CIEE High School and Gap Year Study Abroad

CIEE Global Navigator

Why choose CIEE Global Navigator?

With CIEE Global Navigator High School programs, the possibilities are endless. As a U.S. high school student, you can study abroad from as little as three weeks in the summer to an entire semester or gap year. With more than 60 programs on five continents, you’re sure to find the perfect program to match your personal goals and interests.

Website
www.ciee.org
Founded
1947

Scholarships

CIEE High School Summer Abroad Scholarships

CIEE's Global Navigator Scholarship and Academic Merit Award provide funding for high school students interested in CIEE's summer abroad programs. The Global Navigator Scholarship covers between $500 to the full cost of tuition and is geared toward US students demonstrating financial need. The Academic Merit Award is suitable for all high school students and covers $500 of the tuition fee.

Reviews

Default avatar
Lucy
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

CIEE High School Summer Abroad in Paris, France - Language & Culture

I had an incredible time with CIEE in Paris! I applied on a whim and I didn't think that I would be able to go based on my financial status. However, I was accepted and received a very generous scholarship (open to anyone)!
Coming from a very small town, I was very nervous about being in a city. However, CIEE was there every step of the way. We completed an online course about safety and what to bring before leaving and CIEE was very informative every time I called. While on the program in France, we had periodic one-on-one check-ins with our program leader about how we were doing and they were always available (in person or through text) if we had questions.
The flight process was also made easy. I opted to do a chaperoned flight. A few days ahead of time, the program leader we were flying with created a group chat for all of us and gave us some information. The day of, she kept us updated about what gate we were going to and helped us navigate.
As part of the program, we explored many Parisian places, but we were also given some free time to visit parts of Paris that we were interested in. One free Saturday, a friend and I visited the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes. We spent the whole day looking at Tasmanian devils, flamingos, panthers, tapirs, and so much more. On a different day, I went to a market and bought French antique postcards! There were so many things, these are just a few examples.
Most importantly, I experienced SO MUCH personal growth. I became more independent, confident, and adventurous (even my family noticed when I returned). I made friends, received 4 college credits from Tulane University, improved my French by leagues, and grew as an individual. I cannot recommend this program enough.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
The most nerve-racking moment was when I got lost in a metro station, the Gare de Lyon. I was traveling from my homestay to the CIEE center for class with my roommate. We got off at the correct metro station, but there were 4 different staircases that all led to the same general area. We took one that we hadn't used yet and got confused. We found to a spot out of the way of the people and collected ourselves. Then we tried each staircase until we found one that had our street exit. Once we got back on track, I called our program leader to tell her we would be late. The metros in Paris are really simple and easy to navigate, but I hadn't been paying attention and let myself get worked up. Once we took a second to look at out surroundings we found our way.
Pros
  • We were given independence and free time (almost every lunch, hours after class, weekends, and couple of mornings).
  • We learned SO MUCH French from native speakers.
  • Plenty of time for sight-seeing and socializing while still being an academic experience.
Cons
  • I didn't get along with the other student in my homestay (we did have separate rooms though).
  • We couldn't leave Paris (we wanted to visit Normandy or even England).
Default avatar
Lilah
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Engineering in Berlin

This was an absolutely life changing experience, I could not recommend it more. I fell in love with Berlin, and will absolutely be returning in the future! The program had a “learn by doing” approach to classes, which meant I had a ton of fun and learned a ton at the same time. I made friends that I will keep for life, I had experiences I will never forget, and I grew immensely, both as a human and an engineer. I recommend this program to anyone who wants to see the world, experience new things, explore other cultures, and make lasting memories. This was hands down the best summer of my life, and I am better for it.

Default avatar
Darian
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Living in a small town

Living in a small town next to Lego land was great there was easy accesses most places and with proper planning and the app it's no hassle to get anywhere. It was a nice community of students at my school almost like a family and was easy to do you have have to reach out to them. extremely walkable cities, or at least the small ones, but easier by bike so there's a sense of exploration that can be either fed or developed. And if you like beaches they say that you are never 50 miles away from a beach. There is also the perk of getting to go 3 hours and get to a different country.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
You have to get yourself out there and interact with the people first.
Default avatar
jesse
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

SLAYYYYYY!

I loved making new friends, eating, and jumping into the freezing English Channel! I also went to the zoo and saw a lot of cute animals like puppies and meerkats. i got to learn about the history of rennes and eat traditional breton food. i went to mont san michel up a really high vertical town. which was very steep and had a lot of pirates stores, sexy pirate stores with sexy pirate stuff like sexy pirate clothes and candy. they also had sinky squishy quicksand that i loved drowning in. i loved going on holiday, and seeing the sunset on the seaside town of st malo and i wanna live in this sexy pirate town when i grow up.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
jumped into the english channel
Pros
  • good food
  • fun stuff everywhere
Default avatar
Nolan
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

CIEE South Korea and Taiwan Peace and Diplomacy

This last few weeks I was lucky enough to go to CIEE's South Korea and Taiwan Peace and Diplomacy program. Over the course of this program I feel like my confidence in my own independence has grown dramatically. I enjoyed making new friends, experiencing new foods and cultures, and learning all the way. The most interesting part of this program was talking to local residents of both countries, especially residents of South Korea. The knowledge I learned from them was fascinating and I could not wait to bring that information home to share with my parents and friends. I have always been interested in foreign countries and foreign cultures, and this trip was a perfect way to go out of my comfort zone and visit these places in a fun and safe way. All of the CIEE staff were very nice and very accommodating, and I can not wait to go back!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
My advice to future travelers would be to talk as much as you can to the local residents that CIEE sets you up with. They are doing all the work of bringing these sources of information to you, so engaging with them and asking lots of questions about your interests is the absolute best thing to do. I learned so much about everyday life in both countries just by talking to the Seoul mates in South Korea or program coordinators in Taiwan. Take advantage of the resources you have and use them to learn as much as you can.
Pros
  • My roommates were very nice and we complimented each other's personalities very well.
  • Food was great and there were always new things to try.
  • The locations we visited were all interesting and unique, and they all fit into the curriculum to provide something meaningful.
Cons
  • I was in a room with three people which was not a bad thing but in South Korea there were only two beds.

Programs

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I chose CIEE first and foremost because of their scholarship and financial aid help. As a low income Hispanic student traveling and studying abroad was a far fetched idea but CIEE’s tremendous generosity and help allowed me to experience Tokyo, Japan during my junior year of High School. Second after having read the program’s itinerary and comparing it with other programs I realized I felt that CIEE had exactly, if not more than what I was looking for and with CIEE I went to four different cities in Japan and learned a lot of the local culture, customs, food and language.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

CIEE offered meet up points and airports, set us up with a language test before we left to check our level of understanding of the Japanese language and they had a lot of webinars and were on call the entire time. My mom was very paranoid about letting me go off with strangers to such a faraway country but CIEE was kind enough to keep her updated and called her frequently until they confirmed I was safely in their hands at the Narita airport. They provided us dorms, showers, buses, food, and great tour guides. As a full scholarship recipient there wasn’t much I had to organize on my own as everything was provided for.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

Please study the language beforehand, it’s a courtesy to the native people of the country as well as a courtesy to yourself because if you find yourself not knowing how to speak or communicate at least at the basic level it’s going to be difficult to navigate yourself sometimes.

Also one month goes by very quickly savor it as best as you can, I came in the program very shy and came out very confident but I feel like my shyness prevented me from fully getting to know more people and more of the city, let yourself be free mentally and you will enjoy the experience much more. I always tell my friends to not be shy with your fellow peers as you will be each other’s family for the time you are there and to trust yourself and your instincts, it’s all strange and overwhelming at first but you will adapt.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Busy but fun! Depending on the day but usually we have classes in the morning Mondays to Fridays and then after class you could either have free time and explore the city on your own or you will be put in groups and do prescheduled activities such as calligraphy, meditation, exploring parts of the cities. We also took a week off of Tokyo to visit Kyoto and Hiroshima, we did not have classes that week but we did get to explore many parts of the two cities both with the entire group and on our own. We also had three days visiting our designated host families.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I was certainly nervous but my biggest fear would have to be if I was going to be well received by others in the program and if I was going to manage to get out of my shell. I realized I didn’t have anything to worry about because by the third day I was already having a blast with everyone. I realized people aren’t so difficult to get along with and that I should let go of the fear of being reserved and how others perceived me because when I did let go it became much easier to be myself and get along with others!

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Michele Schreiner

Job Title
Program Observer
Michele Schreiner is a District World Languages Supervisor in a public school district in southern New Jersey.
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What is your favorite travel memory?

Taking the group excursion to Greifswald, Germany as a wonderful opportunity for me. I was able to observe how the German Language program students and the Global Entrepreneurship students came together for one weekend.

We all traveled together by train to Greifswald, a quaint little picturesque town in the North on the Baltic Sea. We stayed at the Youth Hostel in town, which had a large open area for soccer and volleyball. It was great fun to watch the students get to know one another.

The architecture in Greifswald was beautiful and the students enjoyed the contrast between the big city life in Berlin and this adorable university town.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

As a language lover, I needed an opportunity to become a language learner again. Going to Berlin provided the perfect opportunity for me to focus my language learning skills on learning German. While in Berlin, I sought out as many opportunities as I could to utilize German with the local people. I am grateful for having had this opportunity.

Additionally, I personally needed a good refresher on my metro-taking skills. Being in Berlin was the perfect remedy for this, as the city is enormous and one often must change trains 2-3 times in order to get to a destination.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would love to go to see the program in Valparaiso. As diverse as my school district is, there is little opportunity to meet people from Chile. I would love to see how different the Spanish language is in Chile and to see how their culture is.

The security in Berlin at the study center was quite impressive. I appreciated how hard the Program Leaders were working to keep all of their students safe. I think this type of experience is unique to CIEE.

The company hires American high school teachers who are accustomed to working with American teenagers.

The 4 Program leaders I had an opportunity to get to know worked very hard at putting together meaningful "Into the Community" programs for their students. They also impressed me with how quickly and how well they had already gotten to know the students in their charge.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Personalization. I observed how well the Program Leaders worked with the German teachers in Berlin and how well they worked with the local CIEE employees in Berlin. All of these people working well together is what makes for a wonderful experience for the students, without their even realizing how many people are working behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Professional Associations

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