Amazing Program in an Amazing City

When I was first looking at study abroad programs, I thought that I wanted to be in rural France, in a smaller town, because I did not think I would enjoy living in a city. IES Paris completely changed my mind about that. The staff and professors are welcoming and go above and beyond to help you adjust to life in Paris. There are so many great events scheduled to enable you to learn as much about the culture as possible, both mandatory and voluntary. I fell right into learning and participating in French in my classes because of the excellent week of preparation they gave us before class started.

The only stressful thing I experienced the entire semester was that my housemate and I made the decision to move out of our first host parent's house. This was not the fault of the program--the woman who we lived with had just hosted a student last semester and everything had worked out fine. It was just not a good fit for the two of us. Throughout the entire process of deciding to move out and finding a new host family, the staff at IES was so reassuring and supportive. It made everything so much easier, and my housemate and I ended up with an amazing family who we got very close with. Ultimately, it was the right decision, and IES Paris empowered us to make it. The program truly helped me find my independence and grow as a person, in this way in many others.