IES Abroad Madrid - Business, Economics, & Social Sciences

IES Madrid was honestly such a great experience. Even though I signed up last minute, the staff made everything super easy and helped me get settled without stress. The classes were interesting, and the teachers really cared about you, not just academically but personally too. What I loved most was how immersive everything felt. The events and trips were fun, and the staff felt more like friends than just people doing a job. If you ever needed anything, all you had to do was ask. I also got to be a photo correspondent during the semester, which meant I helped capture moments from around campus and on trips. It was such a fun and creative way to experience something new and be more involved. I ended up spraining my ankle during the semester, and they were amazing about helping me with accommodations and transportation. I had a great time and would definitely recommend it! My Spanish improved so much while I was there, and I’d love to go back someday.

I absolutely loved my experience in Madrid with the IES BESS program! The program in Madrid is a perfect size in my opinion (roughly 300 students I think) meaning that there are enough people to have options for friends and always be able to meet new people, but it still feels very small and manageable, and you always see many of the same people every day which I loved. I lived in a homestay for the entire semester and it was one of the best parts of my experience. The husband and wife treated me like family and cooked amazing Spanish food for me every night, and were very supportive and flexible whenever I wanted to travel or spend time out of the house. All of the classes I took were super engaging and the professors were all very passionate about the material so they drove me to want to be in class every week. My one word of warning is that there is a large variation in the difficulty of classes with IES Madrid (some have multiple choice exams and very little work outside of class vs others with difficult essays and exams and require a lot of time) so definitely look at the syllabus and ask the professors at the beginning, and don't be afraid to switch things around to keep it manageable! As a whole, all of the programming in Madrid was great and the city is super amazing for living for an extended period of time because it does not feel touristy at all, the Madrileños are eager to speak Spanish with you, and there are a ton of beautiful places to spend time with your friends. Couldn't recommend it enough!