CIEE Reviews

I chose this program because academic advisors assured me that it would be fun, more intellectually challenging and research-focused than other ecology programs. The faculty and TAs are absolutely wonderful people who are fun, supportive, and have created a program which as physically and mentally exhausting as it is rewarding. I was never that outdoorsy, so a program with this much time in the bush was way outside of my comfort zone. I had the time of my life, met lifelong friends, and know more about plant identification than I likely will ever need to as a microbiologist. I have pushed many friends to considering this program because I really don't think it gets much better than Alan, Johel, and Kathy. Pura vida!

If you're into nature, science, biology, the outdoors, or any of the above, I really can't recommend this program too strongly. Spending a semester in one of the most beautiful places in the world with a group of friends (none of whom I knew before the arriving) who share my passion for the natural world was a defining piece of my college experience, and a decision that I am incredibly glad I made.

The whole staff is great--they all know their stuff when it comes to science, but they're also genuinely awesome people to lead you around Costa Rica and be your friends for 3-4 months. The program they have arranged is set up perfectly, with plenty of time spent in beautiful Monteverde, enough to make it feel like a real home, but also enough travel time on the field trips to really explore the country (and Panama, one of my favorite parts of the trip). The workload can be a lot, and is probably more than most study abroad programs require, but the lessons add to the experience, and I walked away feeling like I learned a huge amount about where I was, and biology in general. And how many abroad programs have you take on an independent research project, which may have the potential to be published? One minor criticism might be that since the workload was concentrated in the Monteverde sections (not that I would want to have been working on the field trips), some of us felt like we didn't have as much time as we might have to fully explore the town and the surrounding cloud forest.

There are a million stories I could tell from the trip, from scaling waterfalls and swimming amidst bioluminescent waves, to getting way too close to eyelash vipers and bullet ants for the perfect photo, and partying with friends at Monteverde's very own Bar Amigos. But the most valuable thing I can say is that if you're considering this program, apply today and make your own stories!

My semester abroad in Costa Rica with the amazing staff of the TEC program was so great! I loved the wide range of activities we did, it felt like we fit an entire year into one semester. We got to travel around the whole country and see almost all of the highlights. We also stayed in homestay for a month and got to conduct our own research -- CIEE really had everything I was looking for in a study abroad program.

As an interactive learner, one of my favorite things was having class in the forest. It was really cool to talk about the different species of plants and animals when they were right there. Most of the lectures were like this, we spent very little time in a traditional classroom.

My favorite part of the program was homestay. It was so fun to live with a familia tica and get to know the culture and customs. Two years later, I am still talking to my host family every couple weeks.

The program was very rigorous while still worthwhile. It allowed us to experience and learn about things that are incredibly rare in the United States. The staff were incredibly supportive while still giving us room to learn and develop on our own in a country that in without equal in terms of environmental beauty and sustainability. The program allowed us learn about the connection between humans and the environment so that we could add that to our educations back home.

Seoul and South Korea were absolutely fascinating from beginning to end. Through CIEE Seoul, I was able to live in a homestay with an actual Korean family. I looked forward to this the most because I would immerse myself in the culture and learn more of the language. My host family was so gracious and they took great care of me. I miss them dearly! Due to the commute to my university, homestay life also allowed me to become quite acquainted with the transportation system in Seoul. This proved super handy later on when I wanted to explore during my free time. My university, Yonsei, was one of the most beautiful schools I have ever visited. It was on the foot of a mountain and the campus itself had so much greenery! The social work and Korean language classes I took there were very interesting. I am not going to lie though, sometimes it was a struggle to study because I wanted to be out and about exploring the city! I just had to keep reminding myself that I was still “studying” abroad despite the fun I was having.

CIEE Seoul also provided its students many educational, cultural, and fun activities throughout the semester. Coordinated events included: visiting the DMZ, exploring temples, trying out new food, traveling to other parts of South Korea, organized tours, volunteering opportunities, checking out museums and allowing us to interact with current local students in Seoul. Even though Seoul is a huge modern city, the history of this country is all around it. Even within the city you can find areas that are side by side but completely different to each other. In other words, it is a city where you never get bored because there is always something to do!

All in all, I miss Seoul. I miss getting lost in the subway station. I miss visiting novelty cafes that print your selfie on the drink you ordered. I miss seeing the awesome friends I met there. I miss the food!!! Wow, do I miss the food! If you want to experience history and modernization simultaneously during your study abroad experience, add Seoul to your list of potential destinations. I did not even fathom falling in love with a city and country in such a small period of time. Four months was just not enough and I plan to go back one day if God allows me to. This experience was a true blessing and I thank Him for that.

CIEE Shanghai has a wide variety of courses that explore different Chinese topics, but no science courses are offered in English. As a pre-med major, I made a point to seek out internships that would keep me in contact with the sciences while abroad. I had the opportunity to shadow the emergency and traditional Chinese medicine departments at nearby United Family Hospital. I thoroughly enjoyed observing medical care in an international setting while learning more about eastern medicine. It was also a great way for me to practice my Mandarin!

Generally speaking, I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to study abroad in China, a place that has been the object of my fascination for quite a while. Studying abroad through CIEE was a great way of doing so. Being that this is a country with a different primary language from my own, it was quite the challenge getting around on the first day despite having taken an Elementary Chinese class before. Fortunately, the CIEE office is right in the university, and we did not have the "always speak Chinese" rule in effect yet :). The CIEE staff are more than willing to assist with getting settled in and any other matters that may be of concern during your stay in China. Once the "always speak Chinese" rule was effected, the fun began. While it might have initially seemed overwhelming, it really did help me improve my Chinese and my confidence in speaking it. The teachers are awesome, as are the teaching assistants from the university who helped the teachers with the lesson. There is a variety of classes to choose from besides Chinese and a number actually improve your understanding of China and the people around you (I took a sociology class and Chinese film class). I really love how CIEE organized trips and tours around China and Shanghai; in case, like me, you hadn't much time to tour places on your own, these opportunities had you pretty well covered. I do suggest taking advantage of breaks to travel around as much as you can. There are a couple of Chinese speaking, writing etc. competitions CIEE plans, and they are great ways to practice as well (and get some tasty treats out of it). I could go on and on about my experience, but that should suffice for now. Long story short: CIEE is a wonderful organization and they plan out the program in a way that enables you to make the most of your time abroad, especially if you take advantage of the resources they have for you.

Let me start by saying that Bonaire is a beautiful place. The island is a fantastic, the weather is gorgeous, and I have met so many wonderful people while I've been here, both from the program and just on the island in general. I've enjoyed being able to dive multiple times a week and carry out my own independent research project. The excursions we have on the weekends are amazing as well, from spelunking to visiting Curacao. It's been eye opening to experience a whole different culture and learn about a field of biology that I'm very interested in pursuing as a career.

That being said, I have never felt more academically stressed than I have on this program, and I normally attend a university that's well-known for its academic rigor. It isn't even because the material is difficult, or that there is too much material being taught at once. It's because of the staff. They're wonderful people, but I have never met anyone less qualified to teach college-level academic courses. It is not a good thing when I've come to expect a teacher to say "I don't know" to an answer asked in class, on the material that they are supposed to be knowledgeable about. And when I am told to see a certain teacher if I need help with something, I expect to be helped, not told that they don't know how to work the program, which results in points being taken off my final grade for that assignment. Additionally, the program has such a disorganized structure, which makes for incredibly poor communication between the students and the staff; there is no set schedule of what classes are on which days each week. Sometimes, I even feel as if the staff actively try to make life difficult for the students, and I'm not alone in my opinion. I have already lost track of how many times I and my peers have spent voicing our frustrations about the unhelpful nature of the staff among ourselves.

The worst part is, I am writing this about halfway into the semester. I am already beyond frustrated with the staff, and it is not even the end, when all of our major assignments are due and final exams are given. Bottom line is, if you are looking for a study abroad experience on a tropical island, and you can take these courses without worrying about whether or not you will even get credit for them, I would highly recommend this program. But, if you are looking for something with a fulfilling academic experience as well, avoid CIEE Bonaire.

While participating in this program, I was able to do an internship at a school. The school was one room and had nearly 100 students. My classmate and I worked in the school 2 days out of the week for 6 months and formed some incredible bonds with both the teachers and the students. Every day we split up to eat, the men in one room and the women in another. We would eat out of one communal bowl with our hands. We were able to help with some grant writing on the side and get the school enough money to build a new roof. It was a great way to develop skills and work with people. The coolest thing was at the end of the year we attend the graduation, which ended in a big dance party with the students and the mothers.

This a retelling of what's in my fellow CPEC (as it was known then) student's intro chapter to his personal memoir and history of the circus called The Ordinary Acrobat (plug!). Our program director told us we had an event coming up--a circus show. Circus? With elephants? No, no. Nouveau Cirque. We saw Et après on verra bien, loosely translated "And after, you'll really see", incorporating acrobatics, a guy singing Simon and Garfunkel in a French accent, a guy yelling "Ça va!!!" et us responding and a guy falling with a chair on a trampoline, saying in French, "the more you guy up, the more you'll come down." It inspired me to continue nurturing my passion for the arts in French and my friend to write a book and have a career in circus and all of us to want to learn French better.