Program Reviews

CIEE Gaborone was easily the best experience of my life thus far. Before applying, I had always wanted to travel to the African continent, but I really did not know where. When I found this program, I knew I had to apply, and I am so grateful that I took advantage of the opportunity. Botswana is a beautiful country filled with incredibly kind people and beautiful wildlife and scenery. I didn't know this before, but after reflecting once I returned to the U.S. I realized that this program attracts a special kind of person. The people I met during my trip abroad are people that will remain special to me for the rest of my life. I really feel like I found my people while I was in Botswana, and it was uplifting to know that there were more people like me out there. You really meet people from both the U.S. and Botswana that will change your life for the better. I could go on and on about how wonderful this program is, and I still wouldn't be able to find the words to express my gratitude and appreciation. If you are looking for a program that will broaden your perspective of the world around you, increase your knowledge about global healthcare, and make connections to last a lifetime, this is the one for you. You will not be disappointed!

This is a program for people that want to be immersed in nature and experience the rainforest. There is a lot of downtime where you can explore the area and go on hikes, swim in the river nearby, and hang with the local dogs and monkeys. On the weekends you can travel to other towns to go out and get a taste of Costa Rican nightlife, but there is not much (or any really) nightlife in Monteverde. It is a small town which is great in many ways but can get boring sometimes. The food at the dining hall is amazing (and included in tuition), the housing is very comfortable (think glamping), and you couldn't imagine a more beautiful location.

Studying at CIEE in Rome Italy was the best decision I have ever made. It introduced me to many lifelong international friends, amazing experiences, a unique learning experience, and much more. I am currently 21 years old, and a junior in college. At first, I was very hesitant to study abroad. I had never been outside of the country and I didn't speak any foreign languages. However, I decided to overcome this uncertainty and study abroad here in Rome. CIEE did an amazing job informing us students about what to expect pre-departure, once we got here, and everything else we needed to hear. CIEE made this experience extremely easy, enjoyable, beneficial, and exciting. They helped me grow my independence and not fear getting outside my comfort zone. If you are curious about studying abroad, definitely look into CIEE. They are the best study-abroad program and will offer you the best experience of your life. I highly recommend CIEE, and I promise you won't regret it!

CIEE is an amazing study-abroad program. This program focused so heavily on students engaging in cultural immersion activities and encouraged us to really get involved in the culture around us. We got out of the classroom a lot and did a bunch of co-curricular activities to experience as much as we could. The staff was so kind and helpful, they really care about their students. The campus itself is beautiful and really felt like a home base for us students. The open campus block program is so unique and really allows students to see so much of the world and experience so much.

I liked studying abroad in Sydney. It's a beautiful area with east access to public transport. The program provides weekly excursions that are fun for instance trips to the Blue Mountains and Kiama blowhole. You get the chance to meet a lot of new people in the program and the academics are straightforward. You have classes Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, so there's a lot of free time to explore Sydney. The only downside is having to share a room and the small closet space. Overall, it's a fun program.

It was a really great experience. Getting to go abroad and see this great city was so cool, and the program and staff at CIEE made it very easy and fun. The classes were engaging and interesting and I learned a lot about Danish culture. Getting to go out during the classes worked very well to deepen my program. There was so much to do and so many places to see, I definitely made the most of my time. I went out on my own a lot and tried to see as much of the city as I could and it was fascinating to go out and get to walk through and feel the history in this city. I was able to go to many bakeries and coffee shops and truly experienced the famous Hygge.

I was very excited for this program prior to arriving in London. Visiting the city was a major bucket list item for me and the CIEE curriculum and program events made my experience so exciting and fun. Our professors hosted several co-curricular activities, particularly the British Museum tour, a bus tour around the city where we learned about the history of the city, a tour of the pubs in the downtown area, and many more. Overall, I am very grateful for the experience that CIEE provided me with. I highly recommend this program to others.

The CIEE Botswana program offered a lot of great opportunities while also providing ways to have fun and enjoy the area. Botswana is a beautiful country, and I enjoyed connecting with University of Botswana faculty members and students while also have a lot of opportunities to engage with the community. The CIEE Botswana staff was also great! They were very supportive and really cared about us and our experience. Overall the program really helped expand my worldview and connect with a lot of great people.

I studied abroad in 2020, and although my semester was cut short due to Covid, I was still able to have an amazing experience in Botswana. I interned at Mokolodi Nature Reserve (CIEE staff works with you to find other good placement), ate amazing food (fat cakes, seswaa, and palache became a staple in my diet), learned so much about the culture of Botswana, and saw so much of the beauty that Botswana has to offer (if you can go to the Okavango Delta…GO). What I most enjoyed was meeting all of the wonderful people, whether they were other students or Batswana. It was a life-changing experience, and helped me develop some of my own skills like leadership and confidence.

I decided to go to Ireland for block I and it was a great experience. The CIEE staff were super helpful and very responsive throughout my time there. The excursions that we went on really delve into the history of Ireland, which I loved, and some were just fun and gave all of us on the program time to hangout together. Ireland was beautiful and everyone was so nice, I wish I had more time to spend here. I traveled quite a bit with a few other students in the program and it was great. The public transport here makes it really easy to get around once you get the hang of it. FYI you have to hail the busses here, in the US you normally don’t have to, but here you do.