CIEE Reviews

I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend my final year of undergrad in this wonderful program. The staff realizes that there can be a large culture shock between Russia and the US, so they work very hard to give you the tools you need to prevent any issues. I went there without knowing any of the Russian Language, and I didn't have any problems adjusting. It was a lot of fun and I wish I could have stayed longer!

The people are great, the classes are informative, the city is wonderful, and I'd recommend this program to anyone who was interested. Even besides the experience, I'd recommend going as a resume builder because I think that my attendance in this program helped me get accepted into my MBA program.

Definitely choose the homestay option over the hostel.

I enjoyed everyday I spent in Wollongong! So much so I am trying to come back to Australia! Locals/Australians are hospitable and help you if you need a hand. Wayne and Tonia (the program directors) are the sweetest and most respectable people you will meet! Any problems were resolved immediately and they were there for constant support. All the events were fun and we enjoyed a lot of meals with constructive, meaningful conversation. The directors really care about your wellbeing and want to see you succeed! The south coast trip to learn about indigenous traditions was very special to me and I loved that the most!

I studied abroad with CIEE for one month in the spectacular city of Shanghai, China. It was such a wild ride, and I had so much fun!! I also learned a lot… maybe even more when I was outside the classroom. Being on your own in a huge city for a whole month forces you to change – and you can choose for the better, or worse. Hopefully, I adapted positively and gained skills that will be so useful for my whole life, like independence, intercultural communication, and a greater appreciation and awe for our big big world.

I loved my time in Shanghai because I made amazing friends and made amazing memories in the country of my background, being Chinese-American. CIEE arranged tons of activities for us to explore Shanghai and I was able to see it in a new light that was not as "touristy." They also arranged a whole weekend trip where they took us to Nanjing, another city in China that is full of important history. I also really enjoyed the class I took called Political Development in Modern China where I learned so many interesting things I would not have been able to if I weren't in Shanghai. Additionally, living in one of the best campuses in China at East China Normal University was an amazing perk, and I will never forget the delicious cafeteria food. I definitely think my time in China this summer grew my appreciation and love for my roots more than ever before.

I am now positive I will be going back to China in the future for longer periods of time. In my class, we learned about the notion of the impending “Asian Century” in the 21st century, which basically means Asia will show the world how it can excel, too. (Previous centuries being “American” and “European” respectively.) I am excited for Asia’s future, and of course, China’s. I’m super proud to be Chinese! I am really glad I did this summer study abroad. It went beyond my dreams. 🙂

My study abroad experience in Warsaw, Poland through the CIEE program was superb. I was enrolled in interesting classes, met terrific people, and was able to learn more about the Polish culture. The best part of the experience was the friendly staff that made sure you felt comfortable, and they dropped everything to help if an issue arose. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and was extremely disappointed once I had to fly back to the United States.

I'd like to begin by saying that my semester in Botswana was absolutely one of the best, most formative times of my life. Although I was a bit nervous before departing the states, all of my worries were immediately put at ease upon arriving in the country, being introduced to my homestay family, and meeting the CIEE staff.

One thing I really loved about CIEE Botswana was the integration of our program into the local university, people, and culture. During our orientation week we took multiple cultural excursions such as to a small village to spin pottery and to a traditional restaurant. We also took dance lessons from a man trained in traditional dancing. All of these experiences allowed us to become comfortable fully immersing ourselves in the experiences from the beginning.

Secondly, the structure of the CIEE Botswana program is also great for meeting and engaging with local students. Although we took some classes with our program, we also took classes with students from the University at large. Additionally, CIEE student volunteers were active and present at almost every gathering we had, even if these gatherings were planned outside of the typical CIEE structured meetings, etc. Weekly clinic visits allowed us to visualize and apply what we were learning about in the classroom.

Finally, the relationships I formed while abroad mean so much and will continue to mean so much to me for the rest of my life. Our amazing program director proved to be so much more to me than that: she was a confidant, care giver, and friend. From the beginning she made sure to do anything and everything she could to guarantee us a good experience. She spent hours looking for families to pair us with for homestays. She visited excursion sites, scheduled meetings, and organized everything far in advance. She answered late night texts and made an effort to engage with each person on an individual level. Without her hard work, the program would not have been nearly as successful as it was for us. Her hard work brought me countless other friends like the student volunteers, Bethel (our beloved taxi driver), my homestay mother, sisters, and brothers, and many, many more. Already, I am wondering when I can head back to Botswana.

I had the most incredible time during my time abroad. Sevilla was a very exciting city with lots of culture. The CIEE program was well-run and enjoyable. I like the conpany visits for some of the classes and loved going to Morocco. Everyone involved was very nice and helpful and definitely helped improve your Spanish. Living in a home stay with a family was also an excellent choice for me. I loved living with a mother and her three children. That kept everything exciting at home and allowed me to speak even more Spanish during the day. I was also able to travel many weekends. Overall, I had a phenomenal time abroad in Spain.

I had a great experience in the ACL program at CIEE Shanghai! My classes were extremely rigorous and very challenging academically. But they were taught by a great teacher who kept us afloat in the midst of the hardship. I really appreciated the variety of ways in which we interacted with our material and learned so much on our class field trips. Additionally, I was impressed by the balanced perspective my teacher had. She not only kept us accountable to a standard of excellence, but also cared about us personally, and created relationships with us as individuals. I will always remember the relational and encouraging nature of CIEE Shanghai.

I loved my semester in CIEE Rabat's Language and Culture program! The program does a great job in matching students to host families, and between program staff, families, professors, and peers, there is a great support system for students. Field trips to different cities are a great way for students to see a lot of the country. I would definitely recommend CIEE Rabat to students looking for an incredible study abroad experience.

I studied abroad during the Spring of 2017. The academic system at first was a bit challenging due to the difference in scheduling, grading, and evaluations. As the semester went on, it became easier to understand and adapt to. I personally enjoyed most of the classes I took, as I tried to make them pertain towards my minors. Half of my classes were located on the St. Patrick’s Campus, so it was about a fifteen-minute bus ride there and back. The bus stops are located on each campus, so it was not an inconvenience. I do highly recommend studying throughout the semester, even if the final seems far away. You will not regret it when the time comes. I promise.
Traveling was super convenient and accessible while in Ireland. That said, I would highly recommend for the first month or so to explore all that Ireland has to offer before venturing around Europe. I can safely say Ireland was my favorite place I explored out of all of my travels. Odds are many of the things you see and do will come up in your classes, especially CIEE led ones, and having witnessed them will make it easier to visualize and comprehend what you are learning about. When you do travel and return, it makes Dublin seem like you’re returning home to a familiar place. The CIEE coordinators are great resources for ideas and suggestions of where to go and what to do while there. It’s a good idea to become familiar with them, so if a situation where you may need advice or assistance comes up they can readily help you. Plus, they’re pretty cool people to know in general.
Many of the best memories stem from the little moments and places you will stumble upon. My advice would be to stay flexible. It’s great if you have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to see, but if you try to jam fifteen monuments into one day it can become exhausting and take away from the experience.
Another tip I have is if you are traveling to a non-English speaking country, or even a country where English may not be the first language but they’re known to speak it, find a list of common phrases and words in that country’s language and keep it handy. Even if you aren’t confident about what you are saying, most people appreciate the effort you are making to be a part of their culture. It’s okay if you butcher it, just make an effort.
Other than that, I suppose my only other advise would be that Dublin is beautiful, take time to explore what it has to offer. You don’t want to come to the end of the trip and realize you know far less about the place you’ve been living in for the last few months or don’t know how to navigate. Even if you mainly travel around with a friend or group of people, try to be the navigator every once in a while. In case anything were to happen, you would know how to safely get back and it will make you more confident in your future travels.

I've always wanted to study abroad. The question was where? After deciding to minor in Chinese Language, CIEE"s Accelerated Chinese Language (ACL) program became the clear answer. I didn't really know what to expect going into the program. I knew it would be hard and lots of work considering it was guaranteeing 2 semesters of Chinese in 1 study abroad semester.

I absolutely loved the class. It was Monday through Thursday from 8am to 12pm, and my instructor was beyond amazing. Before coming abroad I studied for maybe 1.5 years in school. The Chinese teacher spoke only Chinese and taught only in Chinese, which was extremely difficult in the beginning, but I eventually got used to it. I ended up loving class. My professor was kind and understood how our brains worked when learning a second language. She used old words to teach us new words and structures. I noticed a drastic improvement in my listening abilities and while I still struggle sometimes with responding appropriately, at least I can get most of my thoughts across now.

The one negative thing I would have to say about this program is the loads of homework and projects we have in addition to class. I truly believe that even having more class would have been better than all that homework. I would sometimes spend another 6 hours just on homework every day. In this way, it limited my ability to go out and actually explore the city. I wanted to experience Shanghai and all it has to offer but was severely restrained because I wanted an "A" in the class and felt that in order to get that I needed to sacrifice my time to explore. But I think towards the end of the semester I learned to adjust and the teachers gave less work so that I was able to see some of Shanghai. Despite spending the first 2 months pretty much holed up in the dorms doing homework, I was eventually able to go out and actually USE the Chinese I was learning in class to help me in talking with the locals, ordering food, ordering train tickets, etc.

Overall it was an incredible experience. You have a long spring break that gives you time to travel. Some friends and I backpacked neighboring countries and didn't feel too pressed for time while travelling. The support CIEE gives you is also great. You can always find someone to talk to if you feel you're struggling or falling behind in a class. They understand that you came here to not only learn but explore, and they try to do everything they can to make sure you have a well-rounded study abroad experience.