Program Reviews

I absolutely loved my experience on the Future Leaders program. In Madrid I ramped up my Spanish and built foundational business/entrepreneurship knowledge, and I loved settling in in Barcelona with my internship, our classes, and then some free time. Our weeks were definitely super busy, but I loved building a lifestyle and feeling like I was living somewhere, especially after moving around a ton on my fall program. Between our Spanish classes, business concept lessons, hands-on entrepreneurship activities, internships, and official entrepreneurship competition, I learned a TON in areas I hadn’t known much about before. I definitely got lucky with a solid internship and great boss, and it was in a field I had never worked in before (fashion), so I really enjoyed it. In general, this program was super important for my pre-professional development. I also made amazing friends and had tons of fun - our free time was really what you make of it! Especially considering this was a pilot program, I’m so impressed by how well put-together and genuinely professional everything was, and I’m so grateful for Arantxa, our mentors, and everyone who put all of this together. The Spanish Gap Year team is truly the best!!!

From attending Spanish class in a beautiful old building with stained glass to pitching to a panel of investors on the 25th floor of amazing building in Barcelona, this program covered all the bases. We had the freedom to explore Madrid and Barcelona and find our favorite cafes and corner restaurants but were still kept busy with morning internships and afternoon entrepreneurship classes. I felt really supported by our mentors who are all extremely knowledgeable and always ready to lend a hand. Arantxa, the program manager, personally checked in on all of us constantly and made sure everything was going well. It was comforting to have such support while being in such a flexible program with time for whatever adventures we came up with. I loved this program and am sad to leave my new friends and Barcelona.

This is a really great program to travel, learn Spanish, and get to know a culture. The staff is very caring, I loved Sagri and Arantxa a TON! We lived in about 10 places (including hostels), so be prepared for a lot of travel. The social aspect could be difficult for me because you’re in a small group for 3 months, but there were great moments as well. It’s a very packed schedule, but there’s a lot if fun activities, and you get try so many new things. I would definitely recommend! Especially if you want to learn the language and culture all together.

Spanish Gap Year was an amazing program and experience. The mix of travel, home stays, and cultural immersion was the perfect balance. The hostels were great for learning how to co-live with others and budget for food. Cooking and food was an amazing aspect. Train travel was nothing like I’ve experienced and I love the adventure. I have met some of my closest friends on this trip. Arantxa and Sagri are both wonderful and make the program an incredible experience for gap students. I learned a lot about Spanish history, culture, art, and myself as a student through experiential learning.

I had so much fun with SGY! I made a lot of amazing friends and am so grateful that I was able to visit so many beautiful cities and do so many wonderful activities. Sagri was the BEST LEADER EVER, I would come on this trip again just to hangout with her. She was patient, caring, supportive, and made everything so much fun. The Granada classes were a lot of fun, I loved Juan Luis and being able to explore the city with him and Sagri and learn about the Spanish history. I would also highly recommend SGY for anyone who loves food, there are so many amazing dishes and desserts that I was able to try along the way!

This program covers a variety of different components and will offer you a very well rounded experience.
In terms of program support, resources and leadership, this program is so well run and absolutely incredible in this aspect. Their number one goal is clearly to provide a top tier experience that suits your goals and they put in so much effort to make this happen.
One of my main goals during this program was to improve my spanish, and for other people who might have that goal, the resources are all available to you but it requires a lot of independent motivation to make it happen. There is a month in a homestay and language school and you interact with spanish speakers all the time, but you have to take the initiative to speak the language and take the opportunities.
In terms of entrepreneurship, I am not someone who plans to pursue it or had much interest in that aspect going into the program. Even still, I learned so much that is applicable to my career path, especially in terms of presentation skills and networking. I also found the mentorship support system absolutely incredible. However, I would recommend this program above all to people with high interest in entrepreneurship because that will be a huge proportion of your time and requires a lot of motivation for it to be worthwhile.
The internships were very well set up and I loved mine. I worked in the industry (sustainability) that I hope to work in in the future and was also able to work in spanish to work towards my language goals.
In terms of social experience, this program is good for people who are looking for a social structure built into the program because you spend a lot of time with the same small group and the social structure ends up built around it. At the same time, there are opportunities to meet other people in student residences or other areas, and weekends are open for independent travel, but the timing is a bit short if you are hoping for longer distance trips around europe. The environment and social life of this trip is definitely better suited to people who enjoy cities and are looking for a well structured experience.
Arantxa’s vision and organization for this program was nothing short of incredible and absolutely made my experience, The mentorship team and everyone involved is so invested in student success and I felt well supported and like I was learning a lot the whole time.

Overall the program was a great experience. It’s super well run, with great communication and the right balance of independence and guidance from the program director Arantxa. Housing was good overall; the homestays during the first month in Madrid are nice enough and the dorms in Barcelona are remarkably well kept, especially by US college standards. The internship component of the program was really fun for me, and gave me great real life work experience. Generally would definitely recommend for anyone interested in a travel program where you’ll also learn a ton.

The Spanish classes alone provided a ton of hands on learning. However, the entrepreneurship and internship portions are what provided a level of experience that has changed my life. With the internship portion you are given the opportunity to explore a field of your interests while making connections within the field and learning real business and work skills. The entrepreneurial portion provided invaluable experience where one can create and chase their ideas while working with mentors who have real credible experience. The skills of forming, creating, and pitching an idea as a real world entrepreneur is invaluable. You will learn public speaking, networking, how to ask for help, what works and what doesn’t with business, and a million other practical real world skills.

The overall experience was fantastic, I don’t have any complaints. I always felt supported by all facilitators. I would say the overall attitude of some of the receptionists at the residency weren’t very welcoming. On the other hand, our host family was fantastic and very welcoming. Furthermore, the overall experience with the entrepreneurial aspect of the course coupled with the internships was extremely valuable as we got to learn a lot about all stages of creating a business and pitching it to investors.

I enjoyed this program’s devotion to cultural immersion, exemplified through the homestays, historical tours, Spanish language courses, and cooking classes. We learned so much about artisanal farming through our visits to ecological, horse, donkey, and cheese farms. It also has an art focus through pottery, dancing, collage, and photography. This is a comprehensive program that provides a fully immersive Spanish experience. Overall, this program is more similar to study abroad with it’s classroom and guided tour model, instead of constant free-range outdoor activity - even though they do provide an intensive one week full of adventure in the North.