IES Abroad Sydney

Spending Fall of 2015 in Sydney, Australia through IES was the best choice I could possibly make. It was an incredible semester and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new, wonderful experience. The IES program Director, Matt, is one of the kindest people I have ever met and I from what I saw going through IES was the best option with great trips and resources throughout the semester. Sydney itself was just amazing! I instantly fell in love with the place and the people. I had an internship abroad at The Taronga Zoo, that had a deep impact on the way that I am currently, as a graduating senior, looking at my future.

My time abroad in Sydney was everything I hoped for and more. The program staff was with me every step of the way and made everything so simple. The Program Director made the transition to being abroad effortless and continued to go out of his way throughout the program to ensure we were all happy and healthy. I made wonderful, lifelong friends and I had an amazing time living with all of them. The classes were just right - very manageable workload with personable professors. The material was interesting and presented in engaging and fun ways. Living in the city, we were able to take advantage of everything that occurred in the area. Getting to know local parks, restaurants, and bars made us feel at home and I never thought I could miss a city so much. Going abroad was the best decision I ever made for myself - if you are considering studying abroad, go with IES. They will make everything simple so you can focus on enjoying your experience. Overall, the program was top-quality and the memories I have made will last a lifetime.

Australia is host to many exciting opportunities and places. One of my absolute favorite trips while abroad was the Great Ocean Road, south of Melbourne. My friends from my program and I went on a bus with other strangers who wanted to do that trip as well and drove all day, making stops to see things along the road. We started the day early and had to drive from the city down to the ocean and we made our first stop at a wildlife area where Koalas were in the trees and climbing around, and there were tons of birds that you could feed and they would flock all over you (not as scary as it sounds). We then went to Cape Otway lighthouse for lunch and you could go to the way top of the lighthouse which was really high over the ocean and had an amazing view. Next, and most importantly, we went and saw the Twelve Apostles. I had never heard of the Twelve Apostles until my friends had asked me to go on this trip down to Melbourne with them, and as soon as I saw the pictures of them, I was in. Seeing the Twelve Apostles was surreal, as they're these huge rocks rising up out of the ground (the beach), and seeing them so tall and right next to the ocean, it was like out of a magazine or just something that I thought I'd never see in my life. After the Twelve Apostles, we went to the Loch Ard Gorge which was also gorgeous and amazing, as it was a little inlet from the ocean, but the rockwalls were so high and basically encompassed the entire beach except a small area where water could get in, making the waves pretty big.
Along with seeing feeding birds, seeing wild koalas run and climb, seeing the Twelve Apostles and amazing sites, the view down the Great Ocean Road made all the hours of driving completely worth it. A straight view over the ocean for most of the ride, and maybe an hour or so of rainforest.
This was by far one of my favorite trips and I would highly recommend for anyone to do it and experience this.

I knew I would enjoy spending six weeks in Australia before I even got on the plane, but nothing could have prepared me for how awesome the experience actually was. Every weekday for six weeks, I spent the morning attending class in Sydney's CBD and then I was free to explore for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It is virtually impossible to run out of things to do in Sydney -- no matter what you like to do in your free time back home, there's probably an even cooler way to enjoy it in Sydney. The lecturers were interesting and the classes required just enough work to make you actually learn about Australia, but not so much work that you have to spend the whole trip doing homework in order to pass. The program included day trips to the Blue Mountains and Royal National Park, both of which were fantastic, and a 5-day excursion to the Red Centre, where we got to see Uluru, Kata Tjuta, and Kings Canyon, which was definitely a highlight of the experience. The staff in Sydney are extremely friendly and provided plenty of helpful advice about navigating the public transport system, buying food, and almost anything else you could think to ask about. As cheesy as it sounds, the IES Sydney Summer program really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will completely change your life.