Program Reviews

This program completely changed my world-views and greatly impacted my career goals in a positive way. Throughout the quarter, we were taught to look at subjects such as history and multiculturalism from different perspectives while seeing the history of different places first-hand. Our professor was very negative and I didn't like his teaching style, but the program itself was great. I bonded with my host family and was immersed in the culture of Barcelona, as well as other places that we traveled to (other parts of Spain, Italy, France, and Morocco). After my time in Barcelona, I changed my major from Accounting to International Business so that I can hopefully travel the world as a part of my future career. One of my favorite memories was being lost in Barcelona with my roommate the first week we were there. I was starting to get frustrated, when suddenly I turned around and saw Sagrada Familia. I was in awe and realized that beauty can be found under any circumstance! From that point on, I learned to be okay with getting lost and wandering the streets while finding new sights.

The Barcelona SAE Summer Internship program is a great experience for young students looking to expand their horizons and have an experience like none other. Because of the nature of this Study Abroad Experience is different than any other Study Abroad because it is an internship instead of classes. This experience is not only letting me fall more in love with Spain, but also is giving me valuable and unique job experience.

The world is a book and those who haven’t traveled have only read one page. I believe that studying abroad and traveling is one of the best “teachers” in life and studying in Barcelona is one lesson i'll never forget. Being able to live in another country has given me the chance become immersed in a new culture, language and tradition. Through my experiences I learned what I wanted in life and got a taste of where I wanted to go. The program did a wonderful job putting together cultural agendas for students every single week to ensure they got the most out of their experience. The activities they put together and lead range from cooking classes to overnight excursions. The activities were also the perfect balance of education and fun; they were something that made me WANT to learn. The program itself was also very organized. Every activity and platform I could think of was updated regularly and as a big social media user I appreciated the frequent updates across all platforms. The program staff was also quick to reply to any email question I shot their way (and I always had a lot of questions) and always sent follow-up emails which was a nice touch. They also provided health coverage for students and everything I could ever want to know about anything is on their online student guide. It was nice to be able to have such amazing resources at my finger tips. They have a 24/7 emergency phone as well so anytime you have something bad happen to you, someone is always readily available. My roommates also had issues within the first week of arrival but they were quick to take action and solve the problem. I also loved the free food throughout the semester (go to all of the events, you'll be fed for a week basically)! Lastly, I think the resources and experience they gave me in Barcelona far exceeded what I researched through other programs. The price is also one of the least expensive in the city AND they offer the most for it.

Thanks to the Barcelona SAE program I had the opportunity to visit the city of my dreams. Prior to going to Barcelona the staff was extremely helpful and would quickly answer the many questions that I had. It was definitely nerve racking to go to a foreign country not knowing anyone; however the Barcelona SAE staff gave me clear instructions about my stay and it was relieving to see someone with a "Barcelona SAE" sign when I landed. My adventure began when I was dropped off at my host families house the place that would become my home while completing my semester abroad. My host mom was so welcoming! She showed me around our neighborhood and I quickly got to know my way around this beautiful city. I attended the University of Barcelona, an astonishing school in both education and the architecture of its buildings. I went to school with locals and other international students and the professors were amazing as well. I took language and cultural classes that at times were a little tough but still very interesting. While abroad I planned trips around Europe with the friends that I made within my program but the Barcelona SAE staff also planned many trips for us. The trips were planned out well and I had a great time at each and every one of them. We went to Sevilla, Besalu, Sitges, and Morocco to name a few. The Barcelona SAE team was always willing to help and they planned the most heart felt goodbye dinner. I truly fell in love with Barcelona and I submerged myself in its culture. Towards the end of my visit I took the metro like a local and I had tried all kinds of 'tapas. 'I will never forget my four months in Barcelona. I strongly recommend the Barcelona SAE program because I had the experience of a lifetime and you can too!

The best thing about studying abroad is the people you meet. They make traveling fun, classes, and just day to day activities. Being able to meet a lot of people right away was great because you can find people like you that you want to be around. The 3 day weekends were great to travel, and the long spring break. It was a good amount of class time and work load. The professors were all very great. Lifelong memories were made in Barcelona and someday I will be back.

Great program all around. Some of the best standouts that this program did was the housing that you were put in. I had an up to date apartment with a balcony in Saints Estacio, two blocks from Camp Nou. I was paired up with three other people from the US and we all went to the same school. The school itself was nice, though it was a branch campus which kind of stinks because the main campus is old and beautiful looking. The branch campus was just a regular building that had normal size classroom (average: 20 students). The professors were the best, learning everything from business culture to everyday living in different countries. The professors were well knowledgeable and engaging with every student. Also, my favorite part of being in the city was taking the metro to class every day. Every student basically commuted to school using the Metro unless the program housed you in a different area in the city that was close. Students are spread out through the city. Where I lived there were a group of girls in our program that were two floors below us but learned other people were scattered in different parts of the city. I think that is one thing to keep in mind, the housing is not like dorming at an American school.

The program was also great in the aspect of creating mini-trips throughout your time studying abroad. The program had day trips and weekend trips to different cities that involved tours and little workshops to learn about the culture in that specific city.

With everyday activities and events, Barcelona itself is such a fun city as they are always celebrating holidays and putting on the weekend events. A student will never run out of things to do in Barcelona. As far as safety goes, there are some unsafe parts but that is every city. Watch out for pickpocketers and areas that may not be the safest at night and you will be fine. So many places to see and the nightlife is amazing! people are always out and about and transportation such as the Metro is so easy and fast!

I think the only issue I had was not staying long enough. The summer semester was too short for me (8 weeks) and should have done a fall or spring semester in Barcelona.

Six months before the program started, I was absolutely terrified that I was heading to a country where I knew no one and the native language was completely different. One and a half year after the program, I have traveled to 12 countries and have taken a job far away from home. This is all because of the Barcelona SAE program.

The staff were not only helpful during the program but quite literally help me till this day. I have had many career chats and received a ton of advice from these staff members and I don't believe I can ever repay them for this.

My favorite memory were three very specific instances. One, as an FC Barcelona fan, attending El Clasico at Camp Nou was one of the most surreal experiences of my life and I still have goosebumps thinking about it. Two, being able to learn and physically see all of the historical beauty of the city of Barcelona and the region of Catalunya. Three, the Moroccan experience from within the program helped open my eyes on the very different walks of life. This trip is the reason that I have planned out further trips in Islamic countries to learn more about the religion and culture.

I would 100% recommend this program to anyone that wants to experience some of the best of food, culture, sports and life.

I decided to use Barcelona SAE to give myself an opportunity to work abroad. I wanted to see what the tourism and hospitality industry was and how to run it effectively. I decided to pay extra to live with a Spanish family to further use my Spanish that I had been studying for a long time.

I was assigned to work with a hostel booking agency and I was excited to learn more about the company and what my responsibilities would be. I was disappointed that all they expected of me was to write blogs in English about places I had never been to. I mentioned that I was fluent in Italian and they had me translate parts of those webpage into Italian. I felt frustrated that I was not learning anything about the hospitality industry and I was bored as I listened in to conversations between my coworkers in Catalan.
Perhaps the bar was set low by the previous interns. After all it was explained to me near the end of my internship that I was the first intern they had ever had that spoke Spanish. My internship was overall a waste of money as I learned little since I could have done all of the tasks required of me from my home and the educational part of the internship was never apparent even though I was friends with my coworkers and we got along well.

It should be noted that I did contact Barcelona SAE and they helped me get more responsibility but the improvement was minimal.

I don't really know who is to blame for this, it could be me for having higher expectations from a 20 hour a week internship. Or it's just the fact that I went to Spain for the internship, not for Spain.
My living arrangements were okay. My bedframe was literally held together by tape. It didn't break at any point, luckily. I didn't expect air conditioning since I had lived in the Mediterranean for two years and I know it's a luxury item. But I did expect a fan. I had to ask for one once summer hit full force. The fan given to me was the size of my fist. It was a small room (at 5'6" I'm not tall but I barely had room to do push-ups) but the entire time I was there there was a larger fan that was not available for me to use because it was "dirty". I offered to clean it myself but they said I couldn't use it. Also, the son of the family who lived accros the hall from me smoked like a chimney for the first two or three weeks. I had to ask them to stop. I shouldn't have to ask as that is one of our rules for our host families.
Our breakfast and dinners were provided for us by our hosts but we had to fend for ourselves for lunches. I was allowed to store some things in the fridge but not allowed to use anything in the kitchen to cook. I like to cook. I could have saved a lot of money were I able to use the kitchen.
I had roommates that lived with me in the place and I would say that they were the highlights of my experience. We went places together and spent time together. We were good friends.

Barcelona SAE made my first study abroad experience memorable. The staff always had contact with us everyday and they were just awesome overall. The teachers of the school were very accommodating and friendly. They always had opportunities for the group to be together on our day trips-- whether it be going to another area in Spain or learning how to make traditional Spanish dishes or dancing lessons. All of the staff had knowledge about everything that we needed to know when in Spain. I loved this program very much. This experience taught me so much about life.

Barcelona SAE allowed me to work abroad and submerge myself in the politics, culture, and social scene of a different country. It was truly wonderful to have a group of people help you find an internship customized to you as well as set up all accommodations so that my time once I got to Barcelona could be used as efficiently as possible. The help from the team allowed me to venture on my own and have my own independent experience as well as choose times to bond with other people on the trip; it was the perfect mix of the independence of solo travel and the security of knowing you have someone to help should something come up. I had such an enriching experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to go abroad.