CIS Abroad Reviews

When I was researching study abroad programs and thinking seriously about studying abroad, I knew I wanted to be somewhere in southern France. I had a long checklist of things I wanted in my program like a host family, opportunity for an internship, and classes that would fit my major. CISabroad fulfilled all my wishes and more! They were outstanding.

As my departure date from home drew closer, I started to get nervous about the whole thing. Would I find friends? Would I spend way more money than I could afford? Would my host mom like me? But CISabroad had a tool to help with each of these worries. Upon arrival in France, I immediately met other CIS student who would be with me in Aix. CIS provided a sample budget to help me build my own. The CIS liaison at my school was so nice and was committed to getting to know me and making me feel at home. She even offered advice on how to make the most out of a home stay (my home stay was the best!).

In summary, go with CISabroad. They know what they’re doing!

Perugia is a fantastic place to study abroad. If you want to study in Italy, but looking for less touristy options such as Rome and Florence, I think Perugia is a perfect fit. First, it’s well located so you can easily travel to bigger cities and then fly to other parts of Europe. Perugia is a smaller city so by the end of your stay you’ll feel very comfortable and become very familiar with the city. Also Perugia isn’t as touristy so You can definitely get some use out of your Italian, that was one of the main reasons why i studied in Perugia in order to improve my Italian. Also, the Umbra institute does a great job with community engagement and there are various way to become part of Peruia outside of the classroom. Lastly, Perugia is a beautiful, cute city that you’ll fall in love with!

I absolutely loved my time in Aix. It's a perfect little city that has remained so authentically French. The streets and fountains in town are so picturesque and the streets are alive with culture and fun. IAU was an amazing host university. They offered us opportunities to meet other students, both American and French.
The range of courses at IAU was great because there was such diversity in the areas of study it atteacted. I lived with an art major, was best friends with an international politics major and was a French education major myself.
If you're enrolling in this program, absolutely take the introduction to wine course. It's only one night per week and class is so much fun. You'll sample different wines and learn to properly taste them. You'll also have the chance to tour different vinyards in Southern France (and of course taste more wine there!)
Everything about my experience from living in Aix to classes at IAU was spectacular. I would go again in a heartbeat and often find myself reminiscing about my time in Aix.

My program was incredible. The staff at the partner university exceeded expectations in every way. I was the first student to go abroad with an Emotional Support Animal, my dog Nala. We had the time of our lives and are so happy we took advantage of the opportunities provided by CIS Abroad. Their staff was also very hands-on and present which was nice, they even planned special events for us! I would recommend this experience to anybody.

Sorrento was an absolutely incredible experience, as soon as I arrived I felt at home. The cultural emersion made me feel completely at ease in another country, and I was at a good place in Italy to travel around. The academics are unique and personalized, but the workload can be intense depending on the class- making it difficult to travel freely. A lot of people take weekend trips around Italy, for example to Rome, Florence, Positano, and Venice. This trip gives you a lot of freedom and independence to explore, but the local area feels very safe and touristy. If you venture farther out than Sorrento, you'll definitely want to bring someone else with you. However, I noticed on my trip that everyone is in the same mindset and it's very easy to make friends here. I loved this experience so much and would highly recommend it.

No one in my family had ever left the country (except me) when I planned my study abroad. I was constantly being warned to “be safe” and “beware of strangers.” Yet, I would soon come to find that the people of Southeast Asia are no doubt the kindest people in the world. I lost my phone and wallet on 3 separate occasions in Malaysia, Bali, and Thailand and it was returned to me every time with all of its contents. Thai hospitality was undeniable within our first week, when a group of us (strangers at the time) all went down to Hua Hin. We arrived early and had hours to wait for our Airbnb to open, so we settled in at a local restaurant with our bags in hand. The owner of the eatery was a short, older Thai woman, who spoke little English. At the end of our meal, she asked us where we were headed next. When we explained our situation, she simply replied, “oh well I have car, I will take you to beach!”

Although this went against every “stranger danger” warning from my family, we all agreed. She drove us all the way there and suggested where we could go later to find a taxi to our homestay. She refused to take money from any of us, but in our final moments with this woman I gave her a US dollar to show appreciation.

The kindness in this woman would be seen every day for the entirety of our time in Southeast Asia. Although these kind strangers came and went - my friends in CIS were always there, as we all experienced the same hospitality, adventures, and life lessons.

Going abroad changed my outlook on humanity as a whole, and I know I will return to Thailand again. The feeling you get from studying abroad - the fullness of life - is felt amongst all of the friends I made in CIS. Now that we are back in the United States, I have my CIS friends in all regions of the country. A place is only as good as the company you keep.

I studied abroad through CISabroad for the fall 2017 semester, and had a better experience than I could have ever hoped for! I loved the University of Roehampton campus and how easy I found it to navigate the neighborhood. All of my instructors were amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the classes I took. There were plenty of things going on around campus to get involved with and I formed some truly great friendships through those opportunities.

The excursions that were included through CISabroad were amazing bonuses to the experience. The weekend Edinburgh trip was probably my absolute favorite. I loved traveling by train to Scotland, visiting a whiskey distillery, and indulging in local cuisine among other things. Another excursion was to Brighton which was also great aside from the incredibly dreary weather.

My actual overseas experience was incredible but the journey to getting abroad was good as well. My questions were always answered and the people of CISabroad were always extremely helpful.
I would definitely choose CISabroad again for my abroad experience.

Overall my experience with CISabroad was amazing. The onsite director was helpful with any issues that I faced when it came to my place of work. It was reassuring to know that there was always someone that I could seek help from. Having the option to go on excursions was also a bonus which made the stay even better. My time in Ireland was great and the placement which started out questionable turned into the best experience I could have asked for. Definitely glad I took this journey with CISabroad.

As a student who was unable to originally go to a 4 year university because I couldn't really afford it, I decided to go to a local community college where I would work and pay for school. Since I didn't originally go to a four year university, I thought I would never be able to complete a dream of mine and study abroad. Last minute last year, my best friend told me about Barcelona , and how I would fall in love with the city, and I should try and study abroad there. With no prior knowledge of this city, I trusted my best friend, found a program and applied. I was able to get my funds in line and I'm beyond blessed to have spent a semester in what I believe to be the greatest city in the world. Through out my semester I traveled all over Europe/ Africa to other beautiful city's , but after each short trip, o was itching to go back!! Barcelona has such rich culture, with strong family bonds, extremely nice people, and really cool traditions I never even new about! I loved getting to learn all about Festival and Sant Jordi! Also everywhere you look in Barcelona is a perfect opportunity for a photo! The streets are filled with unbelievable architecture, and art on every corner! From amazing food to amazing night life , to almost perfect weather all year round, Barcelona is the perfect Mediterranean city to experience in college, in an amazing Country that is completely underrated. While living in Barcelona, I did drink from the Font de Canaletes on Las Ramblas, so I'm completely in love with the city, I can't wait return time to time and hopefully maybe even get the chance to live there again!

While there were a few things about the program that I would have tweaked, my overall experience in Thailand, and as part of the program, was fantastic. Mahidol University had a great variety of classes to choose from, and they all transfer over fine for all of the students I've talked to. I took 3 classes for my major - Wine Studies and Wine Tourism, Consumer Behavior in Tourism, and Tour Package Management - in addition to taking Intro to Thai Language and Culture. CISabroad also led us on a variety of trips that I believe showed the diversity of Thailand. We went up north to Chiang Mai, where we had an elephant encounter at a sanctuary and took a cooking class. We went south to Koh Chang, a beautiful island with a day-trip on a boat. CIS also brought us to the old capital of Thailand, and showed us around Bangkok. Mahidol is located about 30 minutes outside of Bangkok, which makes it easy to go into the city and the airport, but allows you to be out of the craziness of the city. I stayed at Baan Suan, which was one of the two living situations provided, and could not have been happier with my choice. The manager and security guard there were so so friendly and there is a restaurant right downstairs with the kindest couple running it (and their food was delicious and cheap!). The food in Thailand is AMAZING, so make sure to try more than just fried rice!! There are so many cool places to go on the weekends, and the pricing there is awesome if you want to do a lot on a small budget. It's definitely not your typical Europe destination, and can often push you outside of your comfort zone, but that's what makes the experience so fulfilling. Some must-see places would be Pai, Chiang Mai, Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, Khao Sok, the islands, and Krabi (there are so many more!). It's also relatively cheap to visit surrounding countries, so take advantage of that (overnight buses and trains are also available for those if you don't want to pay for a flight). Thailand is an absolutely beautiful country filled with the most amazing people, so if this is an option you're considering, I would urge you to go here.