The ISA Barcelona staff is incredible. They go out of their way to get to know every student and make sure we are happy and healthy, even going with us to doctors appointments to make sure we don't get lost on the metro. I wish my school back home had staff like them. read more

Poor management of itinerary and worse on disrespect to hostsand not caring about the students

I did this program over the summer last year in Madrid and I loved Madrid but I had a bad experience with my host family. I'm minoring in Spanish in college so I wanted to really immerse myself in the language and live with locals. Seemed like a good idea but I hated it. They seemed to only be in it for the money, cooked us wacky meals that I felt obligated to eat, had no ac(which was to be expected) but also NO FAN! I had to end up buying a fan and leaving it for them because it was up to like 98 degrees some nights. On top of that, my roommate and I were supposed to have 2 rooms but when we showed up they had turned one into a storage room. Additionally, there was only one bathroom for the entire place, shared between me, my roommate, the mom, the dad, their son, and their son's friend a lot of times. They also never cleaned the house once while we were there and there was so much dirt and bugs. This isn't to say I didn't love Madrid BUT if you are not liking your living situation ASK TO MOVE. They try and make it seem like that's a big deal(they did to me) and so I stayed but I wish I had stood up for myself and just asked to be moved. Besides the guy in charge of housing I found all the other staff very nice and accommodating. The classes were easy and the city was fun but think twice about living situations. Also I think there are some much better more popular programs out there that I would suggest before choosing ISA. read more

This program is all about the taking advantage of students and not about the experience of the individual at all. A total waste of money. Did not provide many of the resources they advertise. Saying that you are able to have input in what your internship placement is, but then waiting until the last moment to place you so you essentially are unable to back out. Additionally, it is only advertised as groups of students/young adults going through this , and did not bother to prepare me for being the only one to go to my location in this program, which in this case, what is the point of paying for a while support system? They also sent me on getting to know the city tours by myself (extremely uncomfortable when it's supposed to be a group activity), and they seemed to have miscommunication between staff members as to their roles in supposing students in this program. It's all blame on the students and none on the company. Don't waste your money or time on this. read more

As a non-traditional student majoring in Sociology, I trusted my Universities affiliation with ISA and wish I hadn't. I chose them because they offered my majors courses when my school did not have any at the time. The process of signing up takes several months and they set deadlines to have your money paid. Seems innocent enough till you are on the trip itself. When I arrived in England one of the first things I did was make good friends with the host Universities team who was running the summer program. Not only did they tell me that ISA was lying to us about requiring us to take 2 classes, but that they were charging us more than they charged students who signed up directly with the university. Also ISA does not coordinate any of their extra curricular activities with the host Universities, but we get charged for them anyways. Almost every excursion I paid for with ISA I was unable to attend because we signed up to do things with the host uni way ahead of knowing what ISA was planning to offer. Talk about a waste of money. The fact that I could have taken 1 class abroad and 1 online class would have been perfect. But ISA forced me to pay an extra 3 grand for an unnecessary class. ISA literally does nothing for you that you can't do through the host Universities yourselves. They make it seem like they are a liaison, but they are really out to just take advantage of students. I was asked to put a housing deposit down, which they make you wait six months for a return on, and then lie about the Universities not returning it. I contacted my university abroad and they told me they don't require ISA to hold a deposit. Which means ISA is criminally stealing from college students.. some who are probably paying interest on their theft from college loans. If I could advise any parent-- or student-- I would suggest you use any other company than ISA. I have asked my college in Texas to take away the affiliation due to this fiasco. They have the funds to give me cause they are overcharging us. But they think we are all naive college students and want to take advantage of us. Follow the advice-- stay away from them. read more

I've already reached out to my university's study abroad office to suggest no student from my school uses ISA again. I haven't even departed for my study abroad program yet and have had a less-than-satisfactory experience, to put it nicely. I fly out tomorrow and I'm still unclear about transportation from the airport to the housing they organize. Many of my emails have gone unresponded. Communication has been unclear and untimely. I've already missed sign-up opportunities for activities coordinated by the host university because of the failure of ISA staff to pass the information on to us. I would've saved a lot of time, money, and stress coordinating with the host university directly rather than through this third party. read more

Best study abroad programs out there!! Great staff, both domestically an abroad, and, by far, the most "bang for your buck" when it comes to affordability and excellent service. I would recommend ISA for any program location: Europe, Latin America, Asia, or the Middle East!! read more

See all

I had an amazing time in my home country but working with ISA was my biggest regret of my academic career. I had several problems with their management as they were completely unwilling to help at times. I had similar experiences to the ones outlined in the reviews here. I felt completely misguided by ISA. Working with them was a huge disappointment. THEY WILL NOT HELP YOU! please save your money and find a better company. read more

Very BAD weekend excursions! Overpriced, not well managed. My daughter went to U.of Reading, England . They don't tell this, but you must meet them in London which is 1 hour away ($20) each way bus and train. read more

ISA BARECLONA...they put you in gross apartments. Do CEA.. all my friends i made in the program were from CEA and had nice apartments on diagonal. I had a disgusting hostel it was sickening i looked up what it rented for on air band b when I found it and they are scam artists and were making money off of me. I hated this program their scam and money making scheme. DO NOT DO IT. your place will be sick. I had friends who did homestay and were fed a hot dog every day for dinner and lunch. Sickening!!!! read more

I am sure this only happens to a small amount of student travelers but everyone should know what happens if you get injured while on a study away program with ISA. I would like to start by saying thank god for my home school Missouri State University! I was unfortunately only in the Czech Republic for 4 days when I broke my leg. It was broken to the point that I needed emergency surgery. I was brought to a Czech Hospital where no one spoke English and I was not provided an interpreter. On the day I was released from the hospital (Friday) I was put into an UBER with an ISA Staff memeber and he dropped me at my apartment and was left alone for most of the weekend. The staff member did check in on 1 time through email on Saturday and, after a phone call was made, by my mom, to the administration, a staff member checked up on me on Sunday for approx 30 min and then every day after that for approx the same amount of time until my mother arrived in country to take me home. (ISA Prague staff was friendly and did bring me books and fruit) I did not have a working Czech phone number so in the event of an emergency I would have just sat there until someone could get to me. Next, You are required to purchase insurance before you go but your insurance will NOT pay for the initial hospital bill (cost $1500). AXA was the company we were required to purchase from and THEY decided that my injuries ( a plate and 8 screws and I was told not to walk on it for 3 months but yet was not put in a cast or a splint) were not severe enough to bring me back to the states. (Note: my commute from to the university was a 5 min walk to the tram, a 30 min tram ride and another 5 min walk to the university) It took my mother writhing a letter to my University President to get me home. My home school is my savior! MSU used their own insurance to fly my mom over to assist me to get home. Due to my injuries the cost to fly me home would have been somewhere around $10K. Also, You should be warned that there is a STRICK no refund policy. If you are injured you WILL NOT get a full refund for your trip. I was there for 2 weeks (4 days in Prague, 4 days in the hospital and 1 week against my will) and we are liable for approx 40% of program costs. Finally, ISA continues to tell me that I chose to leave the program. I was not in a cast and the commute was not only difficult but dangerous. Their answer to my situation was to offer me a condensed class schedule but that did nothing for how I was going to get back and forth to the university. They still do not seem to understand that. The true character of a person/company is measured in bad times not good and in my opinion this company failed and they are backed by an insurance company that cares more about money than caring for the student it covers. read more

AVOID, AVOID, AVOID! ISA - International Studies Abroad is a horrible, unethical company that is only interested in making money and not the well being nor education of students studying abroad. If I could give it negative stars, I would. Studying with them was the worst choice I ever made in my life. I had studied abroad 4 previous times with different company and ISA has been the worst. If you are a student paying for your program out of pocket or a parent paying for child's education, beware of this shady company. Allow me to explain. I, unfortunately studied a semester abroad with them in Madrid, Spain. The ISA team both in Madrid and in Austin are clueless and completely useless. In less than two weeks of my program start date, I had a horrible experience with my roommate, whom was also an ISA student. He stole from me, bashed me to everyone on my floor, threatened to hurt me, and also tampered with my food. I complained to ISA directly and they said they told me to talk to my roommate about it and if not they would move one of us, but that they, and I quote "Do not get involved in disagreements involving adult students". So I did just that. That made things worse. I spoke once again to my advisor in Madrid, Julio, and he said he would look into the matter, 6 weeks of hell passed, and yet they did nothing, during this time things only got worse. I spoke to everyone back in the office in Austin and their response was for me to "Hold tight and wait it out." Nothing ever got done and I was still living with a psycho roommate. They told me to pack up and move because I was the one to complain. I didn't understand why I was the one being ejected from ISA housing only for filing a complaint because I did not feel safe. I asked why I was the one that was forced to moved and they told me it was just easier for me to move because they didn't wan't to get involved. Excuse me? What the hell am I paying you for? Your job is to help me while I'm abroad. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, and I felt horrible my whole time with ISA. Things got out of hand and I couldn't take it anymore. I agreed to move out. I had to pack up a semester's worth of clothing, food, course work. I had to miss a day of class to pack and a day to move. They told me they would inform my professors at Complutense University of Madrid. They did not. The housing they moved me into was dirty, the first day I moved in I saw a mouse in the kitchen, there were roaches in the bathroom, but I was exhausted after my move and after dealing with the ISA staff in Madrid and in Texas. Due to my move and absences one of my professors was angry that she was not informed and took it out on me. She told me if she didn't get information from ISA she would fail me. I spoke to the USELESS ISA advisors and they told me she couldn't fail me and that they'd let her know. Well, they didn't let her know until 2 weeks before finals. So Professor Montilla was already angry as could be with me. She was so rude to me throughout the semester. Which brings me to my next point. Two weeks before finals, I was robbed on my way to school because the area I lived in was gross and dangerous. All my school work was stolen from me. I let ISA know, but they did nothing. I had to file a police report and inform my professors about what happened. However, the professor that had it out for me didn't care at all. I spoke to Jennifer Acosta from the ISA office in Austin about what happened and if there was anything they would be willing to do to help me out either with helping me explain my long issues I've had with my professors or returning my money, because the program was not worth the $16,000 I paid. She told me there was nothing they were willing to do, because everything that happened was my own fault. Every day I spent in ISA housing, schooling, and contact with their "staff" was absolute hell! When I returned home, I found out that my stupid professor did in fact fail me. I contacted ISA about a grade and they asked to write in detail what happened, so I did just that. I highlighted all the points that happened to me. They contacted the professor for a grade change, but once again DID NOT inform her with the truth of what happened. She wrote back, never addressing the points I made, however, making her own points and refused to change my grade. I had never failed a class in my whole life before. I was graduating when I returned and had a GPA of 3.80, so that is the type of student I am, but ISA thought I deserved an F. It has left a smudge on my permanent record right at the end of my academic career. DO NOT give this company your money. They do not deserve your business. Out of all the study abroad programs I've ever been on, this one was an absolute nightmare. I highly suggest going with API, they honestly do care about your well being. Avoid this company like the plague that they really are!!! Parents, your children will NOT be safe with this company. read more

Worst experience of my life. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY OR TIME!!!!! They promised so many details before going abroad and what it would be like but when I got there what was told to me before did not meet the criteria abroad! I was put in shady Housing with homeless beggars up and down the street very unsafe at night. The professors were very unprofessional keeping us late after class was over and one professor got our class lost in the middle of a neighborhood and almost made me late to my next class!! The transportation was a nightmare on top of it by the time the bus and tram came it took about an hour to get to school when promised it would only take 15 minutes on top of having to buy a monthly bus pass no one told me about beforehand for 38 Euro. I felt unsafe and that the people in charge did not care about the students as long as they got their money at the end of the day from all of us. When I told the advisor I was homesick and felt lost abroad he sent me and my mom an email saying he would send me a map of Rome and the school and that it would be fine. I thought oh Yeah I think not, I'm not staying in this shady place any longer and I'm going home to fight and get my money back and that's exactly what I did!!! Stay away from this company at all costs!!!! All they want is your money!!! If I could give no stars I would! read more

My 16 yr old daughter just returned from a 3 week program in Spain and she was beaming! Great program with a perfect combination of language studies, touring, and time with the host family. Also structured and well taken care of but lots of independence too so great opportunity for her to grow. Great staff and process. Shout out to Iker and Megan on Malaga I 2014 for doing such a great job leading the program on site. read more

I studied abroad with ISA in Milan Italy. This was the absolute WORST study abroad program ever. They way over charge you for the shittiest amenities possible. Students in other programs who paid similar prices had WAY better housing situations located in much better areas of Milan. They do not register you for the classes you wish. I was excited to see the city during the hours I wasn't in class and to travel on the weekends.... HA! I was in a classroom from 9-6:30 Monday through Friday. They are absolutely no help once you get to the city in which you are studying. Somehow, I'm not even sure how this is possible, but somehow they treat you like a child all while ignoring the most simplistic requests you may give them. They also plan these "excursions" for you which are the absolute biggest waste of time.This was the biggest waste of money ever. I had an absolutely wonderful experience in Milan when it wasn't something planned by or affiliated with ISA. read more

If I could give them a rating for less I would. I am very upset that they placed my family member over in another country and basically imprisoned my family member and has no way of leaving the country. Personally, I have suggested to speak to the U.S. Embassies and Consulates. I just hope they let my family member leave the country to come back home. They have put my family member who is almost finished with a 6 year degree in a job that doesn't match up with what they were studying for at all. The worst part about this experience, besides the horrible living conditions would be their physical health. Talk about being physically sick every single day, that's just the start of it. I agree with Fabian A. They are only interested in making money and not the well being, safety, or education of the students. From this concerned parent to any other parent out there, I would not use this company or refer them to anyone because of how they treated my family member. When they do not care a student's personal safety. living conditions, health, or leave the country, that is a real problem! read more