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

My London internship experience was amazing. GE did a great job at listening to me and applying the information I gave them about myself and my interests in finding me the most fitting internship sight. The process to getting my student visa and all of the background work was a little stressful at times but I would call GE and the staff was very helpful and made me feel more confident. Bottom line the process to getting to my internship was easy and doable with the help of the GE staff. Once in London the accommodation at Nido is..meh. You have to pay money to activate your Nido card online so you can do laundry and the laundry is outrageously expensive, my roommate and I did our laundry in our sink the whole 8 weeks. To be honest it isn't the greatest place to live and it is a bit noisy but it works for 8 weeks. One thing that I would like to make note of is to save for transportation. London transportation (i.e. the tube) is not cheap. If you are able to walk or ride a bike to your internship I would definitely recommend doing that! Another thing with commuting be prepared for large crowds (i.e. New York City crowds) London is compacted with lots of people and lots of energy. Good thing though if you find yourself getting stressed out with everything, there is a GE staff member who has "office hours" at the student living and you can talk to them! Anyway to summarize the rest, I had a great time and GE was a big help, just like anything you get out of it what you put in.

I must say that the application process with GE went much smoother than I thought it would. Emily Oliver ensured that I had everything submitted in a timely manner and that I was prepared for my interview with my internship placement. I was very impressed with this process as it can usually get very sticky and annoying. It didn't though and I'm very grateful to Emily for that.
I have been to London before with family but never alone...for two months...working. Even though I am a fairly independent person I knew that the onsite GE staff (Melissa and Grace) was always there for me if I had a problem or question. Melissa and Grace (and I suspect GE overall) won't give you the run of the mill feedback when questioned. They genuinely care for the GE interns and will respond to any problem or question in a thoughtful manner.
My internship in London was great. Although it didn't directly relate to my field on study in college, I gained valuable work experience and friendships that will last a life time. I became comfortable in a professional environment and provided the company I worked for with valuable work.
GE is completely conducive to your freedom and living the night life if you so choose. It's truly your summer and you can make it what you want it to be. I honestly had the most fun I've ever had and formed friendships that will continue back in the states. For example, I'm meeting up with another GE intern a couple of weekends from now in NY.
The living accommodations are great. Nido student living (Kingscross) is located in a very central location which allowed my friends and I to go anywhere at any time. Just be advised that the tube doesn't run anywhere after 12 midnight in London, you have to the take the bus (it's very easy- easier than NY). The rooms are a little small but very nice. If your someone who is going to take advantage of your time in London this doesn't matter as you'll spend most of your time exploring the UK and the rest of Europe. Nido does have a very nice court yard and lounge areas that people hangout as well.
There is tons more I can say about my summer in London and Global Experiences but that would make this the longest review of all time. I'll just say that GE is an amazing program that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I have formed such valuable friendships and professional contacts and am truly appreciative towards the GE program/staff. Thank you for a great summer!

I was excited when my parents agreed to spend this much money for me to go abroad for the summer. The GE staff is really helpful all prior to going abroad and they offer a ton of webinars to get you ready.

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I got my internship placement in April and waited for all my visa stuff to arrive. I kept bugging my programme advisor Emily to see if she could contact my placement to see where things were going....TWO WEEKS before I was meant to leave for London, Emily called to tell me that my placement hadn't responded to BUNAC and I would have to be placed elsewhere. So, I was placed somewhere else that didn't actually pertain to my major at all and was under a time crunch for my VISA. My VISA was late and I had to delay my departure 3 days because of this. GE DOES NOT offer any reimbursement of any type for VISA issues. I had purchased a first class ticket as a birthday gift from my parents and because of my VISA being late, I had to buy an ENTIRELY new ticket. Full price. Coach. Goodbye birthday present. This was bottom line the MOST frustrating...besides the accommodations!

Although NIDO is VERY safe. You're literally living in a closet. Smaller than most campus dorms. I think I would have enjoyed my experience so much more if I wasn't living in NIDO. I truly hated it. You don't have your own kitchen and living room like they tell you. It is a bed, desk, and teeny tiny bathroom.

Alright, to the experience itself. I had an AMAZING time in London. I ended up loving my internship. I had the best supervisor and she definitely catered to my needs and helped me get any experience that I was wanting to have. I am an event planning major and I ended up getting to plan and execute my own event for one of the services that I worked for. I learned so much about how a company works and it was a ton of things that I will be able to apply in my future. I absolutely loved London too. It is an amazing city with so many things to do. You are never ever bored. I got to do a bit of traveling as well and I kinda wish I asked for more weekends off so I could travel more. I didn't get as many places as I would have liked to. GE offers a lot of free events (that you pay for in that 8000 package deal) like seeing shows, pub crawls, walking tours and what not. I never went on a walking tour because I have been to London multiple times already. I know people that have never been enjoyed them for the most part.

I had an AMAZING roommate. We found each other on Facebook and requested to room with each other.
We did absolutely everything together and we got along amazingly. She honestly made my experience that much more amazing. I know most people in the programme got along with their roommates but most were not as lucky as me that is for sure.

The GE staff is okay when you get on the ground in London but I felt that I was pretty much on my own which was completely fine with me.

Had my parents known that I was going to London to do nothing that pertained to my major they would have strongly reconsidered sending me there for this price.

Overall, I did have an amazing experience. Was it worth $8000? Thats up to you....I would move to London in a heart beat and my company told me to think of them when I begin my job searching, but the experience is everything that you personally make it.

I would recommend the programme but I would strongly consider thinking long and hard about it.

When I got involved with Global Experiences the summer of 2011, I had no idea just how much it would impact my life. From the very beginning, the GE staff were incredibly supportive and helpful. They knew exactly what I was looking for in an internship and were their to guide me through the whole process, including the frustrating and often confusion process of applying for a visa. It was the first time I had ever lived abroad myself, so I was really nervous. But as soon as I got into London and found the student accommodation, they were there waiting to greet me. While they had orientations and events planned, they still treated us like adults. We were expected to navigate around the city and to our internships ourselves. The internship itself was a blast. In the first week I got to go to a concert for free and hang out with artists and interview them. I was given a lot of freedom to write articles and reviews I was interested in, and I felt my feedback was appreciated. There were some stressful and less glamorous days when I had to do mundane tasks like returning clothes from photo shoots. I would definitely recommend getting a smart phone because I often got lost. But for the most part, the people I worked with were really fun and encouraging, and I'm still in touch with them even today. GE were always checking to make sure I was happy with my placement and doing well. The only negative thing I would say is the accommodation was very small and I had to share with someone who I didn't particularly get along with. But other than that, the experience as a whole was fantastic. I made some amazing lifelong friends, got a real taste of the culture, and loved London so much that I moved back to get my Master's. I'm still in touch with Global Experiences today, and they are very helpful and supportive to alumni!

Last summer I interned in London through Global Experiences and had a wonderful time. I knew that I wanted an international internship and GE made the process much easier than if I had attempted to find a position on my own. I had 3 skype interviews that they helped coordinate with 3 very different performing arts based companies before choosing. I throughly enjoyed my internship and working every day, and would honestly love to go back and work with Jamie Wilson again.

Besides being placed, GE helps take care of all the essentials. I was housed just 5 minutes from Kings Cross Station, which is just about as convenient as you can get. The housing wasn't exceptional but it was a great alternative to attempting to find a flat on my own and the small living quarters were worth it for the security of the building and its location.

All of the day trips that were coordinated by the program were really fun and a nice opportunity to get out of the city. I ended up traveling away from London almost every weekend and it was great having 3 preplanned, already paid for day trips that I didn't have to coordinate.

My only advice is make sure you are on top of everything on your own. GE is great at providing you the materials, but you really need to be on top of everything and be in communication with them as much as possible. I made this mistake and almost didn't get my visa in time. But if you're self motivated and willing to check in a lot, its not problem at all.

I loved every minute of being in London and only wish my internship lasted longer. Global Experience made the whole process so much easier than if I had done it on my own and I would happily work with GE again.

I worked for London’s largest drug organization. It is a huge company that supports people of all ages and all backgrounds with drug and alcohol addiction. The branch I worked in specializes with young people in the Kensington and Chelsea borough ranging from 14 to 25 years old. In the nature of drug and alcohol addiction, many clients come to our services with other prominent issues, often housing, legal, sexual safety, emotional and physical trauma. They have a holistic approach and values the importance of helping clients in all these areas as well as addressing their drug and alcohol addiction. While these clients are going through difficult periods in their lives, they are all so kind and grateful for our services. It is amazing to see how positive they are despite the hardships they have faced. On the day to day, I have a wide range of tasks ranging from working on the website to meeting with clients to help them improve their resumes, find jobs and become physically active. There’s never a dull moment in the office!

I loved my internship and learned so much about the field I am passionate about. I would never would have found this internship without GE. Going into the program I did not know what I wanted to do with my life, they talked me through what I wanted to do and the next steps to take.

Living in London was also amazing, there is so much to do and amazing people to meet. I am so happy that I choose GE and London!

I can't simply express my love for my study abroad program. Everything was amazing. It was well-organized and I felt like my money was well spent. I got up each day for my classes, and when they were done in the afternoon I had a whole evening to explore and sight see! Also, most of the classes do NOT meet on Fridays so you will have long weekends a lot of the time. I had an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, and I just want everyone to be able to say the same.

The experience I've had in London with was, to me, an absolute delight.
The GE staff were pleasantly wonderful. They brought me in through the process from the beginning to the end and was always available when needed. London was extremely exciting and had so many things to offer that it's difficult to feel like you've experienced it all in the 2 months I've stayed there. The first trip we had was to the Harry Potter Studios in London which was where I got myself a fake pair of Harry Potter glasses. I didn't look very much like Harry Potter but I tried. I went to a few more GE events like watching the musical 'Wicked' which brought about some inspiration to practice my soprano. A complete failure but I did it privately so no one really knew. In finding places, I had to often follow my phone GPS around and master the London underground stations. The London Underground, once well known, made you feel like you could easily enjoy the endless events and activities in the city whenever you felt free. Festivals, shows, massive parks, bars, theaters, museums, shopping, libraries, etc. would spoil you for choice. There's just so much to do.
I've learned quite a lot at work in London. I understood the work environment in my field (architecture) and took the most out of what I could of my internship. The environment was certainly different to what I was used to when I was doing my bachelor's degree in college and also a little unexpected. I sometimes had to work a few extra hours and on weekends also but I wasn't too troubled. I can certainly say that the experience helped me to reconfigure and reshape my future goals of my career.
I had decided to apply to a London grad school course and gotten accepted so I was quite excited to know I'd be able to come back to London a little later. So, two months later and I couldn't keep away. Back in London for a bit of part time work before I prepare to enter grad school where I was really happy to meet the GE consultant Chrissie and the new GE supervisor Grace alongside Mellisa who was directing my session alone back in Spring. Melissa was always available for help whenever needed and tended to plan the events well with a very satisfied group. I also got to meet the new interns for summer who all seemed happy in their first day of work. During the internship you'll get to meet a lot of new people who'd soon become your friends if you had not made friends with them online beforehand.
To finish, I'd say I had no regrets. To go through the experience of it all was quite unique and not often will you get a chance experience the same again.