Program Reviews

I loved everything about Holland as a country. It was eye opening and exciting to live in a new country with a unique culture.

One of my favorite parts of Central's program in Leiden is the fact that they require the students to take a Dutch language class. It's a challenging language, but I think it helped all of us appreciate the culture that much more.

I enjoyed the internship I had in Holland, at a Dutch non-profit educational group called NUFFIC, in their communications department. It was particularly interesting because I helped organize and execute Nuffic's Holland Alumni Conference, so I had the opportunity to meet alumni of Dutch universities from all over the world.

I have only two negative comments about my time in Holland: the first is that the process of getting the internship took much longer than I anticipated, especially since we had filled out paperwork regarding the types of internships were were interested in. It was several weeks, and even months before some students started their internships.

The second negative comment is in regards to the required discussion based course about Holland. I felt that there was very little instruction given in regards to papers and certain assignments.

I have and will continue to suggest students who are able to go participate in an abroad program to go for 6 weeks during the summer like I did when I studied in Merida. Not only was I provided with the opportunity to visit beautiful Mexico but I was able to obtain a rich understanding about the people and the culture. Val my program director was nothing less than awesome. I had difficulty adjusting the first couple of weeks(I got home sick)and almost had a 6 hour layover in Mexico City by myself (which freaked me out). Valerie helped me immensely in both situations. I never felt unsafe and was encouraged to step outside of my comfort zone to explore the country around me for help was never more than a phone call away. Thank you Central College for allowing me to have an experience I otherwise would have never been able to afford.

The Netherlands is a fantastic country, I love it, and would recommend everyone visit if given the chance. However, the program director and the assistant director leave much to be desired. They are both clearly sexistly biased when it comes to classes and grading. Their methods of grading are completely arbitrary and influenced by their personal issues. The assistant director has been clearly biased against the female students. He has been rude to two particular students with higher education than himself--clearly feeling threatened. The male students receive good grades whether they did the work for those grades and are allowed extra privileges that no female student has received. We have, on several occasions, been abandoned in unknown areas by the directors. Most of these times it was not a problem because it was in the Netherlands and we could find our own way; however, it is completely irresponsible to abandon your students on an excursion in another country when they don't know where to go. Besides the incompetence of the directors, they have not given proper compensation for the required trips that we paid for before coming to the Netherlands. This program has many hidden fees that we were not made aware of until they were demanding money from us. Many of these charges should have been taken care of in the program fees that were paid beforehand. These hidden costs amount to hundreds of dollars extra after getting to the Netherlands. Overall, the program is in desperate need of an overhaul. I would recommend studying in a different country and visiting the Netherlands.

Wow! I just finished a semester in London and I can’t even describe how amazing and life-changing it was! I have learned so much about the British Culture, many other countries I got the experience to visit, and about myself as a person. I grew up by being placed in a culture that was extremely fortune, and with the help of the staff and other students, I successfully became a part of it. We were given opportunities to see musicals, watch football games (soccer), a rugby game, stay a weekend in Bath, and visit the gorgeous seaside town of Brighton along with many more things. And those were only events that we did together as a group. I traveled to so many towns within England and many other places outside of England including Sicily, Malta, Genoa, Rome, and Tunisia Africa (that we all experienced on a Mediterranean Cruise) along with Paris, Prague, Amsterdam and many more. Needless to say, I’m sad that the time has come to an end!

This experience was by far the best thing I have ever done as a student and just as a global citizen. Living in Spain opened my eyes to a lot of things and introduced me to a lot of life long friends. I grew a lot as a person and living in a different country with a new language made me appreciate the diversity of this world. I enjoyed staying with my host family who made me feel welcomed and made my everyday activities fun and enjoyable with their great support. The program director for the Granada program is a GREAT lady who will go out of her way to make sure all her students are taken care of. If you want someone that can show you how to enjoy a culture to the fullest while also giving you an educational experience, you will love the Granada program director. The teachers at the school were beyond amazing and made learning fun. Who could have known learning could be as fun as this. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to grow and anyone who wants to try something new. Spain is a beautiful country and the travels I had through out Spain, the Flamenco shows I attended, the food I ate (I ate a lot of good bread with my meals),the bull fight, the weekly soccer games, the endless discoteca nights, and the people I met from Spain and all over the world made my time an experience of a lifetime. Muchos besitos

- I was not informed about hidden fees for this program. (such as the Residency Permit, travel costs, meal costs during required trips, Belgium trip)
- Housing conditions were not optimal, and I found that I wasn't getting my money's worth. The cleaning staff just decides to not clean if they don't want to. On many occasions I had to clean the kitchen just to eat in a clean space.
- On a good note, Leiden is a beautiful city and the Netherlands is a great country to study abroad in. It is easy to travel around Europe and things are pretty relaxed in the Netherlands.

Studying abroad through Central College's program was probably the best decision I have ever made. I was given the opportunity to take an introductory Neuropsychology course, which is not offered at Central. Through their program, Central offers a course called Outdoor Pursuits. Throughout my semester abroad, one day a week we participated in numerous outdoor activities including gorge scrambling, mountain scrambling, surfing, and many others. This opportunity was unique to my past experience as I am from Iowa, where no mountains exist, nor are we close to the ocean. The program places students within flats that house the general student population of Bangor University, which allowed me to integrate myself into their culture and make some great friends with whom I still keep in touch. We toured many castles, and went on a weekend trip to Cardiff and a 5-day trip to Ireland. Though I struggled with homesickness at times, the feelings that occurred while I was homesick were nothing compared to the fun and experiences I had while I was in Bangor.

The people in my program became my family because we were all we had for a support system. I count some of them as my closest friends. I joined the hockey team and suddenly had 120 new friends, guys and girls, knew people all over Bangor, had something to fill my time and keep me active and they showed me a local side of the social scene. I learned how to surf, rock climb, I climbed mountains on a day off, I played hide-and-seek in castles, and I learned how to use the train system and became a huge fan of public transit. I understand the history of Wales, the customs of Wales, and the distinct culture. I can tell a lot of castles apart by a quick glance at a picture and know their individual histories. I have the utmost fondness for Wales as a country, Snowdonia as a region, and Bangor as a community. I did not have as much culture shock entering their culture as I did leaving it and returning to my own. It is still hard for me sometimes, and that's nearly a year after returning. I can go back to Bangor, but I can't go back to the times I had. Overall, I would not have missed it for a million dollars. Or pounds.

I spent 4 1/2 months in Bangor, Wales and will never be the same again. I loved the university that I attended while there. I was easily able to take classes that fulfilled requirements in the States and they were challenging but not overly so. But what I most enjoyed were my experiences with the people. I made so many great friends in my time there and those friendships have carried over. I am still in contact with my flat mates and a coach that I played for while in Wales. If you want an incredible experience that will change you forever then check out the Bangor,Wales study abroad program through Central College.

I studied at Bangor University for a full academic year through the study abroad program at my school in the US. I absolutely loved everything about Bangor! I made great friends, had some awesome times and was really challenged by the academics. I had the opportunity to take classes within my major that I would have never had access to back home, and it was interesting to see academics done in a different place. From Bangor, it was easy to travel anywhere in Europe, and in my nine months there I saw so much of the world. The best part of my experience was living in a flat with seven other Bangor University students. We made great friends, and this became the center of my social life. I'm looking at going back to the UK for graduate school because I loved my experience so much!