CIEE Reviews

I came to CIEE Open Campus Berlin for 6 weeks with an open mind knowing that I am not a city lover or history buff. The life changing transition that occurred to me in Berlin has brought me to change my future plans to now life in Germany. CIEE housed students in the center of Kreuzberg, which is a perfect location for foodies. Living right in the center allowed us students to be immersed in the culture easily. Walking to the grocery store everyday, joining a gym, trying new coffee shops and night life were just a few things I was able to do and feel like I was really living in Germany and not a tourist. CIEE enabled me to take on a STEM internship, which was an amazing opportunity to be able to experience abroad and learn more about professionalism abroad. I also took a German History course, so being able to learn and then literally just step outside of the dorm and be exposed to rich history was a eye opening experience. I came to Berlin not knowing any German. CIEE literally changed my entire experience by simply providing a Survival German course. I was then able to successfully get around the city comfortably and respect the German language. Due to the way CIEE classes were set up, students are able to travel on the weekends to other European countries, which was a great escape when the city life came to be too much and allowed me to experience many other environments and cultures!

CIEE Open Campus program allowed me to spend a life changing 6 weeks in Cape Town. With the night life, mountains, city, and the beach all within a mile of each other, this location had endless things to do. Classes were not overwhelming and instructors/ program coordinators organized outside environment trips, which really helped us students learn about Cape Town on a deeper level. I took two STEM classes online that counted towards my biology major and public health minor. Although it was online, my class had other CIEE students in different locations around the world, so I was able to hear so many different perspectives. Hearing about the in person class experiences, other students had life changing discussions that changed the way people viewed life. CIEE housed Open Campus students with Arts & Sciences students and also students that were going to the nearby university UCT. As a student oriented neighborhood, groceries, restaurants, cafes are all walkable and provides a perfect opportunity to be able to immerse yourself in the culture. Cape Town gets a bad rep for crime, but everyone is really friendly. Just like every other new location of travel, being smart and aware of your surrounds is all you need to do. Cape Town with CIEE is a hidden gem that I am so happy I found and I hope to reveal its wonders to everyone!

Studying abroad in Jordan was an excellent experience to visit a unique region and learn a lot about the politics of the Middle East and the Arabic language! I loved living in Amman, and the support offered by CIEE was a large contributor to that experience. As with any study abroad experience, there is a bit of culture shock when you first arrive, however I found many similarities emerged as I continued throughout the semester.

Studying abroad in Amman is different from the classic Europe study abroad experience. The social life is a bit quieter, but there are plenty of new nightlife experiences to try. The program can be relatively small, but I made some fantastic friends while studying there. Overall, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to challenge yourself and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Exploring cafes, traveling to new countries, browsing through the markets (suuks) and finding your favorite sweets shop are all some of the day-to-day activities you may enjoy.

I also participated in the internship program. I worked at the University of Jordan in the Center for Strategic Studies. This was a great option to gain work experience in a foreign country and focus on topics I was interested in—particularly refugee settlement and integration in Jordan.

My favorite experience while studying abroad was spending the night in Wadi Rum. The orange sand in the desert was probably the most beautiful and unique landscape I had ever seen. We went on jeep rides through the sand dunes, hiked up a canyon to a small pool, ate amazing home-cooked food at the camp, and rode camels while the sun set on the evening. Following this trip, we continued down to Petra and saw one of the wonders of the world! I think everyone should check these locations off their bucket list at some point, and having these excursions covered by CIEE was an amazing opportunity.

I highly recommend this abroad experience and cannot wait to return to Amman in the future.

My experience in Barcelona through CIEE was incredible! I had the opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture, meet amazing friends, and go on numerous adventures. I lived in an apartment of 6 people and we all loved the experience. The guidance and information provided to us allowed us to quickly adapt to the new city.

The CIEE programming was organized and the staff was very friendly. The courses were all exciting and allowed me to learn a lot, while still leaving time to explore the amazing city. I was able to travel to several new locations and CIEE offered programming events that made it easy to meet people. I appreciated how I could quickly reach CIEE staff for any questions and concerns.

I made so many amazing memories and would definitely recommend the experience. I loved the independence of being in an incredible, new city, while also feeling very supported and comfortable.

As an Asian-American, this was my first time exploring Asia in my life. Coming to Seoul, I had limited knowledge of Korean (from a few courses I took in school), so I was nervous about how to navigate the region. However, CIEE had a Seoulmates program, where I was able to connect with local students and that had really improved my experience. I made many new friends and was introduced to many cultural experiences with them. I even made mini weekend trips to other parts of South Korea with my Seoulmates, which was amazing!

Korea's food is super yummy and affordable too -- I never had to cook or go grocery shopping during my time abroad. Definitely a great place to go if you're a foodie.

I cannot recommend the Prague CIEE program enough. The people in our program went from strangers to incredible friends in a few short months because of the intimate program CIEE created. The housing was in a safe, practical, and beautiful neighborhood that I pitched myself I got to live in every day. When any of us had a problem, every single person at CIEE was willing to drop anything to help us which took all the worry of directions, translating, and overall stress off of you as the student. CIEE staff made us feel at home in a foreign place and created an experience that absolutely changed my life.

During my experience traveling on the CIEE program: International Marketing in Barcelona, Spain, I felt like it was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, experiences abroad. When leaving for my trip, my flight was canceled many times which caused me to feel anxious about future problems that might occur once getting to Spain. I do not speak any Spanish, but was relieved when arriving to Spain, because there were many people, who spoke some English, willing to help me find where I needed to go. I was living in a homestay, which I was excited to learn about the different aspects of the culture in Spain, as well as sharing my personal experiences back at home. Once I finally arrived to Spain, I felt a wave of happiness come across my body when I was driving in the taxi on the way to meet my host mother. The views were beautiful, and as someone who loves to travel, I was ready to begin my journey. This trip was a unique learning experience for me because I met many different types of people, learned the importance of understanding different cultures, and became extremely close with my roommate and host mother, which is never something I would have experienced without taking the opportunity to study abroad with CIEE. My unique experiences included: touring Sagrada Familia, which is the largest unfinished Roman Catholic Church, becoming friendly with, and getting to know the workers in the cafe where I would get my morning coffee, and the weekend trips to places in Spain, such as Menorca, provided by CIEE. I was able to come away from my abroad experience with a new set of life skills, an understanding of cultures that differ from my own, and create close connections to different people, which I still stay in contact with today.

The CIEE Business + Culture Program in Barcelona, Spain was absolutely outstanding all around. The program provided a fantastic mix of meaningful classes, fulfilling explorations of the surrounding area, and freedom to create your own experience. CIEE allowed me to learn more about not only different areas of Spain and Barcelona, but the history of several landmarks and places. The process of class selection was an independent process, yet easy to navigate. I found several opportunities to learn more about Barcelona as well as the whole continent of Europe through traveling and having positive in-person experiences. The location of our school was in a very convenient spot, as it was very close to the magnificent city of Barcelona.

My experience with CIEE was wonderful this past Spring in Sevilla, Spain. I felt like there was so much pre- and post-program communication and support. There were numerous info sessions where students could attend, and people at CIEE were in constant communication with me for any inquiries I had. I made so many friends on the program from the United States and Spain, and those relationships have carried with me back to my college campus. CIEE throughout the semester, hosted numerous cultural activities such as wine tastings, excursions to local cities, food classes, dance classes and more.

CIEE hosts many events throughout the semester, and I am grateful to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed each one I have attended — from cooking classes to archery cafes, from museums to excursions outside of Seoul, each activity was something I had always wanted to do, but perhaps wouldn’t think of during my time here. And to make the experiences all the more enriching, we are often accompanied by Seoulmates, who are local students that guide our small groups during the CIEE events. It was the best time of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else.