AIFS AbroadReviews of aifsabroad.com

I had a great time, thought everything was organized, and was a great learning experience!

AIFS was great, lots of opportunities and excursions to participate in within the trip duration. Also given lots of independence to do what we wanted and explore on our own. All of the professors were very nice to work with as well. Living in Kensington for three weeks was incredible, the location was beautiful. Only a few small problems such as no soap in the bathrooms and sheets coming back dirty. Otherwise, really enjoyed the trip and would easily go on another AIFS abroad trip if it were financially possible for me!

I was on the Summer 2019 program to Athens, Greece and it was, hands down, the best experience of my life. AIFS made it so simple for me to explore the country through their optional excursions, informational on-hand staff, and overall communication with my school. Can’t wait to plan another trip with them!

Staff lacked cultural competency, there was little to no information provided about racism and prejudices within the city I stayed in. While I enjoyed my time abroad there was little effort put in to discuss integrating into such a toxic environment as a student of color. Staff in the states took along time to respond to questions and were rude when called and asked. While there were quite a few scholarships offered I would be interested to see how many students actually got them and what the demographics are for those scholarship recipients.

I loved study abroad with AIFS! Over all it was a great experience and had a lot of helpful people involved on making my trip as great as possible. One thing I was was different is the day trips. I wish we could have stayed longer and just come back a little later in the day! Thank you for an awesome study abroad trip of a life time!!

My AIFS study abroad experience was truly life-changing. Having the opportunity to be immersed into the culture of a non-English-speaking country was highly formative. I am grateful that I was able to live in a home stay and travel to beautiful places around Costa Rica while I was abroad. The trips with AIFS were incredible, but I wish that they were a bit more adventurous. I have no other complaints about the AIFS program, other than it was very costly. I would rate it 4.5/5 stars if I had the option to. Catalina and Karla were very helpful and made our experience more issue-free and less stressful.

I was extremely hesitant to go to Germany, but the lessons I took away from my experience are ones I will truly never forget. The classes were intellectually stimulating, the staff was easily accessible and so helpful whenever needed, and it altogether just allowed me to make beautiful memories in places I never would’ve thought to go. Don’t second guess yourself - follow what your heart is saying and leave no regrets. AIFS is an all around amazing program from start to finish and I am beyond thankful for them and the experience they crafted for me.

While I appreciate the efforts AIFS made to positive study abroad experience, there were many challenges that were met. 1) Health insurance was insufficient. As a student with a chronic illness who needed urgent help abroad, only $500 was covered for my care. The rest was up to me. 2) The rooming situation could have been better. We were randomly assigned with students who were incompatible with us despite the survey we did online. I feel like more effort should be made into selecting students who fit one another's personalities better. 3) Housing/Boarding should have been closer to campus. I lived a 30 minute walk away from school, and it was during summer when there was no air conditioning in our apartment nor a functional fan. In fact, we had to buy our fans the first day we arrived because it was so unreasonably hot. Nights were sleepless, and the days were fatiguing because of the heat. This does make studying a challenge. 4) Provide students with transportation. No transportation was covered for us at all. During the one month I spent in Italy, all taxi rides were personally covered by me because the bus was unreliable and inefficient when there were different obligations within one day. The costs quickly racked up. This one month was a comprehensive learning experience, and it was very uncomfortable with the lack of accommodations. I just wish more effort was made into making the experience more focused on learning/education as opposed to tending to the living situation.