A springboard, even for those in the sciences

IFE was a terrific experience. Its immersive French environment and organized cultural activities massively improved my language skills and encouraged me to push outside my comfort zone. Further, the coursework on French cultural and historical topics oriented me to France and Paris, which gave me a greater appreciation of where I was living. Finally, the internship experience was very related to medicine, my interest, and the connections I formed there led to a Fulbright research grant two years later at the same lab of my original internship. It's worth adding that 2 other students from that same IFE class of 24 received Fulbright FLTA awards.

IFE challenges students and promoted more personal, linguistic, and professional growth than I could have ever expected. The support network is very strong and the experience is very well tailored to each individual student. The experience I had with IFE and the future consequences of receiving a Fulbright research grant and further enlarging my international experience was invaluable to my professional goals in the medical field. You'd be hard-pressed to find an experience abroad that promotes such personal, linguistic, and professional growth in just one semester as IFE.