CIEE Reviews

This was my first time immersing myself in new culture for so long! I am going home in about 3 weeks. Overall, my comprehension & language skills have improved. I’ve learned more African history here than in the U.S. which I loveee! I’ve learned how to be more independent in a new environment & have the attitude of “just try it”. When I first arrived, I was nervous about solo journeys and conversing but now I don’t mind & honestly just say what I can. The program has planned trips which I like because not everyone takes the initiative to go out and explore by themselves.

The CIEE study abroad program in Sevilla, Spain is a great experience for undergrad college students. If you are looking to learn and or practice your Spanish skills, learn more about Spanish Culture, Spanish food, Spanish music, traveling in Spain and or traveling around Europe, this program is right for you. This is a unique and organized experience that has a lot to offer socially, personally and professionally. I highly recommend this program to students who want to travel and learn about cultures in Europe.

Wow, I had an amazing time during my CIEE study abroad block! When I arrived off my flight, I was immediately welcomed with warm faces. The staff are some of the nicest people that I have met and are always helpful. The dorms are a little bit far away from the CIEE center but the Metro is cheap ($10 per month) and is about a 40min trip each way. The teachers in the program are great. They are very knowledgeable but are super nice! One thing that sucks about the program is that food is not provided and the dorms have no kitchen, so eating out can get costly! Overall I had a great experience with CIEE in Madrid and would recommend it to other students

Costa Rica is a great place to be, especially when it is not raining. There are a lot of things to do and most of them take advantage of the amazing scenery. Academics weren't too hard or too easy, and professors were understanding when needed. You will get close to the people here since you will interact with them frequently. The cafeteria food was great, even better than some restaurants. Nightlife depends on the occasion, but overall, I would recommend you try a block here, it is a most relaxed experience.

I had a great time studying abroad in london. The range of restaurants and ethnicities really made me feel like I’m abroad. The traveling around london was very easy with the underground and the architecture and sights to see were endless. The only thing I’d say was bad was the amount of coursework which limited my time to have fun and travel. Also the location of the housing was quite far from the CIEE building and I would recommend housing that is walkable from the CIEE building. Finally I think it was overall a very interesting experience which left me with many different perspectives and insights.

The program itself was fun and had a lot of good events. Christina was very helpful and is great at her job. The teachers were smart and did a good job at teaching. The housing situation was terrible. The bathrooms leaked and the kitchen as well as the living room were tiny. The rooms were small and some did not even have windows. There were moldy rooms and cockroaches in the living spaces. The only good thing about the housing was the location. I would not recommend this housing situation to anybody else.

I’m an out of state student at my home university, so I ended up saving tuition money and earning more credits by taking this program and was able to visit three countries in the process. The course load is just about right and the instructors were caring and made sure to balance our academics with our actual time abroad. Thais, Christina, Chris & Hongbo were really welcoming and made the center a nice community. CIEE is pretty close to the city center so there’s a lot of stuff to do just outside of it.

During my semester abroad in Cape Town, I connected with the people, place, and culture in many different ways. I was able to pick up quite a bit of Sesotho (a Bantu language), go hiking and see the city from multiple perspectives and find daytivities to stimulate my mind. You can go to places like clay cafe, and do artsy activities or food jams to take a cooking class. Food was definitely one of my favorite aspects, the restaurants made me more adventurous. I hadn't tried ostrich, squid, snoek, springbok until I got there. I also love the aquila safari. beautiful city and people.

While I understand most if not all programs, work environments, schools, etc all over the world were all re-acclimating and recovering from the global pandemic, I was unfortunately quite disappointed with many parts of my time studying abroad in Amsterdam with CIEE in Spring of 2022.
I would like to start by saying that I overall had a wonderful experience. I met amazing people, was fortunate enough to travel, and felt I personally grew a lot. But with that, those experiences were not due to CIEE and the program isn't was almost completely unhelpful the entire time.

I had the most amazing time studying abroad specifically with this program with CIEE. I never had been out of the country so it was very important for me to choose a program that was there every step of the way with guidance and support. I also wanted to be in a program with immersive and interactive courses which is what CIEE provided. Another amazing aspect of studying with CIEE is the ability to do activities and meet other students in the program! Overall, I had such an amazing experience because of this amazing program.