Poland: Kraków - Business, European and Holocaust Studies

Living in Krakow is safe with lots of things to do and great food. Cost of living is relatively low which allows for increased traveling if you are on a budget. Business professors specifically are fantastic and fun to learn from. There are many different places in the city to explore and you will always find different things to find and new types of food to try. Polish food is great as is their beer and vodka. The dorm provided wasn't perfect but it did provide for many opportunities to talk with students from many different countries. Some individuals had issues with the program administrators but I did not have any direct issues. If you are concerned about saving money but still want to study abroad Krakow is the perfect place. At around half the price of many comparable programs you can't beat the value.

Studying in Kraków, Poland was an amazing experience. I was able to study Poland's deep history with some of the best professors Cracow University of Economics has to offer. Small class sizes with other USAC students was a great learning environment and allowed me to do well in my classes. Cracow University of Economics was a great school, with a beautiful campus, and welcoming students. Field trips to Auschwitz, Kaimierz, and Schindler's factory allowed me to have hands on learning that not many people get to experience. The on-site Resident directors offered a lot of support and made the adjustment to a different country a lot easier. Spending the weekends in Kraków consisted of: live music, cultural festivals, and lots of eating! Kraków is the most beautiful city that Europe has to offer and I cannot wait to go back!

Do yourself a favor and do NOT spend your money on this program. I wish I could go back and tell myself that before I made the mistake of selecting this program. The organization and academics of this program are a literal disaster and something you should steer clear of. USAC should be embarrassed at the level of quality this program has.
Krakow is an amazing place, but USAC made it impossible to enjoy because of how little they did to ensure the program's success. Classes and professors weren't clear on expectations and the syllabi that USAC makes the professors create are not followed. There are barely any resources to do papers and research because there are no resources in English. The on-site staff had little to no involvement after the first week. The USAC website lies about what is included in program fees, as we did not ever go to Zakopane or the Tatra Mountains. The Vienna and Budapest trip was the biggest waste of $400, as the USAC website also lied about what we would be doing on that trip (you only go to art museums and USAC only pays for hotels, nothing else).
We were not immersed in local culture because, as USAC so graciously leaves out, we only took classes with the people in the USAC program (12 people for my semester). They did not introduce us to any local students or mentors when we got there, and we found ourselves feeling very lost and left out in the cold. The staff was hard to reach and did not seem to care about our experience until all of us complained to higher-ups in the organization.
I 100% regret my decision of choosing a USAC study abroad program and would not recommend them to anyone.

In my opinion, Poland is one of the most underrated countries in Europe. Granted, I have Polish heritage, so I might be biased, but anyone who's visited knows how special this place is.

As a young woman, I truly felt safe in the city, though of course normal precautions should be taken.

The Cracow University of Economics is a great place to build your resume and learn more about international business. Honestly, I didn't have a great understanding of the European Union, but the combination of learning about and living in the EU gave deeper meaning to the international conversations that have been going on.

If you're into outdoor adventures, there are some great hikes and parks around the city - you could also hop on a short train ride and be in the Tatra Mountains. If you're more into quiet museums, art, and coffee shops, Krakow can oblige you, too. Krakow indisputably is the heart of Polish history and heritage, and you can see it in every corner of the city. There is no limit to your exploration; I spent four months there during this program, and I know I barely scratched the surface of the deep beauty ingrained in everything you see.