CIEE Reviews

This was my first time out of the country and it's safe to say it won't be my last. CIEE and its wonderful staff made my time in Rennes extremely fun and beneficial. I learned more French than I could have imagined while, more importantly, become very well acquainted with the complex and gentle French culture and people. Each day was a new adventure and leaving was by far the hardest part. What really made it whole was my host family that was always there for me and showed me everything there is to know about Rennes and the nearby picturesque beach called Saint-Malo! Thank you especially to Daniel and Valentina for making this experience so amazing!

CIEE Prague was an amazing experience. I hadn't traveled outside of North America before so I was nervous, but with CIEE Prague, they showed me how this city was the perfect place to start with how easy the metro is to go anywhere, and the community you're surrounded by. They have the best CIEE staff! You meet great friends to adventure with. The CIEE staff also have some pretty sweet recommendations for sunset views, and activities. My favorite experiences were getting to be a part of this city and culture, learn some of the language, and travel some too. My roommate and I took a day trip to Karlovy Vary, a city in Czech Republic that was amazing! It overall has been the best opportunity of college.

Truly one of the best summers I have ever had. I will always remember the relationships I formed and the experiences I had in Prague during this program run by CIEE! There were opportunities for everyone from various backgrounds. I felt as I could go out with friends one night and explore the city in unique day excursions the next. Being surrounded by so much history and people who actively wanted to explore provided the perfect mixture of comfortability and adventure. I loved Prague so much and the whole program was very rewarding and served as a foundation of growth for myself.

CIEE Prague was a great experience! The staff are attentive to student needs and go above and beyond. The academics are appropriately challenging. I had a great time, it was the best CIEE Summer Program I have done and I attended three. It was a small program size so we really got to know our fellow classmates, professors, and program leaders. I enjoyed our trip to the Pilsen Pilsner Brewery, as well as the private tram tour. The program even came with an unlimited tram pass for the duration of our stay, which was extremely useful!

I went into this program not knowing anyone, and I was quiet nervous about it. However, this was one of the most memorable and life changing experiences I could have ever chosen to do. I met so many individuals and felt extremely comfortable once arriving. The schooling was very straightforward, but also intriguing. Prague is such an interesting city with so much to do and explore! You will never get bored, and traveling will open your horizons while expanding your perspective on life and cultures.

I went on Session III (4 weeks) of the CIEE Summer in Berlin program this year and loved it because of the location, program excursions, and academics! If you study in Berlin through CIEE, you'll be living in a center with hundreds of other students on CIEE programs. Because of this, I was able to get close with people in my program by exploring the city together or hanging out on campus. The dorms are spacious, clean, and there are also kitchens and laundry machines available. The surrounding area is in the district of Kreuzberg, which is extremely safe, diverse, and walkable. There are two grocery stores a 10 minute walk from campus, and I felt comfortable walking alone to them at 11pm. There are also a lot of ethnic restaurants with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.

The center is also conveniently located right next to one of the stations on the U7 subway, which can connect you to almost anywhere you want to go in Berlin through public transit. This summer, Berlin was doing a 9-Euro ticket promotion which CIEE paid for, but otherwise the transit should still be fairly affordable. CIEE also offers completely free bike rentals if you'd rather explore the city that way.

One thing I loved about the CIEE program in particular is the inclusion of paid dinners and excursions. I think in total we had three group dinners that were entirely paid for, as well as an overnight trip to Hamburg, a northern German city we got to by train. CIEE also paid for two private city walking tours of Berlin and Hamburg. These trips allowed us students to bond and explore a new place in German.

As for academics, the class I took was Holocaust Studies, which was incredibly informative, and I would highly recommend it. Being in Berlin allowed us access to memorials and museums that enhanced the learning experience and allowed me to learn from a German perspective and about aspects of the Holocaust I would have never learned in the United States. The classwork was extremely manageable in my opinion: we had class four days a week, for three hours each. We had discussion posts due before each class and ended up completing two 3-page essays, a midterm on vocabulary, and a group presentation. Having a small class size of nine people also made me feel comfortable participating and asking questions. Although the program says to plan for 6 hours of additional work before every class, it took me about 1-2. The grading was fair and I ended up with an A in the class. I also now know much more deeply about the Holocaust and am glad I got to see some of the historical sites related to it. CIEE also offers an optional, 1-unit German language course at no additional charge if you're interested in learning German. I didn't take this course, but my friend said she really enjoyed it and it was not difficult.

There were not many downsides of the program. However, one thing to take into consideration is that besides the paid dinners, you are responsible for all your own meals, as there is no dining hall. As mentioned earlier, there are grocery stores and food markets a short walk from campus that sell affordable groceries ready to eat or to cook. Also, because you do not live with a host family, it may be harder to feel as immersed in German culture. Even so, I felt like I was able to immerse myself by exploring the city on my own.

Overall, I would recommend CIEE Berlin if you're looking for a prime location, opportunity to socialize and explore, and manageable, interesting coursework. Thank you CIEE for this great experience!

I would absolutely take this opportunity again, the staff have been nothing but welcoming and kind. I knew I could go to them with anything, especially Olwyn. The academic course was challenging, but it’s enough time to be manageable with traveling on the weekends and still engaging in a healthy social life balance. I have met amazing people here in my program and I hope that the friendships I have made last a long time. I’ve loved getting to meet new people and have made life long, irreplaceable memories here in London! I hope to return in the future.

I went with CIEE for 4 weeks with he language and culture program. I came into the program after 2 years of not studying Spanish in the hope that I could improve before I start up classes again. I have definitely improved my speaking skills while I was here, but I do feel I learned most of it outside of their classes. The classes are periods of learning about topics and then going out and talking to locals about what you just learned. This was useful for me as I need to use new words a couple times before I can remember them. I think that the reason I loved this trip so much was that I met so many amazing people and made amazing friendships throughout the entire trip. I definitely recommend this trip.

I studied abroad in Prague the summer of 2022. I was a bit nervous going into the experience, but it has been one of the best things I have done for myself. I have enjoyed meeting people from all around the United States and living in a different country has taught me endless things about the world that I otherwise would not have known. The apartment that I lived in was very nice and had all the necessary appliances. The CIEE staff have been some of the nicest people I've met and always took the time to answer my endless questions about the culture of the Czech Republic. The other students were always fun and it was great getting to know everyone. My internship was wonderful and everybody was wanting to help when I asked. The class that I took alongside was helpful and useful. The city of Prague itself is absolutely beautiful and the public transportation is very useful and easy to get around to see all the different spots. Overall I thought that the experience has helped me grow a lot as an individual and I hope that I have the pleasure of visiting Prague again sometime very soon.

Deciding to study abroad in Seville was one of the best decisions I ever made. My time there with CIEE literally could not have been any better. The support staff was amazing, and they provided us with countless activities and ideas for things to do throughout the city. We also got to go on excursions to explore the surrounding areas. I took weekend trips to Portugal and Morocco when I had the chance, and I would highly recommend anyone studying abroad in Europe to take advantage of the ability to travel so easily. The friends I met during my program will be friends for life. Additionally, I found it very easy to adjust to the culture, even while living in a homestay. My host parents were exceptionally kind and helpful. The city of Seville was the perfect place to live as a foreign student. The city is on the smaller side, and almost entirely walkable, so you don't have to worry about finding transportation to get around. There are endless activities to take part in, beautiful streets to explore, and restaurants to eat at. People are friendly and welcoming to Americans. Overall, I would recommend this experience to anyone and everyone. It really changed my life.