CET Academic Programs Reviews

Studying with CET Shanghai was one of the highlights of my college career. The rigorous language coursework and local roommate program helped me improve my Mandarin skills beyond my expectations, and the staff were incredibly supportive. My internship placement at an international school was a bit different from many of the business- and finance-related positions that many of my classmates held, but it was perfect for my interests and professional goals.

Bus stops and a subway station right off campus made it so convenient to explore the city -- to the local mall for groceries or to catch a movie, to the Bund skyline for touristy pictures and people-watching, and even to the countryside outskirts of Shanghai for a break from the bustle of the city.

This was my first trip overseas, and I tried to take advantage by traveling as much as possible. Shanghai's transportation options include multiple terminals for long-distance buses and trains, as well as two airports, making it a great home base for travel all around mainland China as well as into Hong Kong and Taiwan.

I will always be grateful to CET Shanghai for helping me build strong friendships abroad and for giving me a home away from home.

Perhaps the best trip we took with CET was to Wadi Rum in the southern part of Jordan. In a word, Wadi Rum is unbelievable. Completely filled with red rocks and sand, this is unlike any desert I have seen in my life. The deep silence that settles at night is not foreboding, but extremely peaceful as it is accompanied by the most fantastic array of stars possible. Spending a night in the desert in a traditional bedouin camp was an unforgettable highlight of my trip abroad.

I honestly don't even know where to begin. My semester in Prague was filled with countless memories, surprises at every turn, and endless amounts of fun. From the stunning architecture to the amazing sights, vibrant nightlife, and cheap prices on just about everything, this is truly a special place and one you won't regret studying abroad in.

CET was a great program to be a part of. The academics are not overwhelming and more than manageable. The staff is great, always helpful and there if you need them. You get to go on program trips to awesome cities like Krakow, Vienna, and Budapest. Living in a residential apartment amongst locals (including having a Czech roommate) really helped me adjust to the lifestyle and culture of a new country. Keep in mind that it is a very small program, but there are still plenty of people to meet in Prague (both locals and other Americans).

Prague really was a dream world. Don't pass up on the opportunity to go to this city.

Studying abroad with the CET Intensive Chinese Language in Beijing Program was my first time abroad, and it was a decision that I will not regret. Although I felt homesick at first, I quickly adjusted to ways of life in Beijing thanks to my teachers and the CET staff. From all the exclusions and all the fun I had in Beijing, I never felt that it was actually an academic program and that I actually am studying Chinese. To me, having to speak Chinese all the time make things seemed like I am a local there which make time flew by fast. Therefore, studying abroad with CET was one of the best experiences I have.

One of my favorite memories from this summer is biking around Kunming with two CET roommates, Wei Hao and Tai Xiong. We biked to the big bus station to buy Tai Xiong's little sister a ticket home. We set off in the morning and the weather was perfect, as always taken for granted in Kunming. Three of us on cheaply bought bikes peddling away, weaving through traffic, and sprinting across intersection. We would wait for each other and sprint passed each other shouting things in Chinese that weren't always understood. It was a brilliant way to see the city, and a brilliant way to connect with friends.

I love biking in Kunming--it is so dynamic. The traffic reminds me of a reef. There are big fish and little fish. Fat buses and skinny motorcyclists. And all of us swim together on roads around the city. The little ones give way to the big ones, but all are aware--and forgiving. When a little fish, young and unwise, sprints across an intersection a bus will squeel to a halt, waiting for the kid to join the other scooterist in an effective little school, with a nudge and a smile.

We bought duck for lunch and talked about our siblings. High from the thrill of biking, our eyes were sparkly and awake. I felt like a kid again with eager playmates and a whole new world to explore.

I remember this day vividly. To biking with friends, to a new world to explore.

I was born in Vietnam but I moved to the United States when I was ten. When I studied abroad in Vietnam this summer, it was an amazing journey back to my childhood. In a sense, this program gave me an opportunity to travel back to my homeland while giving me a good reason to return. My favorite memory was riding bicycles in the countryside when we traveled down to the Mekong Delta area. It was exhilarating because I have never ridden a bike on such small roads but also nostalgic because the scenery was so close to home.

This was a life-changing experience for me, as I was able to learn more about my roots as a Vietnamese-American. I enjoyed the courses, especially dealing with public health since it was directly applicable to things I saw in everyday life in Vietnam. My internship with Breast Cancer Network Vietnam also helped me develop my communication and organizational skills and opened my eyes to some of the cultural challenges patients faced. The roommates were hands-down the BEST part of this program. They knew all the good, non-touristy places to eat. Outside of that, they were such great resources for learning Vietnamese and road-tripping throughout Vietnam. They were honestly more than just "CET roommates", but rather lifelong friends. Thank you CET for connecting me with such wonderful people!

Going to China to see the Great Wall and other sites is a cool experience, but I simply can't overlook the food. Everything I ate was different. If it was fried chicken, it had its own unique flavor, and it was absolutely delicious! I remember my friend taking me to a restaurant where we had this amazing bread dessert! Okay, I'll explain. It was the size of a third of a loaf of bread you get from the store with the inside diced into lovely little squares with ice cream on top. It wasn't just ordinary bread, though. The softness and texture wasn't expected at all. I went to another restaurant requesting the same bread to be let down by their "sorry, it's too late for us to make" notice. You will find so many other incredible dishes in China, so don't be afraid to to eat, eat, and eat more!

I truly find myself lucky to have been able to spend five months embracing this incredible journey, traveling and studying in Brazil.The one thing I reminded myself as I was browsing through abroad programs, was that I wanted to be pushed outside of my comfort zone and be thrown into situations where I truly had to rely on my own instincts and experiences. I'm a strong believer that this CET program provided me with the right platform to do so. Being able to go abroad to a country without previously studying its native language is quite hard to find in abroad programs, especially countries where English is not commonly practiced.

São Paulo definitely has its similarities to New York City: a big city with lots of people, urban culture and its own style. There were many times where I did not feel like I was even in Brazil because of the population, high-rise buildings and similar fashion senses. But traveling around Brazil, I really gained a better understanding of Brazilian lifestyle depending on the area you live. Being able to travel to the North of Brazil to places like Rio de Janerio and Salvador, Bahia I saw that it was just like the "West Coast vs. East Coast" rivalry. The North is a beach-y and laid back lifestyle, you see more of the Afro-Brazilian culture as you travel to places like Bahia. But as you travel more South like Guarujá and São Paulo City you get more of new face-paced metropolitan feel. Both parts of Brazil are so unique and embedded with culture in their own ways and honestly shows how diverse Brazil is and how you can find whatever you are looking for.

One of the biggest reasons why the CET Brazil program is different than most programs is because I was truly "studying" abroad. Most students want to leave their host universities for a semester of fun in new place. And while I had the time of my life abroad, a major reason why I enjoyed it so much was because what I was learning in my classes or the discussions I was having with my roommates about Brazilian culture was shown in my day to day life. I understood inequality gaps within different regions of Brazilian from my classes and was able to see first hand how this effects society by visiting and traveling to different cities. A lot of my discussions with my roommates, friends or even my host family for the weekend we spent in Itapevi, SP were more than just interesting and enjoyable but rather meaningful in the sense that I could bring back the same topics to my classes or in class assignments.

My advice to anyone going abroad is to go with the flow and take in everything as it comes. You cannot predict how your experience abroad will turn out, so do not letting expectations and other people'e experiences take away from yours. At the end of the day, your experience abroad is what you make of it. My experience abroad would not have been as incredible without the help and support of CET from before I even landed in Brazil to when I was physically on-ground.

The CET program allowed me to explore one of my dream destinations. As a non-speaking Portuguese student, previous programs at my school required a Spanish or Portuguese pre-requisite to study abroad in Brazil, which is why I did not consider studying abroad before. I had a wonderful experience with the program as staff members were very helpful and available at all times to help me navigate some of the challenges in Brazil.
One of my favorite experiences was being able to travel to different cities around Brazil. Before coming here, I had no idea how diverse the country is. Every city has its own culture and uniqueness, which makes travelling around special. Travelling to different cities really helped me understand Brazil and look at the country in a different way. By spending Carnavale in Rio de Janeiro, I was able to witness the big parade and attend different blocos and truly immersed myself in the culture. By traveling to Salvador, I was able to better see the inequality that plagues the country and experienced the Afro-Brazilian culture. By traveling to Florianopolis, I was able to meet different travelers at the hostel and exchange stories about our journeys. By travelling to Belo Horizente, I was able to take part in an interactive art exhibit that I would never see in the states and ate some of Brazil’s best foods.
Another part of the program that I really enjoyed were the classes and how they correlated with the visits. For example, in my Current Social Issues in Brazil, we were able to learn about Quilombos. During our visit to Paraty, we were able to visit a Quilombo and eat lunch there. The reason why I liked this is because I was able to experience the Quilombo and the people first hand. During the discussion, we were able to hear more about their perspectives and their experience as residents of a Quilombo that we didn’t get from class. We also visited an indigenous tribe, which was great because I have never done that before. Again we got to speak to the residents and asked them questions like how do they define wealth? Do they believe in inter-marriage? How do they see outsiders (white Brazilians)? These are all questions that are really great to ask someone first hand because it is difficult to research online. I think going beyond classroom discussion and textbooks to the human experience helped me learn a great deal about these topics.
Lastly, one of my favorite things about Brazil are the people. Brazilians are so friendly, welcoming, and inviting. Everywhere I went from the grocery store to the corner store, I was always welcomed with open arms. Sao Paulo is not a very touristy city, so Brazilians are always fascinated to encounter a foreigner and I feel like they really want to get to know me. Whenever I went to churrascos, families always made me feel welcome and were not afraid to be open with me about their personal business. This really allowed me to connect with a lot of Brazilians. Coming from a society that values privacy, this new culture was really refreshing for me.
The journey to Brazil was a memorable one. I still haven’t done everything I wanted to do because the country has so much to offer. But thanks to CET, I was able to conquer one of my dream destinations, learn Portuguese, and experience things about Brazil that only a person truly living the reality can understand.