USAC Reviews

If you're not sure about studying abroad- just do it! I was scared to travel by myself to a strange country without anyone I knew but USAC Cork genuinely changed my life. The professors and classes were amazing, the city (and all of Ireland) is so culturally rich and welcoming, and the experience definitely helped me grow as a person. I met someone I consider one of my best friends, and I am looking at UCC for graduate school because I loved studying there so much. Outstanding program!
Also, if you are concerned about medical issues or a disability hampering your experience; I found the program very accommodating and caring to work with.

Costa Rica would be a beautiful destination to visit anytime in your life with the gorgeous wildlife and nature and the carefree, pura vida culture, but this study abroad opportunity gave me a unique lens to see the country through that I would not trade for anything. The USAC staff was welcoming, hardworking, knowledgable, and caring and made sure we took advantage of the best things to do in Costa Rica. The classes were enriching and the professors were very passionate. The host stay was really the icing on the cake as it gives you a look into the Tico culture and allows you to make connections with people that will last a lifetime. I would highly recommend this study abroad experience!

From an incredible host mama and abuela, to a great supportive staff at USAC, I would and have recommended this trip to all my enthusiastic Spanish studying friends. My confidence in the language grew so much after spending four months in Costa Rica. All of the locals were very supportive to help me learn and patient with me as I was practicing. Along with learning the language, the food, nature, and academic opportunities at the school, and country, offered continued to amaze me. I highly recommend the field study classes and traveling while abroad. Every area of Costa Rica was so rich in experience I couldn’t imagine having a better experience anywhere else.

Studying at Yonsei University was an amazing experience. Sinchon is a lovely area with amazing food, shopping, etc. It's also right next to Hongdae, which is super popular. There are endless things to do in the area, so it's a perfect place to be. The classes were also great, it wasn't a super heavy workload but I still learned a lot. My Korean class was taught completely in Korean, which did take some adjusting, but now I actually prefer it over being taught in English. There are challenges that come along with studying abroad, but it's totally worth it in the end. The memories you make will stick with you forever. Overall, I highly recommend!

I was on the fence about studying abroad this past summer and I'm so glad I made the decision to go. Valencia is a very underrated city and if you're wanting to go to Spain, I definitely would recommend it. The food is cheap and this specific program is one of the cheaper options that's available. I stayed in the Resa Patacona student dorm and I had my own room and bathroom, which was super nice cause I had my own privacy when I wanted it. The student housing also had a view of the beach and was less then a 5 minute walk to get there. They had a wide variety of core classes, as well as amazing elective classes. I took the international business class and I also took the windsurfing elective class, which was one of the coolest things that I've ever been able to do. We took field trips almost every weekend to various places that were near Valencia, including Peniscola, where we took a boat ride around the coast and had great views of the castle that they had there. We also were able to travel during the long weekends and I went to Paris and Barcelona during those times. Traveling within Europe is very cheap so doing those weekend trips is very doable. I made so many great friends from this program and I'm still in contact with a few of them. I already can't wait to go back to Valencia!

Beautiful countryside surrounding the modernized city of Bilbao, rich history and culture to experience both in the the city and rural areas. Caring and supportive staff and professors, not too difficult of workload, easy to navigate the city, safe, amazing food.

I would highly recommend this program! San Sebastián is the absolute best place to spend the summer and the USAC staff worked exceptionally hard to ensure the summer was educational, enlightening, and comfortable. They were helpful with every problem I came to them with and planned fun and exciting field trips. I learned so much in just two months and I could see the obvious growth in my Spanish abilities. The city is absolutely beautiful with picturesque beaches, exceptional restaurants, and so many fun activities to do. In addition, San Sebastián was in a good location to travel to other places and explore more of Europe. Learning about Basque culture was one of my favorite parts about this program and the staff and instructors made sure this was possible. I made incredible friends in this program and had the most memorable summer of my life.

The experience I had in Seoul at Yonsei University was incredible. Walking the streets of Seoul with my new friends, going to cafes, clubs, and villages was beyond fun. I met friends I'll have for a long time, and will cherish the memories forever. Traveling around the country with friends taught me new things about myself, and created special bonds with people that can't be replicated. I discovered so many new foods, for example naengmyeon and kalguksu, and truly think I experienced what Korea had to offer an exchange student. And it offered a lot. If you are on the fence about studying abroad, don't even think about it and do it!

It was all a little daunting at first, what with the language classes being really long but it ended up helping improve your language skills faster. I also met some amazing people and hope to keep in contact with them forever. The people you surround yourself with really impact how you see this new and big city and as long as you chose a good one you will have a great time both in and out of the city. There is also a lot of transport available to surrounding cities and countries, it’s really easy to navigate.

Going to Gwangju was 2 years in the making when I left for South Korea in February of 2021. Despite the constant concerns about another semester getting cancelled and being stuck back in the US, the program teams both at CNU (the host school) and USAC came through and made the experience so worth the wait. I enjoyed every second there, even cried when I left and now miss my life there terribly. My semester in Gwangju has now encouraged me to pursue going back to South Korea to teach English and going to graduate school overseas. There were so many hurdles to get through because of the pandemic, but I always felt endlessly supported and understood by everyone with my program, and it was amazing to have the opportunity to spend time in Korea even in a pandemic. The locals in Gwangju are some of the most layed-back, caring, and thoughtful people I've ever met, and getting to know people was always so much fun even if my Korean language skill wasn't great. From day one, I felt like I was welcomed by the locals and their immense patience allowed me to dive deep and embrace Korean culture even more. Best. Choice. Ever.