Affordable, Educational, Immersive

Lüneburg is a beautiful town with tons of medieval charm. It's small, but has easy access to larger cities like Hannover and Hamburg. One of my favorite things about this program is that student IDs give you access to the regional train within Lower Saxony for free - just watch out which train you catch to Lübeck because if you take the wrong one, you'll get a pretty hefty fine.

The classes were intense and involved a good amount of work outside of class. Not exactly what you want when you study abroad, but my German improved so much as a result. The professors were great and the classes small enough for a good amount of one-on-one time.

The buddy system is helpful - it's an easy way to befriend a local and get a little more cultural insight. I still occasionally speak with my buddy. We also met other international students (mostly USAC), which I didn't expect since I went for a summer session. The staff made us aware of on-campus activities and student organizations we could join as well.

The group I went with is still friends and we try to schedule reunions.