Excellent gap year program

I absolutely loved my time in Barcelona. I ended up living with a great host family that made me feel like I was more than just a stranger living with them. They did things like taking me out to dinner and finding me Spanish books I could read at my level.
Barcelona itself is an amazing city, so you'll have fun no matter what you're into. It's known for being a party city, but that's by no means the only thing to do there. The other API students were all very nice, but they were mostly there to go clubbing, which isn't my thing. I ended up making an amazing group of friends by taking free English-language improv classes. I also tried swing dance and martial arts classes in Spanish, which were great because I didn't need to understand everything that was said. (By the way, many people in Barcelona speak English. It can be a big relief to be able to talk to someone in English if you're stuck, but if you want to challenge yourself, consider a place like Seville. Most people there speak little to no English.) I guess the bottom line is that API provides a great program (the excursions are great fun, I especially liked the one to Rome), but for a really fulfilling time abroad, you should explore on your own. That's probably true for any program.
Also, I will say that the academics left something to be desired, but the fault lies with the university, not API. API students at the University of Barcelona are enrolled in a program called Estudios Hispanicos, or Spanish Studies, which consists of a Spanish class and a few Spanish electives. The classes were not very challenging and often quite disorganized (there were days when nobody knew what room my Spanish class was in until half an hour after it was supposed to start. The people in the office would tell me to get a coffee while they figured it out. Spain in general is pretty laid-back and often disorganized). I don't think there's much API can do, though, because students with other programs and at other universities in Barcelona have told me they had the exact same complaints.
Since I went for my gap year and my future college wouldn't accept the credits I earned anyway, I didn't mind that much, and I learned a lot of Spanish just by immersing myself in the culture. If you're looking for rigorous academics, keep looking, but if you want a unique experience in a beautiful city full of excitement and friendly people, I highly recommend API's program at UB.