Raffles Milano | International Design Institute — Local services in Milan

I am a former student of Raffles and I would like to leave a detailed review so other students don’t make the same mistake as I did applying for a non accredited program and trying to get a refund for half a year. (btw a lot of the good reviews are written by raffles employees)

Organisational issues My number 1 reason at to why I would never recommend this university to anyone is lack of organisation in administration. They messed up schedules, ignored students emails and hardly ever did anything in time.

Missing accreditation. If you want to study at this university make sure to carefully check if your program is accredited by Italian ministry of education, as I studied Interior design for a year only to realise that I wouldn’t even be getting a Bachelor’s degree out of it. Not to mention that the accredited and non-accredited programs cost the same and are equally time consuming.

Language barrier For “International university” the level of general english within staff and professors is quite low. Some of the classes had to be held with a translator which was just so unprofessional. The professor would be speaking Italian and the international students had to sit in the corner with a translator and try to hear what they were saying. (the translators were great though, just the situation itself was bad)

Classes schedule Class schedules were overloaded due to organisational issues. Last 2 weeks of winter semester we had classes from 8:45 to 20:00 with a break for lunch 3 times a week. It was exhausting considering the attendance is mandatory. The administration didn’t do anything about it.

Withdrawal procedure Due to my program not being accredited I decided to withdraw from the university in the beginning of september. For the first few months I was practically ignored. I had to send follow up emails to get any kind of response. The rules of withdrawal and the consequences were not communicated at all as well as the refund amount. It’s January now and I still haven’t received my money or any clear answer as to when to expect it.

Positive side On the positive side, the professors at the university are great, friendly and helpful. And the facilities are very good, the classes are clean and the university has a homy...

I’m writing this review to share my deeply frustrating and disappointing experience with Raffles Milano, in hopes of helping future students avoid what I went through.

In December 2023, I applied for their Interior Design course, fresh out of high school. The program was advertised as a 3-year course, and I naturally assumed it was a bachelor’s degree, especially given the time, cost, and structure involved. At no point during the application process, nor in any of the files or emails they sent me, was it made clear that the course is not accredited. I read everything carefully multiple times and even after enrolling, I double-checked the website and documents countless times. There is absolutely no transparency on this crucial point.

Trusting them, I moved to Milan around October/November 2024, leaving my country, family, and investing heavily in housing and living expenses not to mention the full tuition for the year, which I paid upfront. I studied for two months before finding out, through confused classmates (who also had no idea), that our course was not officially recognized.

I immediately contacted the school to withdraw and request a refund for the remaining months I would no longer attend. After a series of back-and-forth emails, they eventually stopped replying altogether. My last message was in March 2025, and I have yet to receive a response. I’ve essentially been ghosted by the institution.

Due to their lack of transparency, I lost a whole year of my academic life, not to mention the emotional and financial toll it took. This kind of vital information about accreditation should be front and center on their website and the first thing they disclose to potential students, especially those moving from abroad. Raffles had nearly a year (from December 2023 to October 2024) to be honest and upfront....

Mi hanno presentato un corso in italiano alla quale mi sono iscritta che poi è partito solo in inglese e nonostante avessi firmato e spuntato l'opzione in italiano nessuno mi ha chiamata per avvisarmi. Hanno una organizzazione pessima. Ci sono dei costi aggiuntivi di cui non ti parlano, anzi promettono zero costi aggiunti tutto incluso ,mi avevano anche detto che potevo utilizzare il computer della scuola,altra informazione fasulla. Ho sprecato il mio tempo con questa scuola che la parola trasparenza non sa cosa sia ,un peccato perchè hanno dei bravi insegnanti. Non la consiglio molte persone durante l'anno se ne sono andate per vari motivi dal mio e da altri corsi. Inoltre hanno dato risposte senza capo e coda al mio avvocato e alla richiesta di mediazione con un loro legale non ho ricevuto risposta! E alle recensioni negative su google rispondo come se non avessero mai sentito parlare di quello che le persone commentano.

Modifico in data 8 agosto per dire che l'Istituto mi ha lasciato senza risposta alla ultima PEC del mio avvocato e sono passati mesi ,nonostante nella risposta alla recensione si dicono aperti al dialogo. Mi sento truffata e un giudice deciderà se è così è stato. È triste che l'unico modo per ricevere vostra risposta siamo le recensioni pubbliche.

They presented me with a course in Italian that I signed up for, which then only started in English, and although I had signed up and ticked the Italian option, no one called me to inform me. They have a very bad organisation. There are additional costs that they don't tell you about, on the contrary they promise zero added costs all included, they also told me that I could use the school's computer, another bogus piece of information. I wasted my time with this school that doesn't know what transparency is, a pity because they have good teachers. I don't recommend it many people during the year left for various reasons from my and other courses. In addition, they gave head and tail answers to my lawyer and when I requested mediation with one of their lawyers, I received no answer! And I respond to negative reviews on google as if they have never heard of what people are commenting on. I am amending on 8 August to say that the Institute has left me with no reply to my lawyer's last PEC and months have passed, despite the fact that in their reply to the review they say they are open to dialogue. I feel cheated and a judge will decide if this is the case. It is sad that the only way to receive your response is through...