Program Reviews

The entire semester was a blast! We went on some amazing trips--the most memorable were the Cenotes (bodies of underground water that are crystal clear and beautiful!) and the mayan ruins sites. We also had a great time in the city of Merida. We loved going down to El Centro and walking around and shopping and just enjoying the city. The night life was great (although I wasn't super into that), but there was a lot to offer everyone! The city is VERY safe--I never felt like I was ever in any danger. Everything is very cheap in Mexico (food, activities, trips, etc) so it's definitely the place to go if you don't have a huge budget. Classes were great--in some I was challenged and not so much in others (but who's complaining on that one??). Overall it was an incredible experience and I would LOOOOVE to go back!

This whole experience was full of excitement. everyday was full of something new that I had to do and that made it so enjoyable. In this program I was able to meet so many new people and get to know what their life is like on any normal day here in Wales. Overall, by coming to Wales to study abroad I was able to open my mind to a new culture and how other people interact in their own world. This experience is going to be extremely helpful in my future career endeavors.

It has definitely been an adventure from day one. The class field trips, especially the Ireland weekend, are fantastic every single time. The Bangor community is interesting to observe and partipate in. There's a nice mix of students from the university with people from Wales who radiate the Welsh national pride that so becomes them. The mountains, when the weather permits them to be seen, are an unfailing source of beauty. And, now, I'm out the door to go surfing in the Outdoor Pursuits class, so you'll have to excuse me. But, trust me, there's something amazing about this program and this place. It was the perfect choice for me.

Wales was the perfect place for me to go, as someone who never planned to study abroad. It was comfortably familiar in that I could still speak English and many of the customs are the same, but I still got to experience the excitement of the UK and the breathtaking Welsh natural beauty. As a Texas city girl, rural Wales was a whole new world! Bi-weekly field trips around Wales and England, the friendly little town of Bangor, and the thrilling days of the Outdoor Pursuits class make for a perfect semester of jumping out of your comfort zone and into an amazing life experience.

I loved the program as I gained some life long friends and an experience that you can only get once in a lifetime, but there were some bumps that people should be aware of. This program is a lot more expensive then what they advertise. We didn't get all of our mandatory trips completely paid for like we were told they would be. For instance when we went to Belgium we had to pay for three meals that were supposed to be included in the program fee. Don't let this discourage you. The Netherlands is a great place to study in because it is so easy to travel from and the classes were interesting.

between the cenotes, ruin sites, the ocean, the eco reserves, the wild life, the beautiful colonial cities of Merida and Villadolide there is more then enough to fill your time with places to go and things to see... O and eat every type of food you are offered.... you won't be let down.

this town is hands one of the most interesting, fun and exciting places i'v ever been. between the albizin, the AlHanbra, the active student life, the mountains near by and the ocean only an hour away... it can't get much better then granada!

The Netherlands are a great place to live and stay in. The Dutch are very blunt and to the point so if that is not your forte you may want to choose a different country. However, they do have really good cheese and the city of Gouda is a place I am really glad I visited. The directors were helpful in some areas, but extremely unhelpful in others such as dealing with students and health issues. If you have a health concern like allergies or asthma, you may want to contact them before hand to try and see if they will work with you. It was very difficult to stress the importance of avoiding contact with my allergens and I was really sick for my last six weeks in the Netherlands. Even though, I still enjoyed my time abroad and found it to be life changing to live in a different country.

Studying abroad in Granada has been a life-changing experience. People can read this everywhere, but they won't understand or feel it until they come back to the US.
Central's program is set-up in a way that a student is able to experience not only the wonders of Granada, but Spain as well. The program director is always there to answer any questions and make students feel comfortable. I enjoyed living with a host family because I was able to get a deeper insight of the Spanish culture.
One of my favorite classes was Granada Seminar, which was a class unique to Central. The students and I were able to learn about bull fights, gypsies, politics and so much more. The program takes it a step further by taking the students to an actual bull fight, an olive oil manufacturing plant,a flamenco performance and many other places that were discussed in Granada Seminar.
Visiting Morocco was the biggest highlight of my experience. It was just indescribable.Students are able to talk to Moroccan students and learn about their lives and religion first hand.
Studying abroad in Granada will be unforgettable, amazing, and life-changing!

The Merida Program was a lot of fun. We did a lot of group activities like going to Chichen Itza and going on a five day trip to Chiapas. While we did these things, we learned a lot about the different aspects of Mexican culture and history. I really enjoyed doing all of these things. Besides that, Merida is a large city full of great things to do and being half an hour from the beach was fantastic. Every weekend my friends and I would at least spend one day at Progreso. It was a great time

Even though it was a lot of fun, I did not really get much academically from this program. The classes were ridiculously easy and there wasn't a lot of support from the director to push yourself. I felt like when we had problems with what we were learning, we just had to deal with it and suffer from boredom.