Argentina

This is my third time traveling abroad with an agency and I can without a doubt say that my experience with Mente Argentina has been BY FAR the best one.

Even before coming to Argentina I felt that the staff were very involved in my case.
I had weekly contact with the same advisor for almost 6 months. She presented a number of master options for me in both English and Spanish and answered all my questions almost always right away.
They helped me with all my applications and contact to the university. I also decided to take Spanish classes and the offered me very flexible options. (Night or day classes and combined with many different activities).

When I came, my flight was very delayed, but there was still a driver waiting for me that took me to my new apartment. Seeing as I was staying for a long period of time, I chose a private apartment, and Mente had an advisor waiting for me there to get me settled in and to answer all my questions, set up internet and give me my cell phone.

The very first Friday I was here, Mente brought student together and we all went out. There were people of all ages, and even if you don’t want to hang out with only foreigners, it is great to have some people to go out with for the first time and to introduce you to some good places.

THE STAFF are so helpful and friendly. They are there day and night and get very involved with the students. They know everyone and you don’t feel like just another student or work to them at all.

THE APARTMENTS are much better than what the normal Argentineans have and they are in great locations, but of course this is not like northern Europe or the US, but anyone who has done some traveling would never expect that either.

THE SPANISH COURSE was very nice. Young, nice teachers who all were willing and able to adapt the classes to our needs. Mente also has other programs, those I of course cannot comment on, but the one student I know in another program is also very satisfied.

THE TOURS are all included in the entire program and are pretty good. They are the basic tourist sights, but with nice and different twists like the graffiti tour. They are all things I might not have seen or done, had I not gone through a program. So it was very nice to have the offers, and I went on all of them.

THE UNIVERISTY is an international recognized one and the program is really good. Mente organized the contact and I had an advisor come with me to registrations, in case I had any doubts. Dealing with universities in Latin America can be a bit difficult, and not everything is always on time or the way you would wish it to be. This is my second time studying at a Latin American University so I knew it would be like this. Having Mente Argentina’s staff there to help with any doubts or calling them on my behalf has been great. It has made me feel more secure, and having them I am not alone in this.

Overall I have met great people through Mente Argentina, had a lot of fun, learned a lot and had an all-together amazing experience! I would recommend anyone to travel with Mente Argentina!

As an older student and full-time teacher, I was worried about joining a program and not feeling like I belonged. Mente Argentina's way of personalizing my stay to suit my needs made sure that didn't happen. I participated in so many activities and made new friends yet still had plenty of time to be on my own and discover Buenos Aires on my terms. MA was ever-present to help if I needed anything and was a wonderful resource from the day I arrived to the the day I left.

I was really grateful for for all the help and for just checking in with me throughout the stay. MA really went above and beyond all my expectations and I had a wonderful time!!
Abrazos!

My name is Anna and I'm from France. I studies Spanish with GIC Argentina and I participated in a 2-month volunteer program. I had a very positive experience in both programs and I would definitively recommend GIC Argentina. I took classes for 6 weeks at the GIC Spanish school in Palacio Barolo and my teachers were great. Living in the student residence was great, not only because I was just a couple of blocks from the school and I didn't need to travel by subway or buses, but also because I got to meet other students from different parts of Argentina and from other countries in Latin America. I volunteered 3 times a week in a day care center for poor children and I enjoyed it a lot. While some companies charge hundreds of dollars to do volunteer work I liked that GIC Argentina doesn't charge for volunteering. GIC Argentina was very professional and organized. Miriam helped me a lot to organize my trip before I arrived. I enjoyed both of my programs a lot!

I loved everything about Buenos Aires and the Mente Argentina Semester Program. My shared apartment in Palermo was one of the best parts and I could not imagine a better study abroad experience (I also participated in a part-time internship arranged through Mente).

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and it was the perfect place to study abroad. Cool people, great staff, amazing places, wonderful culture! I feel that this Program really helped me to grow up; I learned more about myself than I ever imagined.
The experience was more than I could have ever expected, and Mente Argentina was a huge part of making my study abroad trip a success. My apartment was incredible well located (Palermo Neighborhood). The excursions and activities (included in the program cost) took me all over the city; right away I immersed myself into the Spanish culture and found unique bars, museums, restaurants, and fun areas to hang out during the day and at night! A special thanks to Caitlin (my program coordinator in Buenos Aires), she was sooooo helpful, easy to approach, and a lot of fun to be around. She made my experience in Argentina so much more enjoyable!

I can honestly say that the 6 months I lived in Buenos Aires was by far the best time of my life. I am already considering traveling with Mente again in the future, and would definitely recommend them.

Attending GIC international school has been one of the most memorable life changing experiences for me. The program not only allowed me to enhance my spanish, but learn culture of a wonderful city, and meet some awesome people from all over the world. In addition to this I got to work with children in an orphanage that the school had arranged. Attending GIC International brought me back to Buenos Aires twice already and I will be going again shortly because I loved it so much there. That makes 3 times in less than 6 months and I always look forward and am so excited to return thanks to GIC international. The school is also located in a central area that makes it very convenient to take the subte anyway you want to go.GIC International is such a wonderful school with wonderful staff members that are always willing to go out of their way to help the students. It makes learning fun and you just never want to leave:)

I love GIC international and the wonderful life experience from attending this school. I look forward to seeing you again soon. I have pictures to share of the wonderful boys that I love so very much from the project GIC arranged for me.
Anastasha

Please do yourself a favor and stay away from this program. They're going to tell you that this isn't a real review and that they've already evaluated all those leaving posts, but let me tell you that I'm a real person with a real problem with Expanish.

1. If you want to learn Spanish in an effective way don't come through Expanish. They will make you feel like a tourist and you will definitely stay that way. You will be surrounded by a bunch of non Argentines and you will hear a lot of English. If you want to meet real Portenos, Expanish is quite counter productive.

2. They will rip you off! Stay clear. Although many of their extra curricular activities are free, you will have to pay a lot more for the rest. And they will not make it clear the true cost. They will say something at first, and you will end up paying much more in the end. Don't let them lie to you or trick you! Do your own research because Expanish is going to over charge you.

3. The workers at Expanish are often lazy. If you ask them for something they will usually respond with a default No. You need to bug them and bug them if you want anything to get done.

I went on my first Spanish Program trip through Mente and it was nice to have a big official company behind me to offer advice and support before I went (gave my parents peace of mind). It was also brilliant to have an incountry coordinator to meet us at the airport and always be there to help!

The schools are all very nice and well equipped. Nice people, good teachers. And I had a lot of fun. I liked my Spanish teacher Patricia who was very patient! She was easy to work with and I learned a lot. I would definitely recommend the language Spanish program if you want to learn or advance your Spanish.

I also loved the fact that they offer shared apartments as primary housing as opposed to other companies that only offer student dorms or homestays. My apartment was also really nice (I got a huge room) located in a great area called Palermo.

I met a few awesome people and had hundreds of experiences I\'ll never forget. Probably the best trip in my life. I would do another study abroad with Mente Argentina all over again.

I tried three different Study Abroad organizations and I have to say that Mente was definitely the best one.I absolutely loved my experience while I was in Argentina.

First of all, any questions that I had before leaving (and I had quite a few!!) were answered immediately. They were extremely kind and helpful with any pre-departure issues or concerns that I had.
The process of setting up this Program was simple thanks to Mente & the overall costs for this trip were surprisingly manageable!

I took Spanish Language courses at UBA from 1-4 pm. The teacher I had was very attentive and helpful and the school had a nice atmosphere with lots of new friends gained. I would recommend Buenos Aires as a good place to learn Spanish as it has lots of good bars, restaurants and an incredible weather.

They also got me an amazing apartment, right in the middle of Palermo! It's a top floor apartment (22nd floor!) with amazing views of the city (Located in Las Heras Street between Lafinur & Republica de la India). This apartment has 4 spacious individual rooms, 3 bathrooms and a huge living room with a nice LCD TV!. After I had been there for a couple weeks, they got into contact with me to make sure everything was OK!

As for the staff, all of them are young, efficient and fun to party with. They picked me up from the airport upon arrival, answered all of my questions thoughtfully, and introduced me to several other participants that were taking different programs with them. My Program coordinator was even happy to connect me with local tourist groups and attractions. She was very knowledgeable, helpful, and kind!!

Finally, they also had a great variety of activities where you could interact with other people doing the program such as City Tours, Bomba del tiempo (amazing!), Mente Nights, Bike Tours, etc.

In short, my experience with this organization was amazing. They are low-cost, very thoughtful, organized, and eager to please their participants. I am already considering traveling with Mente again in the future, and would definitely recommend them.

Thanks Mente and UBA! Greatest travel experience of my life (so far :)

I have never written on a review website but given what happened with Mente Argentina, I had to spread the word.

Overall Mente Argentina is a robbery Let me explain.

1) Mente Argentina is not a University
Mente market themselves as a university but are nothing more than a broker or a travel agency. They do not provide any classes themselves, they are just an intermediary and sign you up with any local course they can find without checking quality and without any consistency. In other words, you can sign up for spanish classes and end up in a proper university or in a small low quality private class depending on which day you start.

2) They charge extortionate rates for Argentina
I think my example speaks for itself. I took the DJ classes. They registered me at Escuela Sonica and charged me 4x the price that the school charges other people! I know this because i found escuela sonica online before going to buenos aires and asked them for a quote... bottom line, i could have saved a lot by booking the classes myself.

3) The apartments they provide are REALLY bad
The room i was attributed in their 1st class apartment was about 40sqft, only space for a single bed and my suitcase on the floor. This is not mentioning the ***roaches, the dirty bathroom, the absence of AC, the bathroom to share with 4people... Also you have nosay on location which is a bit painful. You can find alot better in Buenos Aires without a problem.

4) Staff is young and nice but not very efficient
The guy and the Americna girls running Mente are young and honestly really nice, fun to party with. But when it comes to business, they bull*** they want to help you but are not enclined to help because they knwo very well the accomodation they are giving you is bad. Bottom line, they are disorganized and once you have given all your transfers, they become a lot less available.

5) the events they organize sound good on paper but are not great and not worth much
The one good thing was Bomba del tiempo, this percussion concert good on Mondays. Otherwise, thr trip to Tigre is a metro ride and a walk without a real visit, and the night parties are usually failures (and dont imagine they give you free drinks, you pay for everything)

Overall, i wouldnt recommend Mente and most of the people i met there would say the same, ina ll programs: cooking, wine, spanish, MBA... Not to be totally negative, there were a few good aspects: 1) it is a turnkey solution, you just pay from wherever you are and arrive and everything is set up for you (but you pay wayyyy too much), 2) you share flats with other Mente "students" and get to meet wonderful people (who will definetely stay my friends!). So if you are willing to spend a bit of extra time organizing your own trip and finding a flat share, There is better and cheaper than Mente.

My semester in Buenos Aires with MENTE ARGENTINA was one of the best of my LIFE! The people couldn't have been cooler. I got matched with 2 really cool girls and 1 boy and we all still talk on a weekly basis -- did I mention that we were roommates 1 year ago? Well, these people are still some of my best friends. Buenos Aires is really unique! The staff was really helpful and the excursions & activities they planned were great (they were included in the program price!!).

After meeting other students from other programs in Argentina, it appears we had far superior housing locations and group activities. The housing was in the nicest neighborhood in Buenos Aires: Palermo. We also have a coordinator available 24/7 for anything we might have had problems or concerns with. The price paid for the program was significantly less expensive than other programs I had researched. I HIGHLY recommend Mente!