Program Reviews

This is a great program for anyone looking to further their Spanish and learn a lot about biology, ecology, geology, and natural sciences while spending lots of time outdoors. The program is very structured and intensive but this is what makes it so rewarding. The academics are interesting, challenging, and supported by real experiences in the field. You will travel to a number of amazing locations including the Galapagos, Amazon, páramo, and cloud forest. While the program itself is heavily oriented towards science and conservation you will also learn about culture through school and through your host families. One of the aspects of this program that makes it so unique is the independent study project. This was also one of the things I was most nervous about, but you will feel prepared and confident with the help of professors and staff. Students use this opportunity to study a topic of interest, practice research techniques, build their resume, gain field experience, do their senior thesis, and have an independent and immersive experience.
Do not expect to have a ton of free time. The days in the city are spent in class and nights spent with your host family. Excursions are spaced about a week apart. This allows you time to reflect on the last trip, prepare for the next, and have time to explore the city.
This is by no means an easy study abroad program academically or culturally. However if you are open-minded and passionate about ecology and conservation this will be an amazing and worthwhile experience. There are many people both in and out of the program that are kind, helpful, and excited to share their culture with you. One things this program really stresses is how to be a conscious and respectful student abroad. Overall, this is amazing experience and you will learn so much personally and academically!

I enjoyed the variety of experiences I had doing this program. We took several trips so we got to see a good portion of the country. The host families were all nice and wanted to help their students and have them be involved with family activities. It was difficult to adjust to all of the sudden changes at first, but the staff were all helpful at in country orientation. The academics weren't very rigorous, most likely because you are encouraged to do a lot of investigating on your own time and experiencing the culture beyond books. I would have liked a more detailed methods course that gave more practical examples, but the traditional medicine and public health courses were interesting, with a fair number of guest speakers. I loved the ISP (independent study project) period, as it allowed for the most freedom and you can investigate a specific topic that really interests you.

I had an incredible experience abroad through SIT Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change. The staff and all our professors were knowledgeable, caring, and enthusiastic about the program and helping us learn and grow. I found that most of our academic and personal learning happened outside the classroom—SIT’s emphasis on field experience was one of the main reasons I chose to go abroad through their program. Through the vast range of school visits, tours of museums and human rights sites, and political and social marches and demonstrations, I was able to immerse myself in the culture, history, and current events of the country and learn in a way that would have been impossible to do in a university classroom in the U.S.

One of the most important parts of my abroad experience was living with a homestay family. I had the most amazing family who truly made me feel welcome, loved, and cared for during my entire time there. It was also the best way for me to practice and improve my Spanish in a low-pressure environment where I constantly felt supported and encouraged. I really felt like a part of my family, and we still have a group text where we write and send each other pictures regularly!

Some of the most unique and valuable parts of the SIT program were our group excursions to Valparaiso, Temuco, and Buenos Aires. Not only were we able to compare education systems and key social movements first-hand among the different regions, but we also got to connect with incredibly thoughtful, brave, and dedicated students, teachers, and activists. Our homestay experiences in Temuco and Buenos Aires allowed us to have closely personal relationships and intimate insights into the unique cultures and current challenges facing different communities we had learned about in a classroom context. I feel extremely grateful that I was able to travel to these different places and learn from so many amazing people—opportunities I probably would never have had outside of this program.

The ISP period at the end of our program was one of the most intense, challenging, and valuable academic, social, and personal experiences I have ever had. I had to make huge leaps in my confidence in my Spanish language skills and social capabilities in order to conduct effective research that I felt was truly beneficial to the communities I was so generously welcomed into. Ultimately, I built strong connections with members of the educational community in Santiago, and felt a sense of pride for what I had accomplished through my ISP. This project is something I hope to continue on in the future, and hopefully I have the chance to return to Chile and re-connect with some of the amazing educators, students, and administrators I worked with!

Overall, this program facilitated an amazing study abroad experience for me. Chile is a beautiful country with so much to explore, and I met so many wonderful people who shaped my experience and influenced the person I am today. I had to acknowledge that I was just scraping the tip of the iceberg with how much I had to learn (and still have left to learn) about the country’s past and present, but this program helped me learn and grow in countless ways and I am very grateful for that!

I participated in this program in the Spring of 2013 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made! SIT Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change was incredibly immersive. I came into it just average at Spanish, and left feeling extremely confident in my speaking availability and very close to fluent. The design of the program is structured so every day is different and you are constantly seeing new schools, speaking to students of all ages and seeing how different the education system can be in different areas of Chile. The group was small which made it feel that much more authentic, and the support by the director and our professors was very strong and they were always available by phone or email. I highly recommend this program for anyone interested in education and wanting to have a very authentic and local experience in Santiago!

This is a science-focused program with a significant field-based component, but what makes this program special is that it also gives you the chance to get to know intimately Ecuadorian culture. In addition to swimming among river dolphins in the Amazon and with sea turtles, sharks, and sea lions in the Galapagos, some of my favorite memories include hanging out with my host brother and his friends on the weekends, going with them to the discoteca or a pick-up soccer game. Living with an Ecuadorian family while in Quito was at first a daunting idea to me, but this was one of my absolute favorite aspects about the program. What is at first somewhat of a challenge comes to feel like home, to the point where I felt homesick when I returned to the US. There is no better way to learn the hidden details of a culture that tourists will never see. Not to mention the other great part of this program, which is the month-long independent study project that you conduct in the field in a topic of your interest. I worked with rare magnolia trees in the cloud forest, and this was a truly unique experience to learn and utilize field methods as an independent researcher.

I came back from this program a more passionate, educated, and confident individual. This program truly helps you grow academically, socially, and culturally. It is definitely a unique program that is unlike any others. The program excels at improving your language skills and encouraging experiential learning. The focus on human rights and social movements matches perfectly with the location of Buenos Aires. The city really becomes your classroom. I learned about Argentine history and the human rights issues of the dictatorship in a way that I would have never had the opportunity to learn about in the U.S. The subjects that the courses cover are incredibly interesting, but hard to learn about; however, the professors and guest lecturers do not shy away from anything. The visits to local organizations, museums, and historic sights really help to put what you learn in the classroom into context. There is no way you can come away from the semester without changing your perspective on the world.

The home stay aspect of the program is also fantastic. Almost everyone had a great experience with their host family. They are so welcoming and really make you feel like a part of the family. They act as a great way to immerse yourself in the culture and get comfortable in a new city and country. Outside of your host family, it is pretty hard to make local friends because you end up spending most of your time with the other students in the group. The size of the program tends to be small (my program only had 25 students) and the excursions to the north and south result in you spending a lot of time together. The program does have its weaknesses, but they are all outweighed by the overall experience. In the end, you get out of the program, is what you put into it. If you are looking for a unique study abroad experience and are a self-starter, I would highly recommend this program.

I had an amazing time studying abroad with this SIT program and it in many ways surpassed my expectations! The format of the the SIT programs provides for a unique learning experience in which the classes are integrated in your everyday life there with the homestays and with the excursions. It was nice that the difficulty of the courses was lower than was I was used to at school but they were also very engaging as what we learned in lecture was enhanced through the weekly visits to health clinics and with conversations with our host families and other locals.

The excursions are also a great component of the program. Not only did they help give us a comprehensive view of the public health system in Chile through studies of the main indigenous populations, but they also allowed us to explore different regions of the country. Along with a few other short trips that I managed to fit in on my own time, by the end I felt like I really had seen Chile.

The ISP was probably my favorite part of the trip! Although I was a bit worried about the whole process, it was an amazing learning experience and confirmed my passion to pursue a career in public health. For the ISP period, I lived in Valparaíso with another friend from the trip. It was a great opportunity to live independently and really immerse ourselves in the culture and explore a unique city. At the same time, I was able to gain hands-on experience with ethnographic research through my ISP project. I plan to continue my research during my senior year.

Overall, these few months were unforgettable! I loved the interactiveness of the public health and traditional medicine curriculum and the opportunity to conduct independent research. Above all, it was great exploring the beautiful country among such a friendly and lively population.

I gained a great new group of friends, a hugely broadened perspective, experiential knowledge based in three different countries and regions, and a host of amazing new experiences. Be prepared to be busy, but you'll look back and wish you had done still more. I learned so much from living and studying in three different countries, and had a great time too. This is not an easy or typical study abroad, but if you want to immerse yourself in places that are different, learn to thrive in discomfort, or just see a huge amount of beautiful, amazing places, this is a fantastic program. I learned and thought a lot about both large world systems and grassroots approaches to solving every type of problem. Probably the most fun and educational semester of my college career.

Argentina was amazing and my program was intense. Our classes were based in Buenos Aires but we did a lot of traveling (almost every 2 weeks!) to other provinces in the country, so it was a lot of flying and first-hand exposure to real world situations. We visited hospitals, health centers and met with various professionals to learn about their healthcare system. Everything was in Spanish so it took me about a month to adjust, but by the end of it I was pretty much doing my own independent study project without a problem. Along with all the educational excursions, I got to see some really cool sites, visit wine country, go hiking and the most beautiful site I visited were the waterfalls at Iguazú, which is one of 7 natural wonders of the world (pics below!)

SIT Bolivia is unlike most other study abroad programs. Although it is a highly structured program (you will take all classes and travel on various excursions with the same group of 15-20 people), there is plenty of opportunity to explore all that Bolivia has to offer, especially during the ISP period, where you can learn more about virtually any aspect of Bolivian culture or society. Another unique aspect of this program is the opportunity to publish your own children's book with the Kids Book Bolivia collection!