Enriching and fun! July 02, 2026
By Leah T (Spanish and Comparative Literature, Wellesley College) - abroad from 02/23/2026 to 06/27/2026 with
IFSA: Buenos Aires - Argentine Universities Program
I gained so much, linguistically and otherwise! I felt very culturally immersed and met so many amazing people. It was also, even though I've been abroad and lived alone before, the time in my life where I've cultivated the most independence.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes were very interesting and there was an incredible variety of courses for all major types! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
BEST staff! Love the program leader Pilar |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
A bit pricey, but I like that there is an apartment option (and the apartments are quite nice!) |
| * Food: |
Food in Argentina is generally not good...IFSA made the best of it with empanada cooking classes and the like though! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Everyone is incredibly friendly and the city is quite navigable, so it was very easy to make friends and immerse myself in the local culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
This was the worst part of my time there. I had a health issue when I was there and (although it wasn't IFSA's fault and they actually covered me for my medical expenses) the Argentine healthcare system was awful. Because I am international, it was incredibly difficult to get non-urgent care type treatment, so my health issues were very prolonged because I could only go to expensive emergency clinics instead of making doctor appointments. However, I think issues like this would've been the case in almost any other place as a foreigner, not just Argentina. |
| * Safety: |
Felt totally safe, even as a woman with a small build! There are definitely some neighborhoods to avoid, but you will naturally kind of avoid them because they are far from any program housing or the universities. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Somewhat easily! It's cheaper than the US especially in terms of groceries, but the price of eating out has gone up tremendously because of recent Argentine political turmoil. It's a bit more expensive than I thought, but still manageable with a student budget. I spent less money than I thought I would. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Too difficult to say...I bought my own food because I lived alone. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Save up more money than you think you'll need, especially because there might be some small trips you unexpectedly want to take! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
It felt very immersive in Spanish! |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Spanish 309 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Immerse yourself as much as you can ahead of time - podcasts, music, books, etc. And when you're abroad, speak to ANYONE and EVERYONE you can, all the time. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | How culturally distinct Argentina is! And that the program exaggerates how unnavigable and dangerous the inner city is |
