The housing situation was excellent, the host family was incredibly nice and helpful, and the city is large enough to entertain yourself for 1 or 2 semesters but small enough to find your way easily. Classes were very relaxed and slow-paced, but didn't offer as much information as a class at CU.

Overall, my experience in Granada was incredible. I loved the city, my host family, the people I had the pleasure of meeting, the lifestyle, and the classes that I took. My classes were interesting and kept me engaged in spite of the numerous distractions that surrounded me. The ISA Granada program staff is friendly and helpful and was always willing to give advice, guidance, and conversation. I got matched with an amazing host family who truly made the experience. I volunteered with a program called ALCER where I got to talk to dialysis patients while they received their treatment. It was extremely rewarding and I'm thankful that ISA made it so easy to get hooked up with that organization.

Location, housing, local interaction, daily life, trips, free time, excursions were all amazing.

My only con is the academics. Classes are held at an institute that is 100% Americans, which took away from the point of the study abroad experience, for me at least.

This place was amazing!

Granada was amazing in every way

The academics are much less work that classes at boulder. I think this is a good thing as it gives you more time to explore the country around you. Granada is in the perfect location, about 40 minutes from the mountains and 40 minutes from the beach. I was in a homestay an I really lucked out. She was very nice, cooked good food, and was an all around good experience. ISA does arrange some very cool excisions, make sure to take advantage of them.

Academics: Unfortunately, I was fairly disappointed with the academic system in Granada, Spain with the ISA program because I feel that I did not learn as much as I would have liked. The program was not fully immersed and the classes were held apart from the University where normal Spanish students attend regularly. I understand the reasons behind this, but I would have liked to have known this before joining this program because it severely limited my ability to learn the language and fully immerse myself within the culture.

Location: The location was fantastic! I am completely enamored with Granada. It is the perfect representation of Spain and just small enough to fully learn your way around the city.

Housing: The housing was good. I did a homestay and appreciated the experience. I would have liked to live with a larger family, but things worked out well in the end. However, looking back I wish I would have lived in the residencia because some of your freedoms are limited when living in a homestay in regards to travelling and food schedules.

Interactions with locals: Almost impossible. There weren't very many opportunities to know the locals and even so, I was primarily grouped with Americans the majority of the time. I wish I could have attended classes or joined clubs with the locals at the University to feel like I got to know Spaniards, but even with intercambios this was nearly an impossible task.

Local Transportation: It was fine. I didn't use it all that often because you can walk everywhere in Granada, but it is not difficult to figure out.

The course's were very unique and fun. I would definitely take a course abroad again. The location of the program was great because you got to step away from the tourist areas of Spain and put your spanish to the test. Although when traveling it was hard to plan travel accomodations appropriately. I wish interaction with locals would've been increased, I met very few locals while abroad since my only interaction with them was when I went out (clubs and such). The excursion to Morocco was amazing, but I wish the amount of travel would've been clarified. We literally sat in a bus for 4/6 of the days and spents nights in cities. This was very deceptive!

The courses were not very difficult, but the attendance policy is pretty strict. I loved the location. Interaction with the locals was an individual process. You need to take matters into your own hands and have your program help you find a partner, but its worth it. I loved the excursions. We went to really fun and historic places.

ISA Granada gave me the opportunity to improve my Spanish exponentially, learn about Spanish history and culture, travel throughout Europe and to AFrica, as well as make some incredible life long friends.

My courses and professors were amazing. I took mostly European politics and economics classes and my teachers had very interesting insight on all topics.
The location was very cool as well. Granada was more of a city than I expected but I still enjoyed it.
My interaction with locals was one of the best parts of the program. I did a homestay with locals from Granada and I as well made good friends with some people from the university.
Excursions were good. Morocco was top notch.

I absolutely loved my experience in Granada. The location was perfect, not too big of a city to get to know and feel comfortable in. All of the people I met were incredibly welcoming and helpful. I thought the program excursions were awesome. All in all I had the best time I could imagine abroad.

My courses as electives were pretty easy. The location was beautiful. i couldn`t have asked for a better place. And the locals were pretty easy to interact and talk with.

The on-site staff was a group of people that i got so close with and loved so much. They were very supportive and helpful with everything I needed

ISA is a great program. The orientation was fun and informative, and the directors were all around helpful.

On-Site Orientations: Provided tons of good information. A bit lengthy, but necessary.

Academic support: Great, the staff in ISA Granada is really helpful.

Academic and Computer resources: Great, no issues. There are computers in the ISA office and in the library.

Medical Services: These could be improved because in order to receive care you have to cover the charges up front, and then send everything back to the United States to be reimbursed. Most students were never fully reimbursed and it still cost a large sum to send all the documents in.

Program Director/Staff: They were truly an amazing group of people. With any concern or problem, they went above and beyond to help you.

Excursions: Very nice. The excursions were a great way to see other parts of Spain. It would be nice if meals were included all the time for these or that students are advised in the beginning so that they know how to budget the rest of their semester.

Extracurricular activities/opportunities: There weren't too many activities to do unless you wanted to pay every time, including volunteering which limited my options.

The on-site staff and program director are great!!! They know their stuff and aren't afraid to provide help.

All of the staff was super helpful. One staff member was harder to approach, but overall the staff was great and the office was a good place to spend time.

All of the on-site staff were wonderful! All of them were so nice and incredibly helpful.

All the staff helped me with any issues or questions I had in a timely manner.

The only issue I had was communication between the CU office and the program I was abroad with. I tried to extend my program for the Spring semester but getting the different parts to all work together delayed the process and I was unable to extend.

The program director and overall the staff were pretty helpful and nice. They were always available to answer questions and help with whatever that was needed.

Both the program director and on-site staff were amazing. I made friends with them and still talk to one of them. Best group I could have asked for.

Homestay. It was a perfect fit. I requested to be alone in a homestay, and I was. It would have been nice to have lived with a family, instead I lived with a single woman, which turned out to be great because I had a lot more freedom and personal space.

the excursion to morocco may have been the best week of my life

I lived in a homestay. I was very lucky and good a very nice host mom, with a very nice house. She was understanding, made good food, and gave me freedom that some families don't give to their students. I felt like I was part of the family. It was a very good fit for me, but if I got someone else I'm not sure if I would have stayed for as long as I did. (I did 2 semesters back to back)

I lived in a homestay with one older woman and one roommate from the US. I feel like it wasn't the best fit for me because I wanted to live with more people and really immerse myself within the culture. However, the woman I lived with was alone and always stayed at home. I would have much rather lived in a residencia looking back on my experience.

Orientations were run well and allowed us to express and concerns. Extracurricular activities that were planned were great fun. This really allowed a lot of people to mingle and bond. This is very helpful when you are in a place that you don't know anyone.

All of them were awesome. My favorite definitely were the excursions. They were a ton of fun.

ISA Granada had some very good excursions. The biggest one being to Morocco. This was an insane amount of travel time (44 hours over 5 days) and many people got sick from the water. I didn't get sick so I believe I had a better experience than most.

All of these activities that i attended were fun and well organized

The ISA staff was awesome, super helpful with everything.

My home stay was perfect. My mother was an amazing cook and was very accomidating not only at home but also would pack me baggies of food when i went on excursions

I stayed in a homestay, and I believe this was an OK option for me. The family was amazing, and I hihgly recommend them. The reason I believe this is because my interaction with my family was only at lunch for about an hour. Besides this I had relatively no interactions with them which is quite unfortunate. I also liked the experience I was provided in trying new foods and becoming accustomed to a spanish meal. The transportation in Granada was difficult to understand at first. Also I rarely was required to take local buses, but more so regional buses. For a daily commute I would walk about 20min one way. I would usually make 4 commutes for school a day. During my personal time I would also walk everywhere.

I was in a homestay. My host family was awesome and the apartment was great. My roommate was a huge challenge but there was nothing I could really do about that. As far as transportation went, I walked almost everywhere. There was a bus system, but I rarely needed to use it.

I lived in a homestay. Living in someone elses home and eating on their schedule can be very difficult in any situation. My host mom and sister were so sweet and made it as easy as possible given the fact that we were living in their house... In Granada I walked everywhere! My walk between classes and my homestay was about 15-20 minutes across the center of the city.

I did a homestay. I was a little worried at first because they only spoke Spanish and I didn't speak spanish, but it ended up being one of the best parts of the trip. They were the nicest family and as my Spanish improved it was awesome to have more and more in-depth conversations with them and really get to know there personalities. I also lived with a very traditional Spanish family where the mom literally did everything for everyone, she cleaned my room and my bathroom everyday, did all of my dishes, all of my laundry, and cooked all of my food. It was really awkward at first for me to watch her do all that while everyone just hung out but once i got used to it it was very nice.

I usually walked everywhere but I sometimes took the bus. I generally walked about 2 to 3 hours a day.

I lived in a homestay, I would recommend that to anyone going for a semester. It was the perfect way to get immersed in the culture of Spain. I walked almost everywhere and only took a few taxis, I didn't use the bus system at all.

The classes were relatively easy, with a very lecture based teaching style.

The classes were pretty easy. I had good teachers for all but one class. The attendance policy is strict but other than that I loved it.

Overall I had very dedicated professors. They were all very understanding about different Spanish levels and previous knowledge on the topics. My Spanish Art History class was one of my favorite courses of all time. We would go on walking tours in this class and my history calss to see the things we were learning about!

I enjoyed all of my courses. I felt I learned a lot of very applicable things for my major. It was also interesting having teachers from all over Europe give there different perspectives on certain topics and affairs. However I had a little bit bigger of a workload than I excepted.

The course transfer was very unclear for me before departure, and two of the classes I took abroad aren't going to end up counting for any credit for me. This would have been really important information to have before leaving because I am now behind in my credits.

Overall the academic experience was great! It was exactly what i had expected. The building where classses were held was beautiful. The professors were on time and punctual. Homeworks were okay but but the exams were a bit challenging.

The academics seemed overly simplified and easy. The real thing I gained from classes was listening to Spanish every day. I can't say that I gained much from the course content itself, except maybe a few cultural tips and unique things about Spain.

If your main goal is to learn the language I would recommend taking the Intensive program.

I really loved my classes. Most of them were very interesting and although the workload was much less than back home I feel as though I was able to learn so much information within my classes that I can carry on with me throughout my academic career.

Local interaction was one of the harder things to come by. It's totally doable, but you kind of have to be aggressive about it. I would say the biggest thing to keep in mind is that most of the students in Granada aren't looking to practice their English with us in the way that we are trying to practice our Spanish with them. That said, they are not actively looking for American people, and are perfectly content with their Spanish friends who they have grown up with their whole life. I had a few exchange partners who I would talk with for a few hours a week, sometimes we would go out and do things with each other's friends. The most important thing to do is to put yourself where the locals are, and in small groups. Actually, separating yourself from Americans and tourist areas in general is the only way to meet locals. It's uncomfortable and difficult, but it usually works. The onsite staff and the CLM are good resources for finding conversational partners.

The locals are very nice, be sure to put yourself out there and try to find an intercambio (language exchange)

My interactions with locals was very limited because there weren't any opportunities to meet them. I did intercambios, but they can be very hit or miss scenarios, most were men looking to meet younger, American girls. For future students, I would be selective with intercambios and go through ISA to find a good match. I would go out to the bars rather than the clubs because you tend to meet locals that are genuinely looking to meet other people. If you can, find the local hang-out spot. I found where most people hung out towards the end of my program, but started meeting people that way.

I felt safe at all times of day in Granada. I wouldn't want to walk down dark, small streets at night, but I also wouldn't do that at home either, so it is really just common sense. Knowing which areas to avoid and how to make yourself less vulnerable always helps. Some of the people in my program were victims of pickpocketing, but that's really not something you can avoid, it just happens.

Granada is a very safe city, I never felt unsafe. Just use the same caution as you would walking through any other city.

Spanish people dont want to speak english. That made it hard for me to interact with some but they are a very nice and loving type of people once you get to know them

I wish that I would've took more initiative to participate in an intercambio. If ISA could provide more than one meeting that would be very helpful.

Reach out to your program and have them help you find an intercambio, local student who wants to practice their english with you and your spanish. It was a good experience.

Get an intercambio and try to not just hang out with American students!! Meeting spaniards can be very hard otherwise.

The homestay was really cool and unique because I got to live in and see the everyday life of a Spanish family from Granada. Also my host dad and brother and I would go to the skate park or play soccer and even once went skiing in the Sierra Nevadas which was awesome. As far as making friends that I would hang out with, the best way I made from Granada was the intercambios and boteons. Once I had made a few local friends they introduced me to their other friends and so on.

It is hard to say, but I think it really opened my eyes to the world. I now see myself wanting to explore the world, and moving to a foreign country no longer seems like a daunting task.

I think this was a good time for me to step back and have time to think about my life goals. Spain really teaches you how to appreciate life and take time with your family and friends. I think I gained life-experience while I was there.

I felt very safe at my program site. The only danger imposed were terrible drivers. I would highly recommend keeping an eye out for cars.

Very safe. Of course you need to watch out for yourself, but I never felt in danger.

I felt incredibly safe as a young woman in Granada, even at night.

very safe.

It was a very safe city, I never felt uncomfortable.

I always felt safe. Though i would still highly recommend students to never go home alone on late nights. ALways have a companion and also be helpful to others.

The Spanish don't every consider political correctness as important. I'm not sure they know what it is. This led to some people feel like there was racism, but it was cultural and not meant to be racist.

I did not notice much discrimination against any of the big 8. There didn't seem to be a ton of overt effort towards inclusiveness either. Pretty neutral.

Most of the Spanish people I met from Granada were actually kind of racist, mostly towards the African and Chinese immigrants. Also in general it seemed like a lot of people did not care for Americans.

I was in a college town so it was very diverse.

It has allowed me to increase my spanish vocab and has really opened my eyes to living life. I feel that I have become an experienced traveler, more independent and understanding.

I learned so much about myself, other cultures, and just the beauty of living life one day at a time. I will carry what I learned with me forever.

Understanding how subtle differences in culture can make everyday life feel really different.

I plan to move back to Spain one day so this experience has had a huge impact on me long term.

Bring a coat, it got really cold around mid-November.

If you really don't like your housing arrangements talk to your directors. There is no reason to put up with a family that you don't get along with.

The Morocco excursion was extremely unique. One aspect of the trip that was particularly awesome and unexpected was hanging out with the local Berbers when we camped in the Sahara. Since we were one of the only groups of foreigners that comes every year the locals all came to are camp and hung out there all day most of the night. Most of the guys are hung out with were really nice and cool. The best experience I had tho was playing guitar in the Sarah with a Moroccan reggae band.

Just being with my program and doing this study abroad or a whole semester is something that have made me proud of myself.

the difference between a converter and a transformer

I enjoyed the activities too, especially the first week that immersed us into the culture of Granada. Like the Flamenco Show, the walking tour of the Albayzin, and a tour of Granada.

I was in a homestay with a roommate and I loved it! We got along with our host mom and help each other out. I walked to class every day it took about 20 minutes.

Don't be scared of the locals, they're all very nice.

I did visit the hospital and had a wonderful experience! ISA on staff site helped me to understand how the process worked and provided a translator.