Program Reviews

You will never have an opportunity like this in America. Traveling to other countries with different cultures, history, food, and experiences is something you'll never forget. You'll see fairytale-like places and eat food that you just can't get in the States. I went to Italy, Malta, France, Germany, Czechia, Hungary, and Austria. I didn't regret a single trip I went on, but at the end of the semester, you'll be out of money. It goes by very fast so try to do as much as possible while balancing school and travel. Lots of fun and have made memories that I will always remember.

Everyone says that college is the best four years of your life and thus far, this has been true for me, I knew that I did not want to leave my college campus for an entire semester, so I when I heard that I could study abroad during the summer, I knew this is what was meant for me. I truly have a hard time putting my experience into words because it was so amazing. I met people in my program that I know are going to be lifelong friends. The support I received throughout my entire program is something I was not expecting, but am so glad I had this support. The psychology that I took in Prague is now preparing for my course load this semester. I honestly can say that this program and this opportunity was absolutely the greatest thing I have ever taken in my life. On top of everything, how cool is it to come back to college and tell me that you studied abroad in Europe for five weeks... so cool!!!!!

I spent three weeks in Mohammedia on a Leadership and Service in Youth Development program, and it was amazing! Our group discussions looking into biases, saviorism, ethical volunteering and more were incredibly valuable to my experience in the culture. The food was really good, and scenery was surprising and beautiful. Working with the children during our service time taught me a lot about my own community and my outlook on many issues, as well as inspiring me to redirect my thoughts in more positive ways. I was glad to learn some Darija and be able to navigate some of the city, which definitely helped in the immersive experience. Being part of this program changed me in many ways, and I hope it changes more people than just me.

I loved all of the people I studied abroad with and they were truly the highlight of my trip. The Program Leaders (PLs) were all super kind and down to earth. They were also close in age to us participants so we were able to connect with them and we became friends with them like our peers. There were 60 kids in my program since Rome is one of the most popular destinations. The kids were organized very well into 5 groups of 12 which made traveling around the city much easier than I thought it would be when I first arrived. The cultural excursions were very fun and we got to explore so much of the city. If I had to give advice to anyone traveling it would be to lower your expectations about food because the food served was not good so often times me and my friends would buy our own. Nonetheless I think that being able to try so many different things was really fun and I would recommend this to anyone. One more thing I loved was when you show up to the airport, nervous to meet your new friends, you immediately have a sense of community because of the CIEE shirts and everyone is very friendly and excited to meet people.

I really had such an amazing experience with CIEE!! They offer many amazing cultural activities and weekend excursions that can really show you the culture and life in Toulouse. My French improved drastically with this course, as I stayed with a really kind and sweet homestay. I know many people whose homestays were not so good and CIEE moved them out quickly. I know there were probably some complaints with a few staff members, however I personally really liked my teacher and PL and had no issues. CIEE cares about all the students' safety and I felt very safe and secure at all times. I had a good amount of free time for lunch and occasionally after school. We did have curfews at 8 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on weekends, but with some people having really long commutes to the CIEE center from their homestays, they weren't able to go out much after school in their limited time. I personally joined this program alone, however I think this experience would be elevated had I came with even just one friend. I did spend a lot of money on shopping for this program, and I don't think that's talked about that much. I think that it's imperative to bring a lot of money (A LOT) for the actual program.

This program was the best! During the time when I was applying to the point where I was leaving South Africa, I felt supported and helped the whole time by CIEE. They did a amazing job at providing the best experience for me as much as they could. The scholarship they gave as well was helpful the most because I was not able to go without it. I loved the other kids in my groups and my program leaders/directors/coordinators. This program truly helps expand my global lens and cultural awareness globally. I have learned and gained so much from this program.

This was one of the best experiences of my life! I made a lot of wonderful friends, and am very close to my host family. They were incredibly welcoming, and they helped me practice my Spanish and I learned a lot about Argentinian culture with them. The ciee staff were very friendly and supportive too. On my second day, me and another student had no idea how to get home, so one of our instructors went with us on the subway to make sure we got to the right place. We had a lot of structured activities, especially during the first week. However, I thought we also had a lot of opportunities to explore the city by ourselves, which I enjoyed a lot. I also really enjoyed my Spanish class. It was really small, only 10 students, and there was a big emphasis on speaking. While I think my Spanish improved, I think my confidence improved much more. I thought the workload was reasonable. We had classes every morning, and we would have a long writing assignment due every Friday. If you do a little everyday it's not that bad at all. We only spoke in Spanish during class, at home, and at restaurants or wherever else we went. However, I did speak in English a lot with my friends, who I was with a lot. I am really happy with the friends I made. However, if I had chosen a semester abroad or something where I was with Argentinian teens instead of US teens I think my Spanish would have improved a lot more. But overall, this was a wonderful experience and I can't recommend it enough.

When I signed up for the trip I thought we would have a lot more opportunities to go into the city and have fun with the native population but you are on the campus a majority of the time and only get to go out on the weekends supervised to certain places. You are not allowed anywhere but two places in the city as well (supervised) when you go there. I have heard more programs have more freedom and much less class time as well, there is a lot of structure involved which if that is what you are looking for then great but if you want fun look for a different program.

What a wonderful experience!! Everything from the host family/accommodations to the community, acotó cited and support. All of it top tier. I would highly reccomend CIEE Seville to anyone. The program was highly organized and I definitely made some of the best memories of my entire life here! I don’t know what the vetting process they do for the host families, but I got an absolutely perfect fit— lifelong family!! If you’re looking for a good experience in Spain, look no further. This is the trip for you.

Very nice. I think that I spent a lot of time looking around and there was a lot of ability to roam around. There isn’t too much class and class is pretty easy so most of the time you can do whatever you want. There was a lot of outings for the ciee so you could meet people from your area pretty easily in the beginning.
I met a good amount of friends and was able to experience culture for a good amount of time. The hotel was also pretty close to food and supermarkets that were open till very late. Usually restaurants are closed very early but we lived around some that would be open till two in the morning.