USAC Reviews

Viterbo was the most beautiful town. It felt like home by the end of my program and I still feel homesickness for Viterbo. The program staff were the most helpful people in everything from academics, personal problems, and weekend trip planning. If i could go back I would do it in a heartbeat.

I went to Alicante over the summer of 2012 and loved every minute of it. The USAC staff in Alicante is amazing! They are so helpful and friendly, and they organize great trips with the group! They also give you suggestions each week for things you can do around town!

The city of Alicante is great for a college student! There are so many places to go and you can walk almost anywhere in town. The locals are very friendly, and always will to practice spanish with you!

I was pleasantly surprised with the housing! The apartments are very big and nice! You get your own room, and they are very centrally located and within walking distance of everything downtown! I was matched really well with my roomates too! I still keep in touch with all of them! I only heard good things about students who lived in homestays too.

I really learned a lot from my professors in Alicante! They made class entertaining and challenging. These spanish classes were the best that I have every taken. They are uncomparable to what is offered at my home University.

My experience abroad was life changing and I will never forget it. I would do it all over again if I had the chance!

Great opportunity to broaden our horizons and expands our intellect. This is the best program for those students seeking a true globalized experience. They will learn how far away some countries are and yet, how well-connected they are to the Western Hemisphere.

Go -- just go and do it. Stop with the excuses. It will be the time of your life. Take it all in, take advantage of it all -- city,traveling, new friends from all over the world, good classes in language, culture, architecture, business, friendly people and staff, impressive housing, real Italian people and lifestyle,you'll get to know your neighbors and locals quickly ... I highly recommend this program - do it with USAC. Other programs are not as good and don't prepare you as well or care as much as about their students. USAC TORINO is the best! Thanks to everybody there!!!!

My time spent studying abroad through USAC was hands-down the most amazing experience I could have ever asked for. Madrid is such a vibrant city full of culture, history, art, shopping, great food, and an incredible night life. After spending almost 4 months in this city I still felt like there was so much I could still do that I hadn't done yet. There is never a dull moment; whether you want to visit some of the world's most renowned museums, eat at the oldest restaurant in the world (according to the Guinness book of records), enjoy tapas and sangria in a historic plaza, watch a classic bull fight, cheer on one of La Liga's best soccer teams, dance the night away in a seven-story nightclub, or enjoy a picnic and paddleboat ride in an absolutely gorgeous park. These are only a handful of the possibilities in Madrid- I could seriously go on for hours.

USAC was the perfect program to go through to maximize my experience abroad. Everyone I had talked to throughout the process was beyond friendly, incredibly helpful, and truly cared about my experience and well-being. The teachers were incredible! My classes weren't exactly difficult, but I was able to learn so much from instructors who had a passion for teaching. The USAC staff in Madrid were readily available for any questions or concerns I had, and were some of the nicest people I've ever met.

As far as housing goes- I could not have asked for a more perfect situation! I lived with another USAC student with a host family (a mother and her 21-year-old son.) Right from the start our mom made us feel at home. We really felt like we had become part of the family, and saying goodbye to them felt just as painful as when I said goodbye to my own family before leaving for Spain. The only complaint was our distance to school and the city center, but the public transportation in Madrid is fantastic and was never actually a problem.

As I stated before, I could talk about studying abroad for much longer than anyone would ever want to listen- and I would never have a bad thing to say. If you are considering studying abroad at all- DO IT. If you aren't considering studying abroad- still DO IT. I recommend the USAC Madrid program with every ounce of my being, and I hope that more people can have the same experience I did!

There is no way to even scratch the surface of the last five months of my life. I remember when I first made the decision to study abroad in Madrid, Spain and how excited, nervous, curious, and most of all anxious I was to start my adventure! Briefly following my decision, I remember pondering whether to research the school I would be attending, the neighborhood I would be residing in, and the group people I was going to share this life-changing experience with. Stepping off that place, I realized no amount of research could prepare me for what I was about to experience.
Living and studying abroad in Spain surpassed any expectations I had of this adventure; it was full of all kinds of travels and all kinds of wonderful people! Without realization, Spain taught me things I only dreamt of learning and experiencing. First and foremost, I learned to push my limits when I learned Spanish! I also learned to try new foods, live on my own, travel care free, learned I actually miss my family a little, and eventually I even learned how to say goodbye, the hardest one of all.

While some would discredit the architecture as less compelling as Barcelona or Sevilla, Madrid is in every way possible a sister city of the greatest in world - a New York, Paris, or London done Spanish style. Whether you love all-night, multiple-day parties in the fabulous club scene (Goa Fabrik boasts 24-hour, 5-room parties in their expansive pavilion complete with a gazebo and swan lake), casual tapas and beer or wine with friends for any price range or culinary taste, or simply strolling through the inexhaustible parks filled with ancient Egyptian tombs, Crystal Palaces, and rose gardens, you can always find an activity to match your tastes. Friends of Spanish, Italian, German, British, or any other possible ethnicity abound for you to find. The Prado and Reina Sofia are free several times a week, and they contain not only works by Spanish masters Dali, Goya, Braque, Picasso, and Velazquez but constantly rotating special collections of interactive modern art from every era and classics from Monet to Turner. Even if the art scene is not your taste, simply cross barrios to find fantastic local shows ranging from punk to traditional Spanish music. Nearly every performer, band, and DJ imaginable tours through Madrid. As long as you learn to watch your wallet for pickpockets, the city is quite safe as well. You can never expect to hear gunshots as you would in a city of its size anywhere else.

As far as the USAC program itself, the school was 45-minute ride from the center and quite small. However, dealing with the chaos of Madrid day-in and day-out make it a safe haven in many ways. The staff is friendly and helpful, but if you are at all enterprising, I would not encourage taking their student housing options. A quick turn through idealista.es can bring you less expensive options in the center of the city with Spanish roommates than the housing they accommodate. The professors ranged from mediocre to excellent, but even the worst of them had a lot to teach.

When speaking with people about to begin their study abroad with USAC Madrid, my advice is simple - travel light, live free, and, above all, savor every moment - you will find yourself at home in the end craving something as simple as plate of croquettes and beer as thought it was the greatest moment of your life.

Studying abroad in Madrid was the experience of a lifetime. The city is huge, diverse, and beaming with possibilities and opportunities. With its huge parks, expansive museums, wild night life, comic stores, concerts, art exhibits, soccer stadiums, shopping, and traditional and imported food from all over the world, no matter what it is that you are looking for, it is in Madrid. The program is made up of a huge array of people from all over the world, all there for different reasons, and all connecting with one another. Madrid is the capital of Spain and as such an absolute travel hub, enabling you to travel far and wide throughout Spain or across Europe with ease. The program directors are the nicest people you will ever meet, and the Spanish professors the most talented. You will learn so much about Spanish, yourself, and the amazing culture that you are sure to embody in Spain.

I ended up being really disappointed with the program in Pau for a number of reasons. I was looking for an authentic French experience, but I never dreamed it would be the dreary life I was presented with. I felt the program had really misrepresented the size and style of Pau and I was shocked at how small it really was once I got there. It rained every day, and with a 40 minute walk into the "center" of town, many days I was stuck inside my apartment alone. People in Pau were very closed off and cold, as one can expect from the French, but Pau held a different degree of small town hostility. There were little to no forms of entertainment outside of movies and travel, but travel was very expensive and inconvenient due to Pau's location and size. A lot of students who had different interests loved it, but if you're looking for a life changing experience abroad then this is not the program for you.

My experience in Torino was fantastic. I met a lot of great people and had a great time. Torino is a wonderful city with a lot of local attractions. Everything you want to visit is within a 15 minute metro ride. The apartment we stayed in was gorgeous. We were in the midtown. It took a little getting used to, but I wish I could go back! If you are considering studying in Torino with USAC I would recommend that you go!