AIFS Abroad: Study Abroad in Hungary

Studying abroad in Budapest was such an incredible experience! The program size was perfect; we had 18 people which wasn't too small, but still small enough that you knew everyone in the program and we became a close knit community. It was so cool to get to meet students from all across the United States and Europe; AIFS has students at schools all over the US, and our accomodations are in an apartment building that is almost entirely student housing, which is a great way to meet people! Budapest itself was wonderful; it was such a hidden gem with lots to do, all while having great public transportation that is covered in the program fees. I loved getting to run by the Parliament at night, climb up Gellert Hill to see a panoramic view of the city, and explore different cafes all throughout Budapest. There were also so many opportunities to travel, including trips with AIFS to Vienna, Lake Balaton, and an optional excursion to Prague! The trips through AIFS were lots of fun, plus they were all planned for us so there was no stress over what we would do when we were in the cities.
While the adjustment to being abroad was a bit of a challenge, it was such an opportunity for growth and coming out this program my confidence has grown so much. I would recommend this program to anyone looking for a unique study abroad experience!

Budapest is such an underrated city - especially for study abroad. While I've been here, I've fallen in love with the city: the culture, the places, the food, everything! AIFS was incredibly helpful with everything pre-departure, and when I arrived in Budapest our resident director was welcoming and had events planned for us to get to know the city. The housing provided is in an excellent location, very close to a metro stop, which is essential for commuting through Budapest. Budapest is a super budget-friendly city, which is a huge plus of this program! It's also very easy to find cheap flights out of Budapest if you're looking to travel while over here. This city is so unique and different from a lot of the typical study abroad locations - you won't regret choosing it!

AIFS made my semester abroad incredible. I had never left the country before but felt totally comfortable with the on-site and remote support. We went on great excursions and had incredible experiences around the city. Our resident director was a perfect tour guide and had amazing connections in the other cities that we visited so we always got an authentic, local experience. My classes were a super interesting look at local business practices taught by foreign teachers with experience all over the world. Learning with international and local students brought perspectives to learning I had never before experienced. I would go back in a second and wish I was still there!

I absolutely loved studying abroad in Budapest. My family is from Hungary so having a chance to connect with my heritage on this level was the greatest opportunity of my life. I completely fell in love with the city. I know it's cheesy to say study abroad changed my life, but it really did. It completely changed my career path and helped me learn more about myself and what I want out of life. My program was great! I loved the university and the classes I took, the housing situation was great and our resident director was fantastic! She was always there to help whenever we needed it. All the planned trips through the program were great (the optional trip to Prague was my favorite!) and so were all the little activities planned for us in the city. I also did the AIFS flight that included the London stopover which was really cool since I'd never been to London before. I lived with two other Americans in the AIFS program in a nice apartment that was really centrally located and about an 8 minute walk to the school. My experience with AIFS was really good overall and I'm really glad they gave me the opportunity to study abroad in my dream city. My only regret is that I didn't study abroad for the full year because a semester was not nearly long enough. If I were to go abroad again, I would absolutely go through AIFS (and I'm actually thinking about doing so this summer)!

I always knew that I wanted to study abroad and after much research and comparisons I came to the conclusion that the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) is who I wanted to study abroad with in Budapest, Hungary. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Everything went very smoothly when applying and getting accepted into the program. Pre-departure instructions were clear and someone was always readily available to answer questions that I had about the Visa process. Once I arrived to Hungary, the onsite AIFS staff member (Deniz) was so incredibly helpful to acclimating us to our new apartment and culture and provided us with her email and phone number so that we knew she was always readily available should we need her. The apartment provided through the AIFS program was so nice, comfortable and centrally located. When speaking with students from other programs, there were many complaints about how they had to stay in dorms or far from campus. I'm very grateful that with AIFS we had a spacious and perfectly located apartment. The classes offered by AIFS through Corvinus University were very educational and all in English. AIFS also requires that you take a Hungarian Language class which helps tremendously when getting accustomed to Hungary and communicating with locals. AIFS coordinated multiple excursions (to places like the countryside of Hungary and Vienna, Austria) these were included in the cost of the program and were so fun and interesting! Across all areas of my experience studying abroad, AIFS made sure that I always had the information I needed and that my experiences would be memorable.

While living in Budapest, I met some of the most genuine people. This experience has taught me more about life and the value of personal connections than anything I have experienced before. Everyone should go visit Budapest if you do not have the opportunity to live there, because it's one of the most down to earth big cities you can imagine. The culture and history is too important to pass up. It's a great city for young adults because the cost of living is very affordable and the young adult demographic in the city makes for a homey feeling. The living accommodations through AIFS were superb. It was very comforting to live with three American female students attending Corvinus University as well. Also, cooking and making food wasn't an issue for us roommates because the food in Hungary is to die for! We ate out all the time because it was also so cheap and affordable!

While living in Budapest, I met some of the most genuine people. This experience has taught me more about life and the value of personal connections than anything I have experienced before. Everyone should go visit Budapest if you do not have the opportunity to live there, because it's one of the most down to earth big cities you can imagine. The culture and history is too important to pass up. It's a great city for young adults because the cost of living is very affordable and the young adult demographic in the city makes for a homey feeling. The living situation through the program AIFS was superb. We had our own apartment with three American girls. It was very homey and comforting to know that I was living with other American students. The food is to die for in Hungary! You won't have to cook much because you will most likely eat out all the time! Yum!