AIFS Abroad: Study, Intern, or Study & Intern in England

While I was on the Spring 2023 London program with AIFS, I had the opportunity to take Bibliotherapy: The Art of Reading with Professor Moody. I can’t recommend this program and this class enough! Bibliotherapy focuses on how reading can provide well-being. This course was personalized to allow us to explore what we were interested in reading and find ways to promote self-care and healing. I found this class to be one of my favorites as we explored bookstores and libraries. (And we even got to picked out two books to be paid for by the class for our enjoyment!) Another class I want to recommend if you are looking into this program is British Drama with Professor Brian. This class was wonderful to explore the development of theatre in London and how modern theatre is today with viewings of performances as class trips or watching recorded versions. Both of these professors were excellent at engaging students and creating wonderful connections from both the material to beyond the classroom. Overall, my time with the AIFS program was wonderful to explore London as I completed some extra credits towards my degree. All the staff was lovely. If you have any concerns financially, there is helpful assistance with financial aid and scholarships. If you get the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it!

London is a great program to get outside of your comfort zone, especially if you aren't from a city. It's really easy to navigate and there are lots of hidden gems for a fun time. Working there will make you realize a whole new world of career possibilities outside of your home town. I had a great time working for a museum, and seeing other parts of London through this job. Even as someone from a warm place, I was able to really enjoy myself (after I bought a new jacket). I also got to travel to Greece, Sweden, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands before I went home! I would recommend this trip to anyone, and especially people who speak English and want to visit a new place without having a language barrier.

I loved my time in London! Our internship manager worked so hard to find us a right fit job placement and I loved the company that I worked for. My placement fit with my interests and philosophies, and I now have some amazing connections. Going to work was something that I really loved and has helped me explore new job opportunities.

Our trips on the weekend were also amazingly fun as we saw a wide range of English culture. There was something for everyone and our location manager was always listening to our interests and catered to them. From exploring London's vintage flea markets to seeing some amazing historical sites, there was always something fun to do and learn. We also had time to explore on our own and really find the parts of London that spoke to us. For example, I loved going to West End theatre performances and I went to a different part of the city every weekend to explore. This freedom helped me grow as a person and as a traveler!

I never thought I could live in a big city but with the program's support and by pushing myself, I found that I really loved it. This experience has changed my life and I am so grateful for this opportunity!

I met so many great people within this program and I am so grateful. My flat mates were all lovely. My coworkers were amazing. And Gregg was great too. Gregg shows you the real London, and not all the tourist attractions. Some of my favorite days in London were his trips/get togethers. This has been some of the best few months of my life, and I have to thank this program. I am so lucky to have been placed with such an amazing internship and got to work cool fashion events and have experience related to my field of work. If you’re thinking of coming to London, I would definitely recommend this program!!

Coming from Tennessee, I was excited to live in such a big city! Greg was my coordinator and made sure I had everything I needed, plus more. Greg showed me the beautiful city of London, recommended places to visit in his free time, always replied quickly, and offered to bring me stuff when I became ill and could not leave home. I truly appreciate Greg’s support throughout my entire time in London. Honestly, I would not have survived the big city without him. I thank Shani for taking the time to help me and give me advice before the placement and after. Shani led me through each step to secure my internship and was right there every step. Shani and Greg have also offered to help me with my resume and building my connections, which I love!

I'd always known that I would study abroad in college, but when I was introduced to programs that would allow me to be an exchange student in high school, I knew it was something I wanted to do. Unlike college where you've already had a few years of independence as an adult, going abroad in high school can seem quite daunting, but is so worth it! My time in Sardinia, Italy taught me not only another language and culture but helped me become more mature and independent as I learned to advocate for myself amidst changing host families and taking 3rd year Latin (in Italian) at a scientific high school when I'm more linguistically/artistically inclined... I still keep in touch with the friends I made during my year abroad and have visited a few of them in their home countries in addition to reuniting with my host siblings as adults in various European countries.

Coming from New York City, London was an easy transition for me and a great way for me to experience urban life in a different city—to the point where I decided to come back in a future date. Thanks to Gregg and Shani, natives to the city, Gregg curated amazing itineraries for the interns and recommended spots that made one feel like a local to the city. Shani was in-charge of the logistics of our stay while in London and always open to answer any questions regarding our stay. Both Shani and Gregg were great conversationalists and were stars at making sure the interns and I had a pleasurable time while in London. Gregg’s insight, attentiveness, and enthusiasm for anything UK-related made my stay so interesting and exciting and would do it over again in a heartbeat outside of Global Experiences.

Aside from my overall experience being in UK/Europe for the summer, please reconsider this program heavily if you do not have the sufficient means to not only live in a city as expensive as London through this costly program (roughly over $10k spent). Keep in mind the Pound is stronger than the Dollar.

Not only is the program extremely expensive for unpaid interns, but GE false markets the program on their website. I was interning somewhere where I initially did not want to intern at because of bad reviews, and brought it up to GE about it before submitting my visa paperwork, for which they refused to change me to… even if I am spending huge amounts of money to be able to do go abroad. While there, my coworkers were nice, but I did not receive the experience I ultimately wanted, studied, and paid for. I knew I did not want to continue working there, and ashamed in myself that I didn’t push GE to help me find another worksite.

Spending over $10k for your free labor, in retrospect, is a poor decision—especially if it is not in your field. Although I am thankful for the opportunity to have interned abroad and diversified my portfolio, networked with people abroad, and gained experience in my field, GE failed to include sponsorship fees, expedited visa costs, and flight costs—very important expenditures related to your trip. You are made to pay a set fee of $8k, but this does include transportation throughout your entire stay, your flight, your visa, or your sponsorship, although GE crafted the program in a way where the $8k had already included everything. Reconsider this program if you are already a college graduate and aren't at least getting college credits for this program, at minimum.

Fragomen, the sponsor, was unresponsive and did not care to help answer any questions in relations to my visa, but quick to charge interns over $1k while we were on our last pennies on the last week of the program. When asked to provide proof or an itemized list about the cost, it was not given to me and failed to mention why the sponsorship visa fee was as high as it was. This was highly inconsiderate and was briefly mentioned in the website.

Apart from the extremely high costs, London is an AMAZING place to build your career and an easy transition if you had lived in a city prior to this one. Reminiscent of my hometown, NYC, London’s diversity, work-life balance, and academic/career opportunities are highlights and easily digestible than in America, especially if you want to pursue a career in marketing.

This past summer has been an amazing experience. My biggest takeaway has been the people I’ve met thanks to this program. GE encourages relationship building between students within the program. Our first night orientation set the foundation for what turned out to be an amazing group of friends made this past summer. This includes the location coordinators, Shani and especially Gregg, who made efforts every weekend to find exciting day trips for interns to go on, and even took me and a few others out after all the other interns had returned home, as we had an extended time program, even though he did not have to. They were always looking to help whenever issues arose, and made the summer great. The accommodations were located in an ideal location in zone 1, with access to 2 major tube lines - hammer smith and city & the circle line, located 1 minute down the street, making you only a few stops from central London. You get your own flat with a bathroom, and a common area. In terms of internships, it’s different for everybody, however my biggest takeaway was the experiences made in London and abroad in Europe with the great people I’ve met. While the program is expensive, I would recommend it based off my experience. I would recommend those who do the program to meet the others in the program, and make the most of the time even if their internship isn’t exactly what they want or any other potential issues.