AIFS Abroad: Study Abroad in England

I had an amazing experience here! I was able to work with a brand I loved and create 3 different collaborative collections throughout the duration of my internship. Being in a a new country, allowed me to get to know myself more, and taught me how to navigate the world from a new view. I came back to Los Angeles with a new set of skills, and so many fun stories to share. I would move back to London in an instant and recommend for everyone to go once in their life. I formed long lasting connections with my colleges and would recommend for everyone to go abroad and see what else the world has to offer❤️

My time with AIFS spread over the entire academic year of 2022-2023. I studied abroad in London, and I had a life-changing experience. I will be forever thankful to AIFS for the experiences I was a part of, the people I met, and the wonderful places that I travelled to. I learned more than I ever could have in a classroom in the US during my time abroad, and this was because of the wonderful program and especially the excellent staff associated with AIFS. The professors genuinely care about their incredible education curriculum but always put student experience and learning first. I feel changed by this experience and would recommend it to anyone that wanted to study abroad.

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!

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.

When I first started this experience it was going really well. My advisor was helpful and it made me excited and hopeful. When arriving to London it was going great until the program actually started. The program leader in in London should not be in her position. She is extremely unprofessional and speaks in a very rude manner to participants. She treated us like children when we're all adults trying to learn more. I understand the topic of a Visa is important but the way she spoke was unacceptable. She called most of the participants unprofessional and sent us all multiple threats. Her position must be stressful with the amount of people in the program but if you can't handle it without staying professional then it's time to find another job. I have never met anyone so unprofessional in my life. For us to be paying so much and to be treated like kids, it's terrible. My interactions with her along with all the other unhappy participants made this experience more negative and not worth the money. Also, the housing is horrible. It is in a bad part of town and the company unite students is cheap. They lost SO many of my packages, never answer the 24/7 phone, and are so unhelpful if you have any problem. Which you will have a lot of problems like broken appliances in the kitchen and in the bathroom, terrible wifi that goes out every weekend, bugs, smells, it goes on. For paying so much money I expected better housing.

London is an absolutely amazing place to study abroad but DO NOT choose this program to do it. It is horribly ran and organized in every aspect from the social events to academics. For starters no information about or program including classes, housing, food, etc was shared until about 2 weeks before departure for London. Then our housing was changed on us last minute from a nice flat with a dining hall right next to the school to essentially a private room at a hostel about 40 minutes away by train. They give you almost no support for food/cooking/dining while you are abroad for three months so be prepared to spend a good amount on top of what you have already paid to keep yourself properly fed. Additionally the classes were pretty horrific as most professors were incredibly disorganized with no syllabi, clear assignments, or regular grading. Finally the support from the staff is an absolute joke, when I was sent to the hospital one night it took them forever to reach out to my friends who had been frantically calling the 24/7 emergency line asking for support and help with the healthcare system in a foreign country. Overall please choose to study abroad in London as you will make so many friends and have great experiences but choose any other program besides AIFS. If you do decide to choose them be sure to take LGBT+ communities with Dominic Janes or any class with Nicole Moody (they were the only two great and helpful adults on staff!)

I was inspired to choose London as my study abroad destination because I’m an English major and I wanted to study all the literary greats in the best place in the world to study English literature. I’m also a huge fan of British pop culture and history, and I knew a short-term summer program was too short, so a fall semester program was the perfect length for me to be able to fully enjoy the city to its fullest!

I chose AIFS because of the appeal of their all-inclusive program fees. It can also include airfare if you choose the flight package where and AIFS will arrange your flights and have someone pick you up straight from the airport and take you there when your program ends. I didn’t choose this option because I wanted to explore Europe with my mom after my program ended, but this option is unique to AIFS that I didn’t see with other study abroad providers. They also provide lots of scholarship opportunities through their super easy application, and I won two! They accepted all of my financial aid, and they provide cultural activities with the cost of the program as well as covering all housing and meal plans.

My favorite part of London was how different each borough felt. I lived in the Kensington borough, and I always felt safe in my area. There’s always something new to explore, and London is the perfect city for anyone who loves food and museums. Almost all museums are free, which is something that surprises most London visitors. It is an expensive city to live in, but I found many ways to make it affordable, including shopping at Sainsbury’s for food on the weekends, Primark for clothing, and Boots for hygiene products.

Local staff supported students before the program started with lots of access to online resources, and they developed a great orientation program before classes started so students can get acclimated to the city and connect with other students in the program. They were great people to talk to about anything and get recommendations from. I only had one incident with a student where I needed to report inappropriate behavior, and I wish the consequences were heavier for the actions the students made, but going forward I think AIFS is taking diversity and inclusion more seriously, so improvements will be made in that regard.

Studying abroad in London through AIFS was one of the best experiences of my life! AIFS made the entire process of studying abroad as seamless as possible. The was able to answer any questions I had before, during, and after the program. When studying abroad through AIFS in London you get to live and learn in one of the most wonderful areas of London. There are several museums within walking distance of the dorms as well as multiple tube stops. The central location of the facilities allows for you to travel all over London, and even the UK.