Program Reviews

My summer abroad experience was everything I had hoped for, plus more! The University I attended, IAU, was incredible. I was able to advance in my French language skills and studio art skills. All of the staff were welcoming, helpful, encouraging, educated and fun. Without them, none of this would have been possible and they really enriched the whole experience.
My host family was incredible as well. I was safe, comfortable and felt as if I was really apart of the French culture by living with them.
The town itself really made me fall in love with France and the French culture. Someone who hasn't traveled a lot and was a little nervous in the beginning, all of that went away by being in Aix. Being able to be apart of everything the town had to offer really made me feel at home.
Then lastly, the skills I learned on this trip will help me in all of my future endeavors. Not only did the trip advance me in my education, it helped me improve in my everyday life. It made me more passionate to travel, appreciate cultures other than my own, improve my communication and problem solving skills and push me out of my comfort zone. I will never forget this experience and will forever be grateful for the things I got to do and the people I got to meet. I am already counting down the days until I get to go back!

Going abroad was something I never imagined in my life. I have always considered myself a "home body," loving being comfortable and knowing everything around me. I am very close with my family and often times have struggles with leaving home, even for college. It took a lot for me to actually step outside of my comfort zone to do something like this. My experience was unique because I was very unsure, even on the plane, if I could physically go through with this. It was something that was definitely a challenge for me at first. I began to create a routine for myself that really helped me get comfortable in this new place. For the future, I want people to know that it gets better. No matter how scary it might seem at first, it will always get better. This experience is what you make of it so you have to make sure you keep yourself busy and do everything in your power to make this a positive experience. For me, it taught me so much about myself as a person, living with people you might not know so great at first, being independent, and so much more. This impacted my life in a really big way. During this semester, my older sister moved out into her own apartment, my little sister committed to college, and I went through a very messy breakup. Even though there were up and down emotions throughout the semester, it really taught me how to deal with big life events like this. My favorite memory was being on Piazza Di Michael Angelo with my new 6 roommates, not realizing we would all become best friends, we looked out to our new city and realized this is what we were going to call home for the next 4 months and we can't waste one minute of it. Leaving was very bittersweet for us and we still are adjusting back to America but this experience really taught us so much about being an independent adult being able to take on anything that comes our way. I think studying abroad is something very important to experience and if you have the chance to do it take it. You have a lot more support than you think as well. I ended up getting my passport stolen as well which was a stressful time but it allowed me to take initiative to something very important with the help of the right people and ended up teaching me a lot of things about how to handle issues and about myself.

So many fun activities were organized so that I could make lasting friendships and memories. I loved the excursions to other towns but I also enjoyed seeing more of Madrid itself. CIS is a flexible program that provides a lot of support. I felt comfortable asking questions and going to my on site director for any guidance. This trip has made me want to see more of the world! The only improvement I would recommend to CIS is to be more picky about who they chose as homestays. My roommate decided to move out of our honestly because it wasn’t a good fit for her.

From the tranquil temples to exhilarating night markets, Thailand never ceased to amaze me. I highly recommend an adventure to Thailand if you are seeking out exotic experiences to last a lifetime in your memories.
With the experience I have gained from working at a medical clinic, I will be able to provide better care to my patients as a nurse. This experience has given me a chance to become a better person.
At some point during your time abroad, you will feel culture shock from stepping outside your comfort zone or that suspicious knot in your stomach as you long for the comforts of home. This feeling can range from overwhelming to only a minor inconvenience. In my case, it was a slight inconvenience that went away easily with food—more specifically home cooked food. No matter where you travel, study, or intern abroad, a home-cooked meal is universal, and it certainly brings feelings of happiness to whomever shares the meal.

Honestly, in the beginning of this process I was very stressed out and thought that the guidance through the process could have been better. Molly tried her best to support me and help me as much as she could but I do think that she had a lot on her plate which meant that each student didn't get enough attention (a lot of students that dealt with her felt the same way). when I got on the plane I didn't think I was fully prepared to begin this journey but at the same time, who is prepared to live in another country for 4 months?
One of my biggest concerns about going abroad was how would I set up a phone once I get there. CIS sent us emails and websites that were meant to help us prepare for our semester so I was sure to look through it all and take every advice they had for me. One of which was going through a service known as PICCELL. that was by far the worst recommendation they could have given me. this service didn't work anywhere and charged me over 100 dollars a month when my friends were going through services that costed much less. I think that CIS should recommend an actual service they know is good and reliable or recommend nothing at all. that was a very frustrating aspect.

BUt, overall I will say that CIS was the best choice I made. after hearing what all the other students were saying about their programs I know I picked the right one. my favorite part was the mandatory travel week, I met some of my best friends during that week. I heard nightmare stories about other people only being friends with their roommates because they never had te opportunity to meet other people besides in class. this three credit travel course was a great place to learn about Italy, see amazing places, and meet amazing friends. Also, the group dinners nd trips were a great place to meet up with friends we made during the first week but weren't able to keep in touch with. The support from CIS was amazing and I look forward to recommending them to all my friends choosing to study abroad

I am currently completing a Biomedical Engineering Internship though CISabroad. They did a great job connecting me with Australian Internships and helping me to find the perfect placement that is giving me an experience I would not have been able to have at home. The CIS on site staff member, Maria, has been incredible, from the airport pick up, showing us around the city, emailing us to keep in touch, and keeping excursions organized. I couldn't have hoped for anything more from her support.

My only complaint about this program is that the housing is not at all a comparative value with what the price was. Otherwise, I am incredibly happy with my experience so far. It has given been wonderful friends, and so many experiences and memories to hold on to for a lifetime.

Studying abroad was one of the best decisions I had ever made. Going abroad helped me to realize how much was truly out there in the world to see, everywhere I went had something unique and different to see, I was always having a new experience. I also traveled and went abroad on my own, this helped me to become a more independent person. I was able to branch out and I didn't hold back on new things. I also got to meet incredible people over the 4 month span and couldn't be more thankful for that. The staff from CIS was also incredible, my program coordinator in Australia was so helpful and very personable.

Overall, I had an amazing experience traveling through the CIS Abroad program to Costa Rica. In my honest review though, my program was not very organized. They did do a great job preparing you and making you feel safe and having everything you needed to travel to a new country. However, when it came to planning trips and excursions, class organization, and an accurate description of the program application, they did very poor. First off the application did not give a good description of what excursions were included and not included and did not have an accurate syllabus online. It was very different from what we actually did and that left everyone taking the same class as me very frustrated and we had to work out all the issues together once we got there to still get our moneys worth of an experience. On the website it said that two excursions were included in the pay and that was wrong we only had one included and had to pay any other ones we wanted to do, and they were not cheap. The program coordinator was understanding and did try to help us work through these issues but it still showed disorganization and not much communication on their part. I still had an enjoyable experience after working through these issues and planning my own trips once I got there, but it was a hassle working through the issues that were not communicated on the website description of the program. This was also my first time traveling abroad and Costa Rica was an incredible place to visit. I loved all the people in my program and it was fun to get to know them better and people with a desire to travel like you. This trip made me want to travel more and gave me the confidence that I am able to do that on my own. I also learned that I love the vibrant, friendly culture of Latin America and can't wait to see more of it.

Traveling gives you everything you need but nothing you want. It answers your questions but not the ones you originally asked. I know reverse culture shock; I know it well and every time I arrive home from a major trip I start to doubt everything I know. I go through my closet and throw out clothes that I wouldn't wear abroad. I go to the grocery store and choose ingredients that remind me of the shelves in Spain. My circumstance was a little different than most of my travel companions. I never had the chance to study abroad in college. That was a luxury that I couldn't afford. Not at 21 anyway. I always wanted to live abroad. A boyfriend and I always joked about moving to Chile for a summer. I'd work at a coffee shop and learn Spanish. He would fix up his mom's house and we'd have the adventure of a lifetime. As the story goes, we broke it off and our plans of moving dissolved. Flash forward a year later, September 2017, just graduated college, bartending and still heartbroken. I knew I needed more. I just didn't know what of. More freedom, more adventure, more challenges? I googled my options, researched grad schools in London, volunteer programs in South America and after a week of contemplation I submitted my application for CISabroad's internship abroad program. Despite my excitement, my peers and community had mixed views and a lot of doubts about my moving to Spain, and they were not afraid to be verbal about it. No one understood the point of me spending money to work somewhere without pay, no one understood why I was leaving my very lucrative job bartending for an internship, after I already graduated. I didn't know how to communicate with them that I knew there was a void in my life and I needed a change. Those who were excited for me, told me they hope I meet a Spanish man, one I can marry and have a wonderful life with. I always replied, “That would be awesome, but honestly I’m not going to find a man, I’m going to find myself.” I never thought that statement would hold so much truth.

After three months, long walks through the gothic quarter, a job that reminded me that passion gets you farther than practicalness and copious amounts of tapas, I found what I was looking for. My life will never be the same post Spain, but I couldn't be more proud of my new-found self. I did it, I lived and worked abroad, I feel as though I can do almost anything. Of course, some days I long for café con leches in the mid-morning and vermuterías on every passing corner in Eixample. I wish all cities in Europe and the United States were as walkable as Barcelona; where the art, the love, the color of the city makes you want to stop in your tracks and just look up and take it all in. Barcelona will without a doubt be one of the best chapters of my life. But I am so excited to see what rivals it.

My advice to anyone thinking about traveling, studying abroad, working abroad etc. is, travel hurts, it pulls you a part, confuses you and convinces you to doubt everything you know. Slowly but surely you discover new pieces of yourself you never knew existed and eventually those parts of you (old and new) are put back together. You are forever changed, and as hard and stressful as it was, you come back home with the urge, the want, the need to do it all over again.

Reasons why I loved my experience with CISabroad:
1) The staff was really personal and kind.
-My advisor was Jackie Langdon and she made sure everything was great before arriving and personally introduced herself in person.
-All of the Onsite Staff made sure all of the students were safe, and mentally well. You can stop to talk with them at any time & If you want to get lunch together or need suggestions.
-Each student is also given a mentor.
2) A plethora of EVENTS INCLUDED!
I attended:
-Hikes
-Guided tours-Muesuems & Towns
-1-2 Catalan-Style Lunch/Dinners together
-Cooking Class
-Trips to Montserrat, Costa Brava, and Girona
3) ALWAYS Something to Do FOR FREE
-I was nervous because I didn't come with much money but CISabroad sent cultural activities for each week and many happened to be free.
-CISabroad helps you live like a local and that's something that you will always remember.

I will truly miss attending Barcelona SIS with CISabroad. Prior to this trip, I had never been out of United States, on a plane, or far from family and friends. I was nervous and excited because everything would be new territory, the staff ensured I would have an amazing time and answered any and all questions I had before arriving in Barcelona. The CISabroad staff made it very easy for me to be prepared and gave ample information and cultural sessions. Upon arriving in Barcelona the staff welcomed me and other students at the airport and instantly I felt like I belonged. The first week I became homesick but the staff, interns, and people in my program quickly made me aware of such an amazing experience I can have in a new place. I hope this helps someone!