5 months to a full year, July 2014-2015. My favorite memories with them include our weekend asados (Argentine BBQ) that lasted for hours, going together to professional soccer games, traveling with them to out-of-town tournaments in other areas of Argentina, getting dance lessons (salsa, cumbia, and bachata) from my teammates, and making them American foods that they had never tried before such as PB&J and pancakes. The lifestyle, culture, language, food, and people in Buenos Aires are my favorite in the world, and one of the hardest things I have ever done was to leave two months ago to return to the USA, but I still communicate with my team every single day and have grown in ways I could never imagine because of them.