CIEE

I loved my semester with CIEE in Hyderabad! India was a big switch from Indiana, but the CIEE staff was incredibly supportive every step of the way. Culture, classes, travel, health, and emotional health - they were there for everything! The semester allowed me to stretch myself and learn in ways that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to do elsewhere. Besides being loads of fun that I will always remember, it helped me deepen my relationship with my then boyfriend / now-fiancee (originally from nearby Visakhapatnam), enables me to connect with Desi people wherever I am, taught me to think in new ways, and helped me get into a career in economic development.

It's easy to travel to and get around in other Western countries at any point in your life, but a semester with CIEE in India is absolutely irreplaceable. Definitely the right choice for me :)

I loved studying abroad in Israel, of all the study abroad programs I have been in, this is definitely the best one. I had so much support in Israel from CIEE, we also had many trips both from the university of Haifa and from CIEE that I never felt unsafe or like I had no one to ask for advice. I also can say that even though we always had support from Martha (CIEE advisor in Israel), I never felt restricted or limited to explore the country and the culture. I definitely recommend anyone that would like to have a different experience to go to Israel with this program. I made amazing friends, learned a lot from the culture, country, history, society and I also learned a lot about myself in the time I spent there. I also have to say that Israel is probably the country where I have felt the safest from all the countries I have lived in. You will have a lot of fun here and learn a lot from the region. Studying abroad in Israel is different than studying abroad anywhere else. If you like to go out of your comfort zone, go to Israel, you won't regret it!

I loved studying abroad in Israel, of all the study abroad programs I have been in, this is definitely the best one. I had so much support in Israel from CIEE, we also had many trips both from the university of Haifa and from CIEE that I never felt unsafe or like I had no one to ask for advice. I also can say that even though we always had support from Martha (CIEE advisor in Israel), I never felt restricted or limited to explore the country and the culture. I definitely recommend anyone that would like to have a different experience to go to Israel with this program. I made amazing friends, learned a lot from the culture, country, history, society and I also learned a lot about myself in the time I spent there. I also have to say that Israel is probably the country where I have felt the safest from all the countries I have lived in. You will have a lot of fun here and learn a lot from the region. Studying abroad in Israel is different than studying abroad anywhere else. If you like to go out of your comfort zone, go to Israel, you won't regret it!

Living on campus at UOW and being a part of the CIEE program has made my time in Australia amazing. It made all the difference having program directors to help me make the transition into life in a new country. The excursions led by CIEE ended up being some of my favorite memories and I am so grateful for them. Not many exchange students I talked with had the opportunities that I had through CIEE, like spending a day with an Aboriginal teacher and abseiling in the Blue Mountains. My experience abroad has pushed me into new experiences daily and taught me lessons I will remember all of my life: how to cook, how to budget, how to take the train, how to surf, how to write strong essays, how to be responsibly spontaneous, and how to be myself. The best advice I have for future participants is to take the opportunity to travel during breaks and plan ahead. One of my favorite memories of my time here so far was going to Bali over mid-semester break with a friend. I met a good friend during the first couple days of orientation week, and we decided on the Bali trip and booked plane tickets right away. It was great to have something to look forward to for break, and it was an amazing trip. With that, make sure you book any plane tickets through a reliable travel agency or through the airlines themselves. Cheap plane tickets are awesome, but as I am now planning for travel at the end of the semester, I am learning there is nothing worse than booking flights through an unreliable travel agency and dealing with constantly-changing flight itineraries (and 14-hour layovers). Behold, another useful lesson I will hold onto! I cannot emphasize enough how much studying abroad has changed me for the better and helped me grow into a more confident and pro-active person. If you have any doubts at all about studying abroad, just know that you will have all the support you could want through CIEE and the friends you will make here, and that the experiences you'll have will become some of your most cherished memories.

I am so beyond grateful that I chose to study abroad with CIEE Arts + Sciences in Hyderabad. Although I had been out of the US for brief trips before, this was the first time that I ever spent a prolonged period of time abroad. I was nervous. I was excited. I didn't know what to expect or what I was getting myself into. Fortunately, I absolutely had the time of my life and if I could relive the entire experience, I undoubtedly would.

The other reviews seem to have already provided a lot of substantive information, so I'll just share a few thoughts/observations/memories:

Housing:
At first I did not think I wanted to do a homestay. However, I changed my mind upon arrival, and I am happy that I did. I lived with three other students in a home near campus with a wonderful Indian couple. Settling in off campus helped ease me into life outside of the university while introducing me to an amazingly gracious host family.

Academics:
Classes are more lecture-oriented than I was used to. I took a course in the politics department and listening to the students discuss current events was fascinating. Also, campus is gigantic and learning to navigate it was a fun challenge. Bikes were provided to us and that certainly facilitated exploring.

Travel (City/Beyond):
I really made a point of familiarizing myself with the city's public transportation (bus, rickshaw, the MMTS train system). This made weekend and post-class jaunts around town a lot easier. Also, as was mentioned in other reviews, Hyderabad is centrally located within India and it isn't hard to get to a lot of other great travel destinations quickly (by bus or train). There is so much to do! It should also be noted that CIEE does a great job of helping everyone learn how to use the trains, rickshaws, buses, etc. when they arrive.

Study Abroad Cohort:
This was probably the best part. I made great friends and the shared experience of everything above made for an irreplaceable life-changing semester.