WorldStrides Reviews

The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) is the best and most helpful program to guide a student going abroad. They guide you through every step of the way, and make it extremely fun while doing it! Between preparation, orientation, and living through the culture change, TEAN helps every student feel at home while experiencing the adventure of their life.

My experience in Australia was one that I will never forget. I was able to travel up and down the east coast, skydiving in Byron Bay, scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, wine and cheese tasting in Tasmania and bungy jumping in New Zealand. I made lifelong friends during my travels on the weekends, and met with students in my classes for projects during the week. I lived in the Griffith University Village where I had great roommates and was able to meet people from all around the globe. I was able to do this by going to local yoga classes, meeting people through various social events and really immersing myself into the culture. The food was also really great, from the famous meat pies to kangaroo dishes; I was able to try all of the authentic and local foods around town. I never had a problem with money while abroad because I set up an extensive weekly budget that kept me on track for the semester. I would absolutely recommend studying abroad to any student but it opens you up to so many possibilities and allows you to experience another culture.

Every day in Sydney was something different, and I got to know so many different people, and enjoyed my time with the Aussies I got to meet in class. Everyone I had the chance to spend time with was so helpful, and all of the other students I was with enjoyed going out and exploring just as much as I did!

Honestly, one of the best and most impressive parts of my study abroad experience with International Studies Abroad was the staff that was there to help me. I don't know what I would have done without them! They helped me with trains, planes, money, hostels, events, and so much more. They even spent hours helping me plan a trip with my boyfriend after the program!

There is something incredibly serene about waking up and walking in the cool of the Sevillian summer mornings and drinking a coffee on the river. I was always a person to keep to a routine and found something as simple as that capable of keeping me sane during what was one of the most fun and adventurous summers of my life.
I engaged with as many locals as I could, especially my host mom, Josefa, in order to learn more about the specific culture and accent of Sevilla. ISA helped facilitate interactions and experiences with the community, which strengthened our ties and memories in the city.
It was difficult to get into the swing of things at first, but as the program sped up and drew to a close, I realized how applicable "Carpe Diem" was. It helped me get over any worry, hesitation, or fear that I had because #YOSO (You Only Sevilla Once). Which will hopefully end up being untrue because I love Sevilla and definitely want to return.
The amount of personal growth a person goes through when studying abroad is mind-boggling. I developed more in my core values, beliefs and critical thinking because I was put in situations that necessitated me doing something.
My highlights would be the weekend trips that we would go on. We went to Tarifa, Spain and Lagos, Portugal and both were incredible. It was a small group of us on both trips and it led to greater bonding and sweeter memories.
There is truly nothing like an immersion program to help you lose yourself in a foreign world. But when you find yourself again, back in your home country, you can see that you are a new and greater person for having lived every moment.

The ISA program was an amazing experience and can't wait to do another trip abroad!!

First off everything from ISA is absolutely first class. When I originally called inquiring about the program everyone was so nice and informative. They probably talked to me for 30 minutes over the phone about the program; what to expect and how it worked. This was all before I gave them a penny. After I registered the service was just as fantastic. The Argentina program team was fantastic and answered all of my questions. Believe me, I had a lot of questions but they were really fantastic. This was also the case for the program staff, in country. Guillermo and his staff was amazing. They helped me with everything from orientation type stuff to planning a trip to Mendoza. By the way, complete non-sequator, but if you have the chance then go to Mendoza. All the service I recieved from the ISA staff was first class all the way.

Now to the program itself... The classes are only US students, for the program I went to. I went to a month Spanish immersion program. The teacher only spoke Spanish. I learned more in the month of classes than in the 3 semesters of Spanish in school. I was in the basic class and really got a strong foundation. It had been about a years since I took classes so I didn't place where I needed to but it provided a great foundation.

The host family was an older couple. This is typical. Juan and Marta were great as could be. They were a sweet couple who sought to make me feel at home.

Buenos Aires is an amazing city. It is huge. If you don't do big cities BA may not be for you. Buenos Aires has everything you could ask for in a metropolitan city. If you want to eat a nice steak, they have the best steak in the world. They have possibly the best night life in the hemisphere. They have almost every type of musuem imaginable. Combine this with a mass transit system that is comparable to almost any western city and BA is a city that is hard to beat. I would completely reccomend this program to anyone.

I enjoyed my time over there. I payed attention and got good grades, but i could have worked harder. The program is organized and there were no kinks. I enjoyed my homestay as well. Would do again if I had the chance.

I studied at Kingston University for my Sophomore Year Spring '13 semester (Jan-June). For the first couple weeks I was very homesick. However, I forced myself to jump out of my comfort zone and meet people who were not part of the American group in my program. I got involved by joining the Volunteer Society and the Christian Union on campus. I made many great friends, who I still keep in contact with! It was so neat interacting with many different cultures everyday.
I really liked how the classes were set up as well. They encouraged discussion rather than purely lecture. I learned so much from hearing different opinions and topics.
There was a fantastic faculty and staff support system! I visited the international students office at least once a week just to update them on how I was doing. They were so helpful throughout my time abroad.
I loved how easy it was to travel around London and even the outskirts. I would explore the city every weekend and experienced so many unique places with my local friends. I spent a weekend in Wales when we went to visit the Doctor Who Experience museum. We even travelled to Venice and Rome during Spring Break!
The memories and experiences I had while studying abroad truly shaped part of who I am now. They were some of the best memories I have so far. If you would like a more detailed and genuine account of my experience, I kept a blog throughout my time there: madilynmarie.tumblr.com

When I decided to study abroad, I wanted to serve in the community and see the culture and religion of London, England. I wanted to interact with locals and get a feel for a totally different place that I was used to. ISA provided me with that. I learned so much about God, about myself, and about others. The excursions were SO FUN and I enjoyed it so much. ISA is an incredible program that really cares about their students. It is worth every penny. In fact, it was a priceless experience.

I'll start off by saying how difficult it is to fully describe my experience in New Zealand. The scenery, people, nature, and culture were all so different from any other place I've ever been in the world. For over four months, I had the constant feeling that I was living an incredible dream.

Aside from our program orientation in Fiji, I was able to travel all over New Zealand in my free time, whether that meant taking a bus, renting a car, or flying for much cheaper than in the United States. During this travel, I got to meet people from all over the world, experience fresh scenery full of life, and exercise my mind, soul, and body.

I was thrown into a flat with three random American girls and a Kiwi guy, but I absolutely loved it. On our street, we built a great community of people, mostly Americans, but from all over the world. University life was nice because I got to take courses I genuinely wanted to take. They were equivalent to courses I took here, and I got credit for them, but they were from a New Zealand perspective. This was a great learning experience, because so much of what I was doing outside of the classroom was related to this.

I'm a bit of an adventurer, so a lot of my preferences in things I did might be a bit biased, but I'll share them anyways. Some of my favorite hiking experiences outside of school were Mount Aspiring, Arthur's Pass, Milford Track, and the Routeburn Track.

Aside from that, some of my favorite experiences were bungy jumping in Queenstown, kayaking in Abel Tasman and Bay of Islands, parasailing and Bay of Islands, seeing rare wildlife on the Otago Peninsula, participating in the Relay for Life at the University, watching the All Blacks rugby team play in Dunedin, glowworm viewing, abseiling/canyoning down waterfalls with TEAN outside of Auckland, a Stray Travel bus tour of the South Island, and rock climbing in Castle Rock (where I unfortunately broke my ankle. But still, it was awesome.).

Some of my favorite viewing places aside from hiking were the Catlins, Lake Matheson, Murchison, Wanaka, Glenorchy, and Arrowtown.

My typical week looked like this: Monday - Thursday afternoon I would study, do homework, go to all my classes, and experience university life. Thursday late afternoon or early Friday - late Sunday I would travel as much as I could. This consisted of incredible scenery, bungy jumping, parasailing, hiking, meeting new people, and traveling with various friends.

I have personally developed and matured a great deal because of this experience. I learned to travel (flights, bus systems, rental cars) independently, how to better take care of myself, and overall how to live well and adventurously. I even had a scare with a broken ankle near the end of my stay, but fortunately the health care system was incredibly reliable and helpful. Even with that, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Today I'm still in contact with a handful of friends from my university and program, and would consider them some of my best friends.

I grew so close to so many TEAN friends that I hosted many in Dunedin, as well as visiting them in Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland. This was great because I got to stay with them, eat with them, and have them show me around--usually for free. Many of the things I did I previously mentioned I did with these incredible people.