Program Reviews

I learned a lot while abroad, focusing on race helped me better understand how I perpetuate white privilege which was valuable. I met a lot of wonderful people and had good conversations about the program and South Africa. The academic part of the program was less rigorous than I had expected and I wish I had known how much SIT would run my life while abroad. However, there was also a large lack of information and structure which was frustrating as I never really knew what was expected of me and it felt like I was sitting around doing nothing a large percentage of the time.

If you’re thinking about it, do it. This is a really great program for aspiring/student journalists or anyone who is remotely interested in journalism; no prior experience is needed. The staff at the center you take classes at are really great, the program staff are amazing (shout out to the academic director, Dan, and the program coordinator, Samad), and it was super cool to work with/get feedback from our advisors (freelance journalists/photographers for NY Times and AP). The partnerships you form with the Connect Institute students for the independent study portion of the semester are also a valuable part of the experience. The city of Rabat is also beautiful, the food is amazing, the people are nice, and there are so many places to explore. If you get a chance, I recommend hiking Mt. Toubkal. I definitely came out of the program very confident and gained research, interviewing, and storytelling skills.

My study abroad experience in Cape Town is one that I wouldn't trade for the world. I met some absolutely brilliant people that I'm still close with today and got to explore with a level of independence that I'm sorely missing. My favorite part of the program was by far the period of independent study that we were allotted that allowed me to explore the city on my own. I met a lot of great people during that month as it was the only time I really had the free time to explore. The first couple of months are full of shifting homestays and rigorous academic content that kept me busy but did ultimately prepare me for that last month and left me feeling a lot more comfortable and familiar in the city.

I had an amazing experience through this program. A highlight was the homestay. I bonded with the local families, learned so much about the culture, and got to practice isiZulu. I also enjoyed the immersive nature of the classes. In addition to lectures, classes include excursions for firsthand experience. SIT offers an amazing opportunity to gain knowledge about global public health with a hands on experience. Overall, this program offered a fascinating and fun learning experience both inside and outside the classroom.

This program was challenging in the best sense of the word. If you are a fan of the liberal arts model of education--one that strives to challenge innate assumptions and preconceived notions of the world through critical study of complex historical and contemporary realities--this program is for you. While the program is topically and predominately about the geopolitics and the modern political condition of the Tibetan people, Isabelle Onians (the director) uses this specific material to produce a learning experience that expands and complicates one's conception of nationhood, citizenship and cultural identity. Isabelle's lectures are brilliant and reveal a deep learning and whip-sharp intellect that she gathers together and unleashes on the small classroom in surprising and inspiring ways throughout the semester. Participation was less mandatory than irresistible. I would consider Isabelle's teaching some of the finest in all my years as a student, and still, several years later, think about how her course shifted my thinking.

Additionally, I gained a profound insight into the lived experiences of a people who I had previously only read about, or could have pointed to on a map but did not know in any real or meaningful sense. I had been abroad a small amount as a teenager with my family, and though I followed international events and cared about global politics, I had never before so fully felt a witness and a part of the world not as an American, or a millennial, or a college students, or even a political activist, but as a person.

I saw what were hands down the most beautiful landscapes I've ever encountered--before and after. I ate fantastic Nepali and Tibetan food, and studied a difficult and foreign language. I gained an insight into Buddhism as a lived practice and not merely a philosophy to be studied by college students, scholars and Western-atheists. And I made friendships with my peers, my teachers, and with local people that I still hold dear to this day. This past year I went to one of my co-SIT student's weeding; I still maintain, four years after my time at SIT, a deep correspondence with my writing advisor from the program. I feel a better, wiser, more empowered and engaged person as a result of my time with SIT in Nepal, and have not ceased to be grateful for my experience there since I left.

From the homestays, to the excursions, to the staff’s expert understanding of local custom, and to the final Independent Study Project (ISP), the program from start to finish helps dip its participants into Indonesian culture. By the end of the program, I felt confident in my ability to navigate Indonesian life and problem solve unfamiliar situations there; and I gained life-changing skills that have followed me out of Indonesia.

On the other hand, the academic assignments (with the exception of the ISP) left much to be desired. It was clear that the staff was unfamiliar with the Western-esque standards of oral presentations and essays. As a result, rarely could the staff provide assistance with said assignments--either help during the process of crafting the assignments themselves or afterwards when locating areas for improvement--and they graded only on the basis of whether or not we followed basic instructions such as the correct page limit and citation style, rather than grading for content, structure, and/or style.
If these assignments weren’t going to end up on our transcripts, then I could let this oversight go; but the fact remains that our academic work in Indonesia has consequences back in America.

The instructors had diverse expertise and pushed me to challenge myself intellectually while providing superb support; the Tibetan language instruction was top-level, with daily opportunities to practice with local Tibetans and my homestay family; and the opportunity to conduct a month-long research project on a subject of my choosing was one the most valuable undergraduate academic experiences. I made friends for life and got to immerse myself in Tibetan and Nepali culture, learning for the first time about this fascinating part of the world. Can not recommend this program enough!

SIT Panama is an incredible abroad program for students who love the environment and traveling. You will learn how to do all kinds of field work, learn/improve your Spanish, and make incredible friends and memories for a semester. The program is very travel-heavy, and you'll likely only stay in one place for a maximum of one week. You and the other students will be learning in the field with professors who are at the top of their field. You will have plenty of time for exploring and relaxing in various towns and the City.

I absolutely glow even just thinking about SIT Bolivia, because the months I spent in this program were so powerful, important, path-changing, and transformative for me. My group of 16 meshed very well because we all wanted to be there and really wanted to be doing the difficult work of re-shaping our brains, our western assumptions and thought patterns, and how we might actually work to make positive change. I fell in love with Cochabamba and my host family, I felt safe, taken-care-of, and loved by our amazing academic director and program staff, and my Spanish improved a Lot! If you are looking for a semester that digs in deep to histories of colonialism, repression resistance and resilience, community and nation, development, environment, art and politics as ways of making change, and on and on and on--this is the program for you.

My experience was unique because there were political protests for over a month during my time in Chile. However, I found most staff members to be supportive of our wellbeing and receptive to any issues that came up. The trips to Temuco and Putre were very fun, as we were able to visit local health facilities, learn about traditional medicine practices, and have fun outings to hot springs and natural areas nearby. The homestay was a great experience as well, and I feel like I improved my Spanish the most by talking to my host parents at meal times and around the house. The academics were interesting, but not quite as hard as a traditional college semester in my experience. I had a good experience with my final project at the end of the semester as well, with a great advisor.