Granada

Granada

In one sentence, IES Granada is fantastic. Here's why you should go:
The City:
Granada is a great size, small enough where I felt like I could navigate well but big enough that there is always something interesting going on. It's walkable, which makes it easy to get together with friends and to explore. And there's so much to see! The Alhambra is fantastic of course, and so are the free flamenco concerts, the Albayzin, the cathedral. Plus the weather is gorgeous and Granada is close to both the ocean and the mountains (I took independent trips to both). And it's easy travel to the rest of Europe and to Africa!

Academics:
The IES teachers are some of the best teachers I've had. There classes are interesting because they're about the city (and because the teachers are excited to be teaching them). The class work was not very hard but I felt like I learned enough to make them worthwhile. The university classes, on the other hand, were a struggle. They are hard to coordinate with the IES schedule, the class I took wasn't very good, and the program ends before exams so it's a hassle trying to make everything work.

General Awesomeness:
The IES "field trips" set the program apart for me. While my friends and I planned trips on our own as well, it was so nice to have a few that were planned for us, and to such cool places! Definitely go on the Morocco trip, it's well worth it.
My host family was fantastic and while I had two friends who didn't enjoy there stay, everyone else I knew on the 150ish person program was very satisfied. The IES meal plan works really well in this setting because you get a delicious lunch from your host family and then get to enjoy the "free" tapas (with the order of a drink) at bars for dinner. It makes nights a great time for bonding and hanging out.