Program Reviews

I studied in the city of Valencia, Spain in fall 2022, and it truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Valencia is a beautiful city full of rich history, culture, and architecture, with perfect weather and beaches. I would say studying abroad was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The amount of new experiences and lifetime friendships I made will stick with me forever. I still have connections with the people in my program and have made future travel buddies. I can’t wait to go back to Valencia again and experience all the city has to offer!

I absolutely loved my time studying abroad with USAC in Uruguay. I really enjoyed the variety of courses offered, I took a Spanish language course, which was super helpful as I learned the local dialect. I was shocked by how incredible the onsite staff was. I felt so supported by the program directors- they were clearly invested in ensuring we all had the best experience while also giving us the space to explore on our own. I also loved staying with a host family! I felt so connected with the community while I was there.

USAC Reading was the best thing I've ever done. I made lifelong friends and saw places all over Europe while learning all about culture and English literature (my area of study). Everybody should do this once in their life, at least. Your comfort zone will grow three times over and you'll put down roots in a place you never thought you would. I always had support from the other England-based USAC programs and the USAC Resident Director based in London, and I was able to network not only with other Americans but with people from all over Europe and even Canada and Australia.

I had a truly life changing experience on my study abroad trip. From the time I arrived in San Sebastian I felt immediately at home. I wouldn't really say I ever experienced culture shock because everything just felt right. I had arguably one of the best Spanish professors alive and I learned so much in such a short time (S/O Paco). The city and all there was to do there was impeccable and I can't wait to go back. If i could live in SS for the rest of my life I would. (: If you are a college student, do it!

Studying in Lyon with USAC was one of the most valuable experiences of my life. I made a lot of new friends to practice French and go on adventures with, and I also was very immersed in the culture. There were also plenty of field trips to expose me to different aspects of French culture, and there was always support if needed. Staying in Lyon was incredible, as it is the culinary capital of France, so there was plenty of delicious food to try. Additionally, the classes I took focused on the culture of Lyon, so I was able to learn about the city that I was staying in and all the important landmarks that I passed by. Overall, I am very happy to have studied abroad with USAC.

Verona was the perfect place for me to study abroad because I was exposed to the beautiful architecture of Italy while still being central to the rest of Europe. Verona is also a smaller city and provided amazing opportunities to meet locals and create a community. Whenever I would go out and about, I would run into someone I knew: yet, the city was big enough to have everything that I needed and more while having good options for transportation in and out of the city. lThe staff and our directors were friendly. Could not be more grateful for my experience.

Bilbao was cool! I wish I knew before hand how hard it would be to travel to other countries/destinations from Bilbao as there were no trains and flights were pricy but I still went somewhere every weekend! It was a great time. The spanish courses were much more intense though than the USAC language courses in Italy when I went in 2019 and other USAC Spain programs as we had friends studying in Valencia and they hardly had to study so that was rough as a ton of time was dedicated to that class. But I do miss Spain so much now.

I absolutely loved my time in Uruguay. I feel like it was the perfect program for me. I got to practice my Spanish and learn about the local agriculture. My program advisors were super supportive, and I felt like I could go to them for just about anything. My host mom was incredible and made me feel like I was at home in another country. I loved learning about a different culture and adapting to a different way of living. I learned so much about the world and myself. I highly recommend traveling to Uruguay.

Yeosu campus is less known to most people but it’s such a hidden gem. I believe that the true beauty of a country lies with the smaller cities where there is such rich history and culture, Yeosu is one of these cities. The advisors here plan so many activities and field trips, they try so hard for the exchange students and truly want them to have fun there. The teachers are so kind and patient, they taught us so much Korean and by the end of the program I felt confident to explore all on my own. The Korean friends that I made there are so genuine and they loved showing us the best places in Korea. If you want to make nice friends and feel like you learned the most about this beautiful country this is such a great option. Do yourself a favor, study in Yeosu!!

I had an absolutely fantastic time studying abroad in San Sebastián and if anyone is considering studying Spain, I would definitely recommend looking into San Sebastián. The city is beautiful and the beaches are wonderful; if anyone likes surfing they are great beaches to surf. The USAC program is very well developed and there are many different opportunities throughout the city to connect with locals and learn the language. I had a wonderful host family who were incredibly supportive and whom I learned so much Spanish from.