USAC Reviews

I had the most amazing time in Madrid! USAC has relatively responsible and caring staff members and programs for community engagement. When we arrived, they organized an orientations for students to become familiar with the city and our school. USAC really enforce us to get out our comfort zone and make friends of locals.

I really appreciated their effort to help us get involved in the Spain culture and the community. We had opportunities to pair up with Spanish students, called intercambios. I had the most amazing intercambio, and very quickly we became best friends! She introduced to me all her friends who grew up together, and with her connections we all became great friends, which tremendously helped me practice Spanish and learn their culture. Moreover, USAC provides student many volunteer and internship opportunities. One of my most unforgettable experiences in Madrid is my volunteer experience, where helped me go through some of my difficult time in Madrid and found my lifelong friends and supports.

My only concern with the program was the host family. I chose to live with a host family in order to learn Spanish quickly and experience the local family life. However, I had difficulties with my host family. I didn't feel comfortable in the place and neither had many interaction with the hostmom, who is the single mother. Meals provided in the house, which I paid for, were not well prepared at all. Overall, I didn't think the amount of money I paid for my host family every month worth for its value.

Any experience can't be perfect in all aspect. It is inevitable that you are going to face some kind of challenges, but I definitely encourage to get out of the country make new friends, learn a new language, and explore! Trust me it is going to be the most valuable memory in your life!

I was deciding between USAC's India program, Costa Rica (Puntarenas) program, and Thailand, and every single day in Chiang Mai I was psyched that I chose Thailand. This place is chaotic and bright, tranquil and deeply moving, perfect because of its imperfections. My group had this weird instant-love thing going on, where the second we all met everyone just had big fat friend-crushes on each other. That persisted the entirety of the trip, and continues via facebook/phone today. The housing was nicer than I expected, with roommates having their own small bedrooms within the apartment. It's also close to the university, and just a quick songthaew ride from the heart of the city. BEST OF ALL it's right at the base of a fairly significant mountain, Dio Suthep, so you can literally start a hike from your apartment. Just walk out the door, up the road a bit, and there are some pretty fly trails going all over that mountain (my friend's and I stumbled upon the most beautiful Wat (temple) I have ever seen, with waterfalls lacing through it and monks studying beneath the trees). So many hidden gems!

This wasn't the best education I have ever received. The class topics were certainly interesting... I took Buddhist Philosophy, Hill Tribe Peoples and Culture Studies (with the most glorious homestay field trips ever), Thai Language, Global Health, and Sustainable Development. The classes are broken up into three hour increments, twice a week. Which is a lot to take in.... particularly when the professors aren't always the most engaging. However, I still learned so much and I really did like my professors as people. There isn't too much homework either, which is appreciated, because they want you to have time for experiential learning (a.k.a. traveling and hanging out in Thailand). Also there are a ton of field trips, which is incredible.

The people are so unbelievably nice. I am a bit of a worrier, and it took me awhile to get used to the fact that people don't have ulterior motives when they say they will walk me home/ show me how to get to this restaurant/ help me find my friend. They are literally just being friendly, because that's how people are supposed to be. I walked several hours home from the bars with friends at 3 a.m. and not once did I EVER feel unsafe.

I thought that upon returning home, I would miss everything/everyone so much but would appreciate some of the "American comforts" here (regular toilets, being able to cook my own food, temperatures not in the hundreds, etc.) but honestly... I miss my rock hard Thai bed (my back has hurt since I came back to my squishy mattress), the constant sweating, and never being able to find toilet paper. That's the life, no doubt about it. See you again soon Thailand, I couldn't stay away even if I tried.

Thailand is a beautiful country and Chiang Mai is filled with warm and helpful people, great food, and everything is very affordable. Being able to see so many temples and spirit houses as well as seeing monks doing their alms round early in the morning make Chiang Mai seem magical and full of a deep spiritual dimension.

I studied 4 years ago in Viterbo. The town is beautiful and charming and I always felt incredibly safe. The staff is helpful to find you volunteer opportunities or anything that suits your interests. The optional tours are a must! I felt like I got to see almost everything I wanted. The classes are heavily art or international relations based, but I took the opportunity to get in touch with my artistic side. The food will change your life.

Choosing to study abroad in Stirling was and still is one of the best decisions I've ever made. First off the landscape is amazing, and you can't get much better views. The University of Stirling is a beautiful campus with great professors that I learned a lot from. My classes were similar to courses back home when it came to topics, however the way you're taught and expected to analyze things was completely different and a refreshing experience. The university has a large international population, which was great because you're able to meet and become friends with people from all over the world.

The town of Stirling isn't necessarily the biggest of towns, but what it lacks in attractions, it makes up for in charm and character. I always had a great time and found so many wonderful things around the town. In my whole experience I never came across anyone who was unfriendly or rude.

Overall , I had the time of my life and made lasting friendships with people from all over the world who I would have never met if I wouldn't have made the decision to study abroad.

I studied abroad with USAC in Alicante last summer. I was 26 wih a Masters and was my first time studying abroad and first time spending an extended amount of time in a foreign country. I was going with the goal of taking a graduate level course and learning a bit of Spanish along the way. The USAC program helped me achieve these goals and so much more. My professor for Spanish Gender Studies (Pilar) was one of the best professors I've ever had. She cares so deeply about the subject, her students, and education in general. She helped me tailor my research paper to be relevant to the course, my interests, and my job, and she was an invaluable resource throughout the project. I decided to audit an intermediate Spanish course as well, and had a wonderful professor (Paloma) who understood that I was a beginner and challenged me to learn as much as possible in our short four week course. I did spend a lot of time Monday through Fridays on campus at UA , but I don't think that got in my way of spending time with my apartment mates , going out for tapas, salsa dancing, shopping, to bars , museums, and playa posiguet. I had an intercambio who I still keep in touch with, and went on a few awesome excursions led by the incredible director, Luis. In the short 4 weeks of this summer program, I made long term friends, learned about The history and role of women in Spain, aprendí un poquito de la lengua, explored parts of Spain I never would have seen on my own, lived in downtown Alicante, and had an overall amazing time.

Every day in Germany was a different experience. Nothing ever remained the same or was boring. I will never forget the moments where I thought I understood the culture from the classes I took, and yet was proven wrong when being surrounded by it (the best example being when I forgot one has to buy plastic bags when grocery shopping). They may have been slightly humiliating, but I adapted; I learned. And that is the point of studying abroad: to step out of the comfort zone of the home country and witness a whole new world. That way, the outcome is a well-rounded individual, with more than a year's worth of stories to tell to family and friends when returning home. I myself have traveled throughout Germany, including Berlin, as well as outside with a trip to Rome and Stockholm. I came, I saw, but most importantly; I grew with knowledge. At first, studying abroad was a large step for someone like me, with very little travel experience. In the end, it became an adventure that I would gladly relive and experience over and over.

I transferred to Cal Poly and I hadn't given studying abroad much thought. I decided to do it Senior year and I am glad I did! Torino is an exciting and authentic Italian city rich in history, culture and fun. Torino has open markets all through out the city which makes it easy to buy fresh groceries. There is a large selections of museums and an inexpensive unlimited museum pass available for the entire semester. The USAC staff is very helpful and nice. They truly make themselves available and are willing to enrich the experience.
I loved that we took classes with the Erasmus students enabling us to interact with students from all over Europe. It is an amazing experience that is almost indescribable. The campus is not as nice as an American one but that doesn't take away from the experience. Torino is a big city and like any other big city in any other country, one must be cautious and aware of our surroundings since crime does exist. Again, that is normal and should be expected.
Traveling was easy and relatively inexpensive. Europe offers much to see and do. I felt 5 months was not enough to see it all and I definitely look forward to returning.
USAC and 3rd parties offer scholarships so take advantage of that and start early. USAC also offers cool internships. I personally interned at an elementary school and I absolutely loved it. The children and staff were very welcoming and made my experience even greater.
Bottom line, do not overthink it! Go! Study abroad, meet new people, travel, learn a new language, and grow personally. You will meet some of the greatest people and make long lasting friends. Enjoy!

I LOVED living in Alicante. Even though it was winter, it never went below 60 and was sunny everyday. Friends and I traveled to Barcelona one weekend as well. The Resident Director was so friendly and helpful!

Going to Brighton was my first time living away from home and my first time leaving the country. It was an AWESOME experience that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I am a Business student and luckily Brighton offered a lot of classes to choose from that fit into my degree plan from my home university. There were no tests, just group projects and end of term papers so it was a nice change of pace. The lecturers did tend to grade harder that what I'm use to in the US so you will need to put in some effort regarding your coursework. The coordinators Mary and Becca are SUPERSTARS. They were both such great help getting my schedule straightened out and they planned a number of great field trips.The city itself is such a culturally rich and diverse place with a million things to do, I guarantee you'll never be bored. That being said you'll want to save a lot of money before coming. I tried to restrict myself to a 100 pound a week budget but it gets hard to adhere to with so many things going on at all times. I would recommend working before you come so you have enough to enjoy Brighton as well as travel Europe at the end of term.