IES Abroad Madrid

My experience abroad was extremely worthwhile. Not only did I greatly improve my Spanish speaking abilities, make new American and foreign friends, and explore all over Spain and Europe, but I also grew a lot as a person. Mainly, I experienced a new level of independence traveling in foreign countries by myself, and gained a fresh perspective on the US and also found a love for Spanish art!

I lived with a wonderful host mom and another American student. This experience, I think, is the best way to get immersed in the Spanish culture. She spoke to my roommate and I exclusively in Spanish and helped our language capabilities immensely. I learned a lot about Spain and the culture through our conversations, and got to know a network of other Spaniards through meeting her neighbors and extended family. My roommate and I each had our own bedrooms and had a separate bathroom, and the apartment was always extremely clean. I was in a safe neighborhood, very close to a lot of restaurants and shops and walking distance to school.

I will admit, I was a little nervous about having my food needs met in Spain as a vegetarian. However, my host mom was very accommodating to my food restrictions and still made me traditional Spanish dishes, just often substituting meat or fish with eggs or beans. She also let us use her kitchen to make dinners at night, and often let us eat leftovers from lunch for dinner.

As for the classes,they are fairly easy in comparison to the coursework I am accustomed to at my home university. That being said, the professors are knowledgeable in their subjects and very understanding about speaking clearly (and repeating things) in Spanish and about accommodating students. The art classes in particular are fantastic, as they take place in the Prado and Reina Sofia museums and you learn about the art as you look at it!

One thing that really stood out to me about this particular program is that the staff at IES Madrid is incredible. They are all extremely friendly and eager to get to know each student as a person- they had all of our names memorized day 1! They work very hard to get everyone matched into classes they want. I was on the waitlist for 4 out of the 5 classes I ended up taking- they got me into every class I wanted. They also put a lot of effort into extracurricular activities and program-lead trips to places that a typical abroad student might not know to visit. Overall, I cannot recommend IES Abroad Madrid- Language and Area Studies program enough.

The biggest strength of this program the opportunities for immersion it provides. Through IES, I lived with an older Spanish couple who didn't speak any English. I interned with a non-profit educational group, and tutored high school students. Through these I was forced day in and day out to speak Spanish, and I left the country feeling very confident in everyday conversation. IES also offers the opportunity to take classes at UCM (the local university) with Spanish students, something I unfortunately was unable to do.

The social scene in Madrid makes it impossible to be bored. Clubs stay packed on weekends until 6am. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid soccer tickets can be purchased relatively cheap (as long as you're ok with nosebleed seats). Students get in most museums for free, and beautiful parks are all over the city. Just about every distinct dish found around Spain can be found in Madrid because of its central location.

The program was overall amazing. The staff was extremely helpful and the city was beautiful. The people of the city were always willing to help with anything and there were always plenty of things to do. I must mention that I did not have a language barrier but through observations those who were not native speakers were doing just fine.

Choosing to do a semester abroad with IES was the best decision I have made in college. Being an engineer, finding a study abroad program you like can be really challenging, but I LOVED this program and am so happy I chose it! Not only did it give me the opportunity to dust off my Spanish, but as an engineering student, I got to take classes with Spanish students at a real Spanish university. This really made all the difference between a program with just a satellite university with all American students and professors and the IES Engineering program. I had the opportunity to meet so many Spaniards my age who shared with me their culture and lifestyle (and also gave me really great tips on what to do and see in Madrid and the rest of the country). The IES staff were so supportive all throughout the semester, making a point to check in at least every month and make sure we were adjusting well to the new experiences. Also, I loved having the opportunity to live in a home-stay for five months with a Spanish family. This was one of my favorite parts of living in Spain for 5 months because it truly immersed me in the Spanish culture, forced me out of my comfort zone, and greatly improved my Spanish language capabilities. Thank you IES for an absolutely unforgettable semester!

Studying abroad in Madrid through IES provided me with a multi-dimensional understanding of the city and country. The staff was so supportive in making sure that students had a plethora of options to do whatever interested them. For example, I was given a guitar sot hat I could continue practicing at my home stay. The field trips through the program were incredibly informative and gave us a deeper understanding of the history of Spain. My homestay family truly feels like my second family, and I miss them dearly.

I really would recommend IES Madrid because the strong staff really are the backbone of the program. The program allowed me to feel a sense of security and provided me with the confidence to travel through Europe independently.

IES Abroad's Madrid Language and Area Studies' program provided me with a full and cohesive abroad experience. I was able to do everything I wanted to; live with a host family, interact and make friends with Spaniards and with people from all over the United States, take classes through the local university and really experience city life in Madrid.

IES's Madrid program is very integrated with the Universidad Complutense and makes it very easy to take classes through the different schools at the university. Unfortunately, the IES schedule and the university schedule don't sync up exactly for the fall, but I was still able to take the class I wanted to (Screenwriting) at the Universidad Complutense and move my final exam earlier.

IES Madrid also offers many great classes of their own, including an art history class taught at the Museo del Prado which in itself made the program worthwhile to me. It was an unbelievable class which exposed me to art in a way I had never experienced before. I know because of that class, I will have an appreciation for classic paintings for the rest of my life.

IES Madrid has a great team. The staff are wonderful; they make themselves very available during the school day to answer questions about activities or help fix problems. They also do a fairly good job of encouraging speaking Spanish as much as possible, although there is still a fair amount of English spoken as well. IES was not as strict about total language immersion as I was expecting going in, but I still found my Spanish make huge strides. I now feel confidently fluent, and can hold an intelligent conversation behind "I thought that was good." However, I would have appreciated more of an effort on the part of the teachers and the students to put more emphasis speaking only Spanish at the center.

One of the most wonderful things about IES Madrid is the opportunity to live in such an amazing city. The program does a good job offering outside classes and tours to expose you to the city, especially right off the bat, helping you get out and about while you develop confidence navigating Madrid. It's a gorgeous city to live in and explore. There is always something going on if you look for it and it is impossible to be bored.

Studying abroad is an invaluable experience. I learned so much about myself during my four months in Madrid with IES and I know when the time came for me to leave, I wasn't ready to go.

Although the standard response to the question "How was your semester abroad?" is that it was amazing, unforgettable, best experience of my life, etc, in my case it is indubitably true. I lived in a residence hall which allowed me to meet local and Latin American students. The night life is amazing as is the food. The actual courses, however, were not very challenging or stimulating, which isn't a bad thing as it opened up more time to explore Spain. Overall, a fantastic program.

Going abroad to Madrid with IES was a great experience. The staff is extremely professional and truly cares that each student has a good experience. The classes are excellent as they are all taught by professors from the Universidad Compultense de Madrid, the best university in Madrid. My favorite was definitely Velázquez, Goya and El Greco at the Prado Museum as each class took place at the world-renowned Prado Museum and the class was taught by a curator from the museum. I lived with a host family in Madrid. While I was initially very nervous about it, it ended up to be one of my best decisions while abroad as it allowed me to be fully immersed in the culture and to practice my Spanish. There are no classes on Friday which allow students to have an opportunity to travel both in and around Spain and throughout Europe. Additionally, IES offers field trips every weekend in Madrid to sites such as the Royal Palace or the Botanical Gardens or to nearby cities such as Toledo and Segovia. Another benefit of the program is its size. I went in the fall of 2014 and there were 50 students. This allowed everyone to know each other, but it never felt too small. Overall, I would highly recommend going abroad to Madrid with IES to any motivated student looking to study abroad in a cosmopolitan city in a Spanish speaking country.