Program Reviews

This internship experience has allowed me to see and experience Italian culture like I never would have been able to before. I have been able to immerse myself into life in Rome as more than a tourist. This internship has helped me to work towards new goals and develop myself professionally. The advisors from CISAbroad have worked with me every step of the way to make sure I understand and am prepared for everything that may come my way. Rome is an amazing city and I have been inspired by the people and the culture within it.

I came in with a very open mind and little expectations. The size of my program enabled me to meet my other group members and build relationships with them day one. Our on site coordinator was great, although we didn’t see her very much she periodically checked in and was accessible to us with no problems. Bond is by far the nicest university I’ve attended. Not only do they provide some of the best education, but the professors actually genuinely care about your education! They have some of the nicest facilities a university could ever have, they offer heaps of activities for students, and they make sure to include everyone. The location of Bond was really great too- easy to use public transportation and close enough to nightlife. Only thing I wish had been different is getting to know more locals, because I spent most of my time with Americans or other international students. I was lucky enough to have one Aussie roommate and she was amazing. She will forever be one of my closest and truest friends. If you like the nightlife scene and like the beach- this is the route for you! I couldn’t have imagined this trip going any better for me. I even booked a trip back already!

During my time I met many people and experienced a whole new way of life. One that I will hold with me and cherish but also learn from it as I bring it back home. I also learned that going abroad most of all is expensive,but you cannot put a value on an experience like this. If you are on the edge but don't know how you can make it, think about if you'll ever be able to have this experience again and don't be afraid to take new leaps and journeys. It pays itself off in the end. After all I not only went,I experienced this journey with my girlfriend who I then proposed to while there. So take that leap and take advantage of every second of the ride.

The program was perfect in the sense of getting us everything we needed as well as help us when things went awry. The only major concern I had was our housing situation because our landlord did not seem to be prepared for a group of college students to be staying in her apartments. There was a lot of back and forth between us and her, but CIS was very helpful in this situation and we were always able to come to a solution. The program also had a lot of extracurriculars to participate in which helped connect students with the city and people they were living around.

Prior to going abroad, I was extremely nervous but excited at the same time. This trip completely changed my life. It allowed me to see how people live in an area I never thought I would go to. It helped me realize that we as humans have something in common with everyone no matter where we are from. Thanks to this trip, I have found a new passion for traveling and I now have such different life aspirations than I had prior to my time abroad.

Some of my favorite memories of my trip were, hanging out with elephants, hiking to the top of Table Mountain, and meeting people who I will always have a connection with. This experience was so unique because it was completely different from what I was used to. Everything was different than my everyday life in the U.S. I was actually thankful for this because it just made me learn more about this new region and myself.

CISabroad allowed me to spend an entire semester in a European city for a very affordable cost. It was actually cheaper for me to spend a semester in Prague than it was to spend a semester at my home university. Prior to finding the semester in Prague program, I was under the impression that I would be unable to study abroad due to the high costs of travel in Europe. Thankfully after some research, I found this CIS program, and was able to have this amazing experience. It is hard to even express how much studying abroad has changed both my life and my perspective on the world. It really can't be summed up in just "amazing" or "life-changing." There is something so humbling and yet wildly intriguing about being thrown into a different culture and experiencing language barriers and culture shock for the first time. There were definitely days where I just wanted to hear English, or be able to go to a grocery store and understand what I was buying. However, pushing through these feelings made my experience that much more immersive and beneficial to my self-growth. I know that because of my experience abroad, I will be more equipped to handle stress and unfamiliar situations in the future. Studying abroad has provided me with a unique skill set that I would be unable to acquire through any other experience. I am incredibly thankful to have been able to study abroad with CISabroad, and I would to it ten times over if it were possible to do so.

My experience in Barcelona, Spain during the summer of 2017 was one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The people I met, from my roommates, to locals, to the staff of CIS, made my abroad experience just that much more magical. I enjoyed the trips we went on as a group and appreciated the recommendations for places we should visit on our own. I also really liked the fact that we had local citizens as professors at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona because we were able to build relationships with them and learn first hand about their culture. Barcelona has an ethereal atmosphere with beautifully historic architecture that I was lucky enough to experience firsthand.

I chose the Semester in Rome with CISabroad. The pickup from the airport when I arrived was definitely very helpful, especially since I was in an unfamiliar place. The housing location was also very good; close to the city center and many great local places. It was a nice distance from American University of Rome, too, which was appreciated. As for the quality of the program, it was ok. Only 1 excursion was included in the price of the program which was disappointing. I know a few other people from a different program and they had all the excursions included. The small day trips with our CISabroad handler was pretty nice as well. Our guide was knowledgeable and very nice. I kept in contact with her throughout the semester if I needed anything and she was usually pretty prompt in answering. One thing I didn't like about the program was the number of people enrolled. There was literally 6 of us and it was odd. I expected more people in our program. It's not necessarily CIS's fault, but that's something to keep in mind. If anyone is expecting a large 30+ group of people, they might be disappointed.

I spent 5 weeks taking spanish for health professional courses in Costa Rica this past summer. While I loved that no spanish previously was needed to enroll it did make communication with my host family difficult (whom were amazing but didn’t speak English). The excursions on the weekends were breathtaking and I recommend going on as many as you can. I enjoyed the locations were more of local spots and not your typical tourist spots. Swimming with bioluminescent one night was something that I will remember forever. Overall my experience taught me more about both Spanish and myself than i expected, and I’m forever grateful for my time abroad.

CISAbroad did an amazing job prepping us for our pre-arrival, created a safe and exciting environment in-country, and helped with everything from food places to transportation to travel safety. I really enjoyed the trips that were planned for the members of the program. Also, there was a very concise list of places program alumni either loved or hated, which really helped when considering places to get to or avoid. The way the Prague program is coordinated is so that alumni can even contact us through a FB group which allows for immediate feedback including visa issues or good travel companies.