Program Reviews

My semester at CYA has been my best semester of college, an experience that I will never forget. This experience has provided me with such amazing opportunities and friendships that I will hold onto forever. Not only have I developed a newfound appreciation for Greece and Greek culture, but I have learned so much about my strengths as an individual as I navigated my way through new experiences. Not only did I grow as a person, but I gained more knowledge academically as I took new classes and met professors who deeply cared about me and my classmates’ success inside and outside the classroom.

I chose to study at CYA in the fall of my senior year of college and I'm so glad I did. I met a bunch of amazing people that I would have never met, and I feel like I really learned things about myself by going abroad that I wouldn't have known had I not (which sounds cliche but it is true.) Athens is a really great place to study if you plan to travel around Europe. There are lots of cheap flights from the airport and it's super easy to get there on the metro. I went to Milan and Istanbul while I was abroad, and also went to a bunch of Greek islands. CYA understands that people want to travel while abroad, and Jennifer and Angela from student affairs are super duper helpful and accommodating. I felt very safe and supported in everything, and they were there to make everything less stressful and answer any questions I had. I'd recommend CYA to anybody, but especially to archaeology students! This program is great for them because there are countless internship opportunities and volunteer opportunities that are super cool! I had many friends working at museums, theaters, social organizations and archaeology labs. It's a fantastic resume booster and you make some meaningful connections for later on.

People ask me to sum up my experience, and I am often speechless. This truly was an outright positive experience for me. The staff and the administration were so helpful sending out weekly emails with places we would be interested in going. Moreover, the preplanned trips were the PERFECT way to immerese us into Greek culture. This program really does put the student and the student's experience first, and I think this is th emain reason I have fallen in love with Greece. The staff made sure to acknowledge, the fantastic, the good, the bad, and the ugly as it concerns living in Greece with varying identities. It was utterly phenomenal.

CYA is an excellent program. I came into it expecting to learn certain things about myself, and it wasn't until I left that I realized that I had gained even more than that. The academics here are great, especially for an aspiring classicist or historian. The city is filled with so much to do at a generally affordable rate- with so much beauty on every corner. Most importantly to me, this program has made me realize how small and traversable this world is. I went from having never been on a plane in my life in June to spending my every weekend in a different section of Greece or in another country. It is exciting and often overwhelming in the moment when you step on the plane to new places so often, but it wasn't until I was home that I began to realize the lasting effects that three months in Greece had on me. I began to look at places all around me in the U.S. -even just my hometown- and think "why have I not been here?" and "why have I not done this?". Its hard for me to find myself bored anymore because I know how easy it is to just go out and do things.

CYA was a great program that made my experience in Greece wonderful. The academics were manageable while also engaging and all my professors were fantastic. I loved the subjects of my classes as well as they were topics I had never really engaged with prior. My favorite aspect of the programs was the inculded trips to Crete, Delphi, and the Peloponeese. I loved the hands on learning envrioment CYA created. The trips and all the museum visits really added to my expience and made it unforgetable.

I was so nervous going into the program, I had never been out of the country for longer than a week and away from my family for so long. I am so glad that I went, I would not trade the experience for anything. I got to learn so much about my family's culture and experience a new world that I was not used to. I have made lifelong friends and memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life, I feel like I found a missing part of myself in Athens and it will always be a special place in my heart.

College Year in Athens was the perfect program for me. Independently living in Athens provided me the independence to immerse in a foreign country, while having sufficient support systems to help me through all of the struggles of living abroad. The immersive field studies were a perfect way to learn and explore in a structured way. All of my professors were engaging and flexible, and Athens provided an excess of opportunities to grow, personally and academically. I could not have wished for anything more.

Everybody will tell you that going to study abroad is an amazing experience, full of fun and relaxation. And for the most part, this is indeed very true. But like any real adventure, studying abroad comes with its share of struggles too. It may take time to learn the language and the culture of where you're staying. You will miss home; your friends and life that moves on while you're away. I say this because to me, the mark of an excellent study abroad program is that you forget the struggles; College Year in Athens (CYA) accomplishes this difficult feat. The staff are kind and understanding--from the moment you step foot in Athens they will work to help you understand and engage with Greek culture. Furthermore, the numerous field studies hosted by CYA allow students to explore parts of Greece they may otherwise never have visited, all while soaking up a rich culture and history. Keeping with this sentiment, you will live in the Pangrati neighborhood of Athens, and be able to immerse yourself in everyday Athenian life. If you have the ability, I highly encourage you to study with CYA; the opportunities and wisdom they provide for you will give you an unforgettable adventure

The classes and professors were excellent. We stayed in Athens, but visited many other cities around Greece. The administrators took a personal interest in students and helped us with our needs. I had to go to the hospital due to an accident while abroad and the faculty took great care in making sure I was alright, staying with me at all times, and paying extra attention to me afterwards to ensure my continued well-being. Despite that incident, this was the best semester of my life. I would choose this program all over again.

Greece is the best place to study abroad. CYA people are here to help you at any step! (Especially the student affairs office- they are the best!) My professors were amazing & made the classwork relevant to Greece and other current events, as well as being very inclusive and encouraging us to get immersed in the culture. Located in the Pangrati neighborhood where weekly farmers markets occur, has many cute cafes, 20 min walk from the acropolis, & right by the stadium. The food in Greece is incredible (very easy to be vegetarian), & I would highly recommend to travel to islands.