Program Reviews

My time in EF was very unique, as I stayed there in the middle of a worldwide pandemic that hit Spain pretty hard at the beginning. My first month and a half was the normal EF experience, and it was wonderful. The classes were of great quality, and EF was always very helpful with anything I needed. Then the pandemic arrived and most of the students left, however I stayed and was able to still have a good experience first in the Residence, and then later in a host family. We had online classes the rest of my time, and they worked very well. I ended up graduating from EF with a C1 in Spanish!

I went to Malaga for a month through EF, and it was an incredible time! The teachers were all amazing, and very kind! EF definitely is a lot about making money, but that didn’t effect my trip as much as others. Overall it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I had a host family, and they were incredibly sweet and accommodating. I am very happy I chose the host family because it definitely helped me learn much faster since I was much more immersed in the culture and language.

This was definitely something I’ll never forget! Everything from the school to the Seoul experiences was absolutely amazing . When I first arrived to Incheon airport the driver was waiting for me so patiently. (My flight was delay 7 hours) Getting around is so simple due to the amazing transportation system. I made it to the school my first day with no problems. The teachers were all really great ! They all took the time to make sure each student understood what was going on in the class . If your of age the night life is so awesome!

I studies abroad for a short term in Seoul, and I changed the way I look at my world. I feel like I havent left the city there and I will forever look back on that trip as one of the best times of my life. My host family was amazing, they really do care about who they pick to house students and it shows. The classes were amazing, the only thing I'd change would be making it a more set schedule and maybe more outside activities, but aside from that there is nothing else I would have changed. I do plan to travel again with EF and highly recommend you do as well!

The EF program was very informative and from the beginning, the staff was extremely helpful. I immediately felt at home with my host family and even though communication was a challenge at first, my classes taught me useful grammatical skills that I could practice at home and in daily conversations outside of school. I made lasting friendships with people from all around the world. The city was gorgeous and there are so many opportunities of travel. It is a place that honestly suits any person; whether you’re into partying or touring castles. Even if you get bored with the Nice itself, the train is extremely accessible, so you could easily take yourself to somewhere like Monaco or Cannes with only a 30 minute train ride.

The scores I posted are based on our sons response. EF was very helpful in the pre trip arrangements from registration to numerous questions we had and making sure he was met at the Liberia airport. The host family was very nice and the food was good. The content of the actual class was good as he had minimum knowledge of Spanish and he came away with more vocabulary and was able to make himself understood in conversation with his Mother. Overall we are are happy with his experience and we think he had fun while there.

My son went to the EF Munich school from June 2018 until August of 2019. While his experience there was good, he was asked to leave his guest family and given only two weeks notice to leave in mid-May of 2019. The very next day he told the Munich school, and as he would be enrolling in a German University in the fall and would need his own apartment he went and found one and vacated his EF lodging by June 1. Accordingly we both contacted EF seeking a refund for room and board we had paid for from June 1 to the end of August. After some initial push back, in which it was claimed he had not given sufficient notice. On 9/17/19 after about 10 attempts to contact him since mid June, on 9/17/19 a staff member finally agreed to refund me $1220.31 (the cost of room and board from June through August. He also agreed to refund an additional $56.59. I was told this would be refunded to my credit card, and as my ex wife and I had both paid Stefan's tuition, she would need to call to give her consent that the payment go to me alone. After arranging all this I called his assistant instructions and left my credit card information. And… nothing happened. I followed up checking my credit card statement 3-4 weeks later, saw I had no refund, and on November 14, 2019 I contacted another employee, who the first had said was his boss. The staff member apologized for the problem and promised me that a check would be cut as soon as possible, on the next Wednesday, which would have been November 20. It is now December 4, 2019 and once again. Nothing has happened. I have received no check. I have been trying to email and phone the staff member for the last three days to no avail.

I draw several conclusions from this: First, EF is not being transparent about the actual cost of room and board with host families (which is arguably the single most important aspect of language learning in a study abroad experience). The miserly amount of this refund suggests that EF is paying host families a mere $13 per day. This can’t be right as that would barely be enough to pay for food, let alone lodging, and it is difficult to understand how it would be enough of an incentive for any host family to participate in the program. Although I suspect that they are actually being paid more than this refund suggests, I doubt they are being paid much more. What does this mean? It means that EF has rolled everything into a single fee that makes it impossible to determine what portion of their very expensive program fee is for housing and what part is for language training. Second, this also clearly indicates that EF’s customer service is abysmally bad. Having spent well over $40,000 I can’t fathom why any organization would treat its customers this way. I have made multiple inquiries by phone and email but I can’t seem to get anyone to respond and settle this matter. I can't tell if I am being lied to or if EF is simply incompetent. How hard is it to issue a refund you have clearly acknowledged I am due? They have admitted the debt. I have an invoice and an email indicating as much, but three months later I cannot get them to honor it. Beware!

Definitely, when booking the trip I was scared and anxious, but this trip taught me how to be independent and overall expose myself to new things. I'd definitely say this was one of the most memorable things in my life I've ever done. I'd say that the best thing about this program was the immersion within the culture and so much more room individuals of any Spanish level can still grow at EF Barcelona. One thing I wish could be changed would be adding more trips to parts around Barcelona, but still was very pleasing and I would really recommend! you will make friends from all over that will become some of your closest friends. I'd definetly say don't hesitate to take the trip and become a local for your stay it really creates an unforgettable experience.

This past summer, I spent two weeks in Paris, France with EF. Prior to that, I had studied just about two years of French in school. When I arrived to the school and my host family, I was very nervous considering I had never really spoken to a native French speaker in my life. However, my host mom was the best mom I could ever ask for, the teachers at EF were super charismatic, welcoming, and funny. I felt extremely comfortable in the environment. I also learned a great deal of French just from two weeks and was able to skip a year of French when I got back to school in Hawaii. My host-family's house was a little far, so sometimes it was hard to get to and from there every day, however that was only a minor issue. Nonetheless, I made so many life long friends that I still keep in touch with everyday. Not only did I learn French, but I was opened to a whole new world of people and cultures. I really got a globalized perspective on life from this trip. I am definitely going back next summer for even longer. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience and completely worth the money!

I can't stop milking the fact that I have a moderate amount of ADHD and the teachers were able to captivate my attention without even trying. Everybody at EF is so friendly and fun to be around that I wish I stayed longer than two weeks. Now I'll be a little more organized so you can skip through all the info you don't care about and get straight to what you want to know. This is based on my experience.

HOST FAMILY or EF RESIDENCE?

Host family (is what I chose) is basically like getting adopted and having to live in a new home. It's very cool because you get the full immersion into the Korean culture. My host family didn't speak much English, which I was thankful for, because this meant that I'd have to try harder to learn Korean so I can actually speak to them. We used the Papago (translator) app to speak to each other whenever we couldn't act out what we were trying to say (acting out what you're trying to say is probably like the funniest thing ever. We kept on laughing at each other from our expressions). I had to take the subway every morning to get to class which was about forty minutes so buy a sim card so you can watch Youtube videos and stuff while you're on your way to school. I didn't have a sim card because my network was locked so I just spent the ride listening to music offline and time flew by pretty fast. Transportation is pretty easy in Korea so if you've never gone in a subway before, don't worry. It's very easy and if you miss your stop, it's not the end of the world. One downside to host families is that they probably won't have air conditioning (mine didn't), but they will have fans. I honestly didn't mind the heat, but if you're a wimp, then don't pick host family. The best part about host families is that they feed you so you don't have to waste money on food unlike the residence where you're in charge of feeding yourself. Living in a host family is a plus for your education because you won't have distractions from practicing your homework or classwork. In my opinion, the host family was the best choice for me.

EF residence (what most of my friends chose) is living in a hotel full of other teenagers. You can probably predict how that's going to be. The good things about this is that you're going to have a very fun time messing around in each other's dorms, maybe watch a movie with a couple friends, have a sleep-over or something, whatever you want to do. You're basically taking care of yourself and living like an adult. Now if you live in a host family and want to sleep over at a friend's dorm at the EF residence for a night, you must have your parent(s) email the EF staff saying that it's okay for you to do that. Pretty simple. The residence is also very close to the school (short metro bus ride) and right smack in one of the wealthy areas of Seoul. There's also air conditioning. The only downside to the residence depends on you. If you're someone who'll easily get distracted (like me) and won't be able to reject peer pressure to hang out and etc, then you probably won't learn as much Korean as you would've wanted to. To people like me: if you want to attend EF for more of a fun time, pick the residence. If you want to attend EF for an equalized balance of having the time of your life and being productive while doing it, choose the host family.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU STAY

I stayed for two weeks. Definitely not long enough. I learned a pretty good amount of Korean for that short period of time, but I feel like I could've learned more if I was more responsible and didn't go out so much.

EDUCATION

I took the intensive course. I only had two tests and I thought they were pretty easy in my opinion. The homework is a pretty reasonable amount as some classes won't even give you homework because the teachers know that the best way to learn the language is to practice what you learned in class on your own. If you want to get the most out of this education, you must do beyond the homework you're given. Korean is pretty easy. It's just a matter of how much you practice.

THE STAFF

I love them. Every single one of them. They're the best people bestowed on planet earth. Director Yohan is so friendly and easy to talk to as well as everyone else. I actually commented on most of the teachers and how they're like on EF Seoul's instagram highlights: @efseoul. So if you're curious as to how the teachers are like, go read what I put out.

PREPARING FOR THE TRIP

- If you have a credit card or debit card, tell your bank you'll be making transactions outside of your country.
- Search up Youtube videos on the customs here. There are manners you need to learn so you won't end up being rude.
- Learn the Korean alphabet. This is easy. There are lots of apps for this. I used Memrise (it's free, but you have to pay for the full version. However, you can learn the whole alphabet and more with just the free version).
- Practice reading Korean even if you don't know what it means. The faster you are at reading the characters, the easier classes will be for you.
- If you want to go to 1Million Dance Studio, search up how to do it PRIOR to going there and how much it will cost aside from other expenses. Also, ask a bunch of people that have gone there already (your fellow classmates that have been at EF already should know). Don't ask one person. Ask several. Remember that people's experiences are different so it's best to get it from many people. Which is why I encourage you to read another review after this one.

I am 100% sure about what I've said and I'm also 100% sure that I missed some crucial things so if you want some clarification, or have a question, or think I'm cute, my instagram is @franco.afs and I'll be happy to answer whatever you need to know lol.

Thanks for reading this long review and I hope you'll consider going to EF Seoul. It's a wonderful experience and it's worth every cent.

If you end up going because of this review, tell Director Yohan so I can get him to hire me. I'm broke.