USAC Reviews

Bilbao is mid-sized city 30 minutes away from the border of France. Getxo is the beautiful rolling green hills & beach town on the outer city limits. You won't be getting the big city aura and you'll be forced to have a non-touristy experience. The primary language is Spanish, but the majority of citizens are Basque and proud of it. Euskera is spoken, but not around those who aren't locals or look Basque. You'll live in Getxo in area where families and young people alike hangout, drink wine, and run to the beach on good weather days. USAC is incredibly helpful and the staff answers any of your questions and is there for you if you ever need it. The Basque people are nice, and the vibe is laid back and happy. I loved Bilbao and I won't forget it.

The Program director was so incredibly helpful and supportive no matter what problems students had. The planned weekend excursions were lots of fun! Professors are great - we go on lots of field trips to local museums. Celebratory boat cruise to end the trip. More culturally rewarding than other programs. Great night life in Prague!

I had a once in a lifetime, amazing experience in Madrid! I have loved traveling since a young girl and to go on this journey on my own was refreshing and inspiring. I went on this trip not knowing anyone and met the most incredible unique people. Study abroad does something to you that you could never ever learn by sitting behind a desk at school. And Madrid was the right place for me to do it. My host family was so sweet and kind and I lived in the best apartment. The night life was so fun, the people welcoming! It's a beautiful city full of tradition, history, and delicious delicious food. I love how Madrid loves to socialize and eat out all the time, it was one of my favorite things to do. Overall, I highly recommend going to Madrid! And if not Madrid, go abroad in general! It changes you.

My semester abroad in Pau was life changing. I learned so much about the French culture and also more about myself. I met amazing friends that I know I will be close with forever. My French was at a beginner's level when I arrived and it improved a lot. I am even thinking about studying in Pau again to finish my French minor. Pau is the perfect little city. It has great shopping, dining, and nightlife. I made so many French friends that I still keep in touch with today. I lived with a host family. The program takes you on fun trips to cities such as Bordeaux and Toulouse. Ryan and Robina were so helpful. The more I write,the more I miss Pau! While I was abroad, I was lucky enough to travel to 10 other countries.

This program was fantastic! USAC Viterbo gave students the unique opportunity to become immersed in small town Italian culture by offering housing throughout the medieval walled city, enrolling students in small classes instructed by Italian professors, and by touring landmark cities along the Italian coast in a field studies course. I was excited to find this program, because the Lazio region of Italy is spectacular, and it is where I have dreamed to live for a long period of time. Unlike many other programs I looked into that were very expensive, this program was very reasonable! I was able to earn 10 units that directly transferred to my university, and I was able to pick up some Italian while living in a place where individuals are willing to help one pick up their mother tongue.
This location is wonderful because you can easily make it Rome (only an hour away!) Venice, Florence, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast and many more beautiful Italian cities and regions. If you are even considering this program, I am telling you.. just sign up!!! You will make memories that will last a lifetime.

The best part about the San Ramon program is San Ramon. If you really are interested in learning a new language San Ramon is the place to study. There are few English speakers in town so you are really forced to practice your Spanish. It's a cute city that is small enough to navigate by feet but still large enough to get lost. There is hardly any American influence at all. San Ramon is about as tico as it gets.

Studying in Viterbo Italy truly changed my life. I am grateful everyday that I chose USAC and chose Viterbo over a larger city. It was perfect. I could easily walk everywhere without needing to take transit. Got to know people in town personally go to great community events and really be a part of true Italian culture (complete with pausa pranzo, which is like a siesta). We were close enough to Rome to make traveling easy but not so close that we were crowded. In Viterbo I lived in one of the biggest and best apartments I've ever lived in me and my roommates all became best friends and I am so grateful for that. The classes I chose to take were painfully easy (but who is complaining) but there were some more challenging classes offered. If you go to Viterbo you will need to really pay attention in Italian class as most people over 30 do not speak English. I went knowing no Italian and I did fine. Somethings I wish I would have known before hand are Viterbo is a city and a province so all the pictures on the internet may not be of the city but of the surrounding area. The hotsprings are amazing and you should learn where they are week 1 and go every week. And you cannot drink the water in Viterbo. It has Arsenic and it cant be purified or boiled out so you have to haul bottled water from the store. All in all Viterbo was a magical city that I will forever hold in my heart. The sights, the smells, the people. The USAC staff in this location are also true heros the amount of times that Simone saved our bacon is endless and he really doesnt get the credit he deserves. He personally picked us up at a train station at midnight on his birthday and drove us 30 minutes home when we got stranded. The rest of the staff is also awesome. I would give anything to be back in Viterbo right now!

USAC Santiago is an amazing program! The on-site staff is incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I learned a lot in my courses, but they still allowed time to travel and explore the city. Definitely take advantage of the field trips and tours organized by USAC because they were awesome. I would highly recommend staying with a host family; it was such a great experience and my Spanish improved so much!

Brighton, England is truly a special and beautiful place especially when the sun is shining. However most of the spring semester Brighton is wet and gloomy so be prepared. I loved Brighton and it ended up being the right place to study abroad but I wish that I had known that USAC students do not typical live in Brighton, USAC houses you on the Falmer campus about 3 miles or a 40 minute bus ride from town. The bus is also expensive and Falmer where you live is in the middle of nowhere. Some students have classes on the Falmer campus but I was not that lucky. Before applying I did not know that Brighton was a split campus meaning your classes could be on another campus an hour away. The study abroad Staff Becca and Mary are the most amazing women and they will help make your time in England amazing. Uni of Brighton also offers fun weekend field trips.

I thoroughly enjoyed living in Oslo, Norway. However, this program would, in my opinion, be best suited for a student who can function very independently. USAC offered no structure, and although there was a USAC contact, he only arranged 1 meeting at the beginning of the arrival. However the University of Oslo does provide a lot for exchange students, as they have international students from all over the world. This includes an orientation week and buddy week, so you get to meet many. Living in Sogn student village was full of exchange students, not many Norwegians, but it was very social. I found that culturally, Norwegians do not like to have large social circles, so it was actually very hard to meet Norwegians socially. I did enjoy, however, that most of my classmates were primarily Norwegian, so I got to know many through classes and also the nordic ski and climbing clubs I joined.