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

AIFS provides the best location in London to study in. Just steps from Hyde Park, London's largest Royal Park and steps from Kensington Palace, home to William and Kate (and now Harry and Meghan!). Campus is also steps from two tube stations giving you the ability to be anywhere in London within a half hour. Also just steps away from Kensington High Street, filled with both high-end shops and a variety of restaurants you can find anything you need. The neighborhood is home to many celebrities including the Beckham family! When I was there some people actually ran into David on the Street. The Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is also the most expensive borough in all of London, I never felt unsafe while walking the streets.
Other than the location, the staff is absolutely wonderful, the two Resident Directors Nicki and Anderson were like family to me. They will help you with anything from homesickness to school.
My only complaint would be the food in the dining hall, but that made me go out and explore all the tastes London has to offer.

Interning with GE has provided me with a lasting experience that will last me a lifetime. I interned with Medland Metropolis, an engineering firm in London. I've gained not only invaluable working experience with my company but also tremendous personal growth. Being so far away from home can be scary at first but I've learned to absolutely love the feeling of independence and being able to do things yourself. Your experience is what you make of it and I've learned that some of the best experiences I've had has been due to my willingness to try new things.

Before you're able to intern in London, you need to obtain a work visa and London has one of the more complicated processes in doing it. However, GE has provided very thorough and detailed instructions in doing so to make the process as less painful as possible and I'm grateful for that.

Sarah, our location coordinator in London, has been excellent in helping us ease into London in the best way possible and keeping us from developing culture shock. I couldn't have had a better coordinator as she made sure to provide us interns with a very enjoyable time in the city.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time interning for GE. The program has given me so many wonderful opportunities and helped me expand my global network. I've made so many lasting friends while I was here and the enriching culture has provided me so much insight into the world as a whole. I definitely would recommend this type of program to anyone that's even remotely interested.

Interning in London was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Global Experiences is a wonder program that guides you throughout the whole process and is there to give support wherever needed. They work very hard to find an internship that fits you best and once they find you one, they help you to nail your interview and get the job. Once in London, you'll grow both professionally and individually throughout your experience. Plus, you get to do a bit of traveling if you wish. Who wouldn't love that?

My internship was at a young people's service that provided support for those that suffer from drug/alcohol problems. I learned so much from my colleagues, I got to apply my degree to real life situations, and make some great new connections. I am so thankful that I took a leap of faith and went to London.

This is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity that you don't want to miss out on!

As an art history and museum fanatic I was absolutely enthralled when I found out I was accepted into Global Experiences London intern program. I had the opportunity to intern at a museum and it helped me determine exactly what I want out of my degree and future job. The staff was phenomenal and I made lasting friendships with my colleagues. As for London, the museum and cultural scene over here is fantastic, theres always a new off-the-beat and track farmers market or clothing market to attend on weekends. The museums are off the chart and they always have new exhibitions going on! The real prize though are your weekends, flying to other countries quickly became a priority of mine which I was so happy to experience. The workers at GE not only let you have your freedom, but they encourage it! It was a jam packed month full of work experience and real world experience too. I wouldn't have done it any other way.

I was born and raised in NYC, and by staying in the city for college I never really experienced living in any place other than New York. Prior to coming to London, I expected there to be little differences in living in London than living in NYC. While I do think it was an easy transition, one difference you'll notice is that stores in London close much earlier than those in NYC, so if you're coming from a big city don't expect frequent late-night dining, especially on Sundays!

Overall, I loved London. Compared to New York's MTA, London's public transportation was faster and, in my opinion, more straight-forward, than that of NYC's, so don't worry about getting lost on the train or bus! Did I mention it's a lot cleaner, as well? While you'll have endless opportunities to try English food, London is a multicultural city so you will be able to eat different types of food, as well, such as Indian, Thai, Italian, and Caribbean to name a few. London is big on free museums, so be sure to check out the British Museum, Natural History Museum and the Tate Modern Museum (those were my favorite). Whether you're a fan of hanging out with friends in a big park, pub crawls, doing all the tourist-y things imaginable (who doesn't love a great view from the London eye?) or a combination of all of the above while finding time to explore the equally as interesting cities outside of London, London is a great place to study abroad!

I had the most amazing summer interning in London with Global Experiences! I got to work at a law firm and certainly had a professional experience that would not have been possible without Global Experience's facilitation, especially not domestically, given that I'm an undergraduate student. Living in London for two months was incredibly fun, and there was not a dull day. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else!

I have always wanted to travel overseas, whether it be for work or a study abroad. I was on the fence about doing a study abroad, but then when I found out about Global Experiences, I completely changed my mind. Why not WORK overseas? Global Experiences was very helpful throughout the whole process, from getting my passport, all the way till I made it to London! They placed me in my dream job, and I could have not had a better experience. I would recommend this program to anyone who loves traveling, meeting new people of all kinds and especially someone who is looking to grow professionally and emotionally.

Plain and simple: My semester abroad was the best thing to ever happen to me, and that largely had to do with AIFS. London is an amazing city, and you would have a great time no matter what, but the AIFS program puts you right in the middle of Kensington, the nicest and safest borough in London, in an international university where you get to meet people from all over the world and truly immerse yourself in the diversity London has to offer. This was HUGE for me, and I know my time there wouldn’t have been the same if I wasn’t in that location. Our resident directors were also a really important part of the trip. I have barely left the country, let alone flown on a plane by myself, before I studied abroad. It was really important to me that I had support overseas if I needed it. My RDs had an open-door policy and had awesome relationships with everyone at Richmond, but especially the study abroad students. I grew really independent when I went to London, but it was nice to know that I had people to help me if I was feeling homesick, needed to go to the doctor, or whatever. (Thankfully neither were too big of an issue.) It was also a really nice aspect that AIFS’ program is all-inclusive. There is one fee that includes EVERYTHING, and then an optional flight package for another small fee. I personally don’t have financial aid, so having everything all in one place and then all of the scholarships AIFS offers on top of that was a huge help, as well. I look back on my program and only have good memories. I wish I could go back every day!