CYA (College Year in Athens)

I spent the Fall 2018 semester with CYA, and my experience with them was fantastic! My favorite aspects of the program were its dedicated staff, incredible field trips, and central location. The staff were very helpful in making the transition to life in Athens go very smoothly, and they were also very reliable prior to my arrival. The courses could have been more challenging, but I really enjoyed the opportunities to learn inside and outside of the classroom. There are also many opportunities for volunteering if you are willing to reach out and ask about them. The apartments were quite nice, and we were less than a 20-minute walk away from Syntagma. Overall, I am already missing Greece and I wish I could go back and experience it all over again!

I had an incredible time in Greece. To start with, the country itself is so beautiful, Athens is the most colorful city I've ever seen, with a vibrant street art community, as well as the incredible ancient sites scattered around. My studies were a surprise to me, as they were challenging, and encouraged me to work hard, but they still left enough time for my friends and I to explore and expand our horizons. My professors especially rose above and beyond my expectations through their thoughtfulness, understanding, and enthusiasm and knowledge of their respective fields! As someone who has wanted to study archaeology ever since I can remember, this experience has only revitalized that passion, and I can't wait to use what I learned while abroad in my studies, and one day, my career!

Studying with CYA had a lot of great perks. The most awesome thing about the programs is the program trips which are completely planned by CYA and which take you all around Greece. I was able to travel around Europe while also gaining a very deep knowledge of Greece. The course material is also very centered around Greece which helped to further my knowledge about the country. While the apartments that are provided are not in the best condition, they are clean and also help you be more independent. Greece is in a fairly central location so it's really easy to travel from as well. Also, Greeks are really friendly so it was very easy to learn about the culture and about life in Athens. Overall, I had a great time at CYA and would definitely recommend the program to anyone who is interested in it!

The opportunity to study abroad in Greece has been a life-changing one. I was able to tour through the country of my dreams, view ancient ruins up close and personal, and make friends who I’ll have for the rest of my life. As someone who is notoriously skeptical about leaving my home and my family, I’ve come to release that I still am because writing this at the end of my
semester abroad, I can’t even imagine leaving CYA and my new family. I feel that the program itself is designed to bring all the CYA students together through one common goal, nurturing a love for the new country that we can now call home. Whether it’s traveling to an island on the weekend or sitting at Kekkos after class, there isn’t one thing about this program that I’m
not going to miss dearly.

I spent the full academic year studying with CYA, and it was the greatest experience! Every staff member in the program truly cares about each student, which was new to me coming from a large university. We were housed in apartments around the neighborhood that CYA is located in, Pangrati, and CYA's housing coordinator is always willing to help with any problems that arise. They provided us with a delicious lunch every weekday, so it was very easy to grab a quick bite to eat between classes. One of my favorite parts of the program were the 3 field trips per semester that CYA took everyone on (included in the program!) to different regions of Greece. They were a great way to get to know other students and professors better, as well as see in person a lot of what we were learning in class. I couldn't recommend CYA enough!