ISA by WorldStrides

My time in Valencia with ISA has been incredible. From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed, supported, and fully immersed in Spanish culture. The city itself is the perfect balance of historic charm and modern energy—whether I was walking through the old town, enjoying the beach, or grabbing food in Ruzafa, there was always something new to explore. Academically and personally, this program exceeded my expectations. My Spanish improved so much through both coursework and daily life interactions, and I felt like I was truly living the language. ISA’s on-site staff were amazing—they were always available, organized fun cultural excursions, and genuinely cared about our experience. They made it easy to feel at home even while being abroad. One of the best parts was getting to connect with other students from across the U.S. and locals in Valencia. I made close friendships, had unforgettable experiences, and grew more independent and open-minded. Whether we were visiting Albufera, biking through the Turia Gardens, or just sharing tapas after class, there was always laughter and good memories. This experience not only confirmed my passion for international education, but also helped shape my personal and professional goals. I can’t recommend ISA Valencia enough—it’s a fun, rich, and life-changing program in one of Spain’s most vibrant cities.

I had an absolutely amazing time while studying abroad in Madrid with ISA. I felt that the program did a great job of introducing us to other students when we got there and organizing events and trips. They showed us around the city and provided many tips and tricks to help us feel at home. They were always there to help us navigate the city. One thing I do wish I had though is my roommates contacts prior to moving across the world to meet them. I was assigned 5 random roommates to live with while studying abroad. While I agreed to this and was content with that choice, I was rather frustrated when I found out I had not contact to reach them. No phone numbers or emails were provided to communicate with each other. Eventually, we tracked each other down through social media but it was not easy and we all agreed we would have been fine with a contact being provided to the others. I was very satisfied with the location of our apartment as it was close to everything but not on a super busy street. Unfortunately, our apartment required a many maintenance requests and repairs. This became frustrating as the issues that needed to be fixed were not due to our error. While we understood it was an old apartment, it became inhibiting to our daily lives. In addition to the repairs, we were not expecting to have to leave our apartment earlier than told. While we were given another place to live temporarily, it was not an easy switch or what we were expecting to do during our final weeks of study abroad. Due to all that was going on, I decided to rebook my flight and return to the States early, missing out on my final days in Spain. I understand that another party owned the apartment, but it was still a problem we did not expect to face. Finally, I did not feel 100% supported by UC3M. While I loved meeting new teachers that taught in both Spanish and English, there were some things I did not like. In my Spanish classes, I felt there was a lot of bias and special treatment to those with Spanish as a first language. This was very frustrating as myself and many others were trying just as hard. It was also insanely hard to contact and communicate with teachers outside of the classroom, which I experienced many times from several teachers. I also felt that some of the class descriptions and syllabus that were provided when choosing classes were not accurate to the content taught in the courses. While I understand schools vary greatly across countries, I think that being able to easily communicate with teachers should always be a given.

I don’t think I could have had a better study abroad program to be a part of! The staff was absolutely incredible and you can tell how much they care about and prioritize each and every student. The groups trips were always incredible and it was so fun to hear all the incredible things the staff had to share about the history and culture of different cities!