Program Reviews

My latest journey to Boston for the Abbey Road College Prep Course was incredibly fulfilling for the particular time in my life that it came. It goes without saying that the majority of students approaching the fall semester of their senior year typically experience high anxiety with regard to college applications. This was especially true for me, and already by the end of my junior year a considerable amount of worry around admissions had set in. For this reason, I began to search for a way to receive adequate SAT preparation, information about colleges, and assistance with the application process. After completing my session with Abbey Road College Prep, I can honestly say that I believe it has been among the most effective and fun ways to complete all of those challenging tasks.

Immediately I appreciated the accommodating and caring staff that was always striving to ensure an enjoyable experience for students.

As a program, we were able to enjoy many outings, including a tour on the Duck Adventures Boat, an afternoon at Quincy Market, an outing at Revere Beach, and my personal favorite, a visit to the Institute of Contemporary Art. As previously stated, the SAT preparation was a significant factor in my coming to Abbey Road. Initially, I was nervous that fitting the entire Princeton Review course into two weeks may not have been effective. That prejudgment could not have been further from the truth! Our Princeton Review professor was extremely thorough, continually dedicated to ensuring students’ comprehension of the material and to helping the students succeed. In fact, I would say the two-week course, compared to a longer school year or summer course, ended up as the most effective way for me to prepare for the SAT. With all of the stress surrounding college for the students, having a staff member so highly experienced and informed in the college search process was a key anxiety-reducing factor of the program. Through activities such as constructing a “Must Haves & Deal Breakers” list, drafting a résumé, and brainstorming essay topics, the writing elective course teacher effectively broke down the massive amounts of information about the college search.

Leaving Boston I had the peace of mind regarding my application essays, a more defined list of colleges that interested me, and a clear path to follow to my next SAT and to complete my application process. Not to mention, I left the program having made friends with students from all over the world that I continue to keep in touch with as we journey through the remainder of the application process. In these ways, the Abbey Road Program met all of my needs pertaining to my college search, and I could not be more satisfied with the results that Abbey Road helped me achieve! 



This was my first time participating in a study abroad program. I had heard about teen tours before, but my mom brought up the study abroad program with Abbey Road to help me improve my Spanish. Living in the residence in Barcelona was similar to college life and I wanted to be able to experience that and get a feel for what college might be like. I really liked the small group size because we all really got to know each other and could just hangout as a group. I’m actually going to see a few people from the Barcelona program in December!



I thought the teachers were great! They really encouraged us to speak more Spanish and helped us understand more. Thanks to them my Spanish improved significantly. After I came back home, I was standing in line at the store and the woman in front of me was holding a baby and speaking in Spanish and we ended up having a conversation completely in Spanish. I was able to understand her and actually hold a conversation.



The residential life was amazing. Every week the counselors gave us money for one trip to the grocery store. You would go to the store with the student that you shared your kitchen with. Together you would buy what food you wanted for the week. We did cooking every other night, which was really fun. Learning to cook new recipes and trying new foods was a completely new experience. My favorite recipe was tortilla, which is an egg and potato dish that can be used for tapas or as a whole dish. Simple tasks such as cooking for yourself, buying your own groceries, taking out the trash and doing your own laundry made me become very independent. I’ve been told I have become more adventurous and more spontaneous.


When I was looking at Abbey Road, four weeks seemed like a long time and when I first got there I was really nervous. It just seemed like a really long time to be living with all these people I didn’t know, but by the end I really wish the program had been longer!

I am definitely going to try and go on another study abroad trip during my next summer break or maybe my summer before college. I would definitely go to Spain again.



Abbey Road provided my daughter with a top notch summer abroad program in Cadiz, Spain. This group is highly organized and focuses on a safe, enriching experience with lots of chances to soak in the culture. There was a nice balance of academic and free time.

The housing was excellent, day trips very rewarding, and she got to use her Spanish 100% of the time. As an educator and father I would absolutely recommend Abbey Road to anyone!!

if I was living there I would definitely and wanna join the high school study abroad programs seeks summer staff cause in my perception I think that they are doing there work properly and managing the staff and their facilities,their focus,their consumption,everything in the high school etc. so that's what I think about it and I tell everything about it in my perception so u got the program story now thank ya.

Abbey Road was fantastic! My daughter Brooke had a blast and the group seemed very nice. All the adults were great and went out of their way when Brooke left her computer in the Barcelona airport during a strike!

Brooke loved that she was in the classroom one hour and the rest of the morning the class was out experiencing and learning in a Spanish environment. Brooke said her Spanish teacher was the best Spanish teacher she had ever had. She also was in the lowest level Spanish class- there were only 2 students in her class and she loved spending time learning- very personal. The entire experience was fantastic! She really liked the dorm and she liked all that they did.

I specifically like that she was able to learn Spanish while experiencing Spanish. Some programs students just stay in the classroom. I like that she was able to enjoy learning in a creative fun way!

Everyone was great and it was very safe!

Barcelona was spectacular. I had so much fun learning a new language and exploring Spanish culture. Picasso museum, Dali art museum and the cathedral were my favorite places in Barcelona. During our stay I learned a lot about Catalonia and Spain in general. I liked that most of our Spanish classes were out of the classroom. Teachers were so nice and caring, especially Alicia. She was such a good teacher, she knew how to keep us engaged and energized during the whole stay. I wish I had more free time to go shopping.

The evening activities, trips to Bolonia and Gibraltar, group dinners, beach sports and the liberty we had in the city were great! The balance between activities and down time was just right, as I improved my Spanish skills a lot and also had time to explore the city. Staying with my host family was a pleasure. They were so nice and caring that my host mom taught me how to cook some Spanish delicious meals.

Abbey Road was fantastic! The staff was great and went out of their way on many occasions. My Spanish teacher Alicia was one of the best Spanish teachers I ever had. I came back from Barcelona feeling confident in my ability to hold long conversations.

I loved that we were in a classroom one hour and the rest of the morning the class was out experiencing and learning in a Spanish environment. The dorm was very nice and we enjoyed hanging by the rooftop pool. The food was amazing. We went to a large variety of restaurants and I was able to try a lot of new foods. Overall, the program exceeded my expectations!

I went to the Cadiz, Spain program last summer and I loved it. I learned so much in the classes as we went really in depth into grammar and speaking exercises. On the first day of classes we took a placement test to determine our level of comprehension in Spanish and from there we were separated into two groups. We did lots of activities in the city where we talked to locals, visited markets, and had scavenger hunts. I also took photography as my minor class which I highly recommend. I just used my iPhone as my camera and that was perfect. The teacher was so amazing and was really knowledgeable about photography and about the history of the city.

The staff were very fun and close to us. They spoke Spanish to us unless absolutely necessary and I believe that was a prominent cause for how much my Spanish improved.

My family was also amazing. I had a mother and a father and they were wonderful. They loved to talk to us about our day and our lives. They owned a small farm from which they were always bringing home fresh fruits and vegetables. They cooked all the meals from scratch and they were amazing. I was 16 turning 17 when I went.

Abbey Road was fantastic! My daughter Brooke had a blast and the group seemed very nice. All the adults were great and went out of their way when Brooke left her computer in the Barcelona airport during a strike!

Brooke loved that she was in the classroom one hour and the rest of the morning the class was out experiencing and learning in a Spanish environment. Brooke said her Spanish teacher was the best Spanish teacher she had ever had. She also was in the lowest level Spanish class- there were only 2 students in her class and she loved spending time learning- very personal. The entire experience was fantastic! She really liked the dorm and she liked all that they did.

I specifically like that she was able to learn Spanish while experiencing Spanish. Some programs students just stay in the classroom. I like that she was able to enjoy learning in a creative fun way!

Everyone was great and it was very safe!