CET Academic Programs Reviews

My time spent studying abroad in Prague was incredible. Coming from Whittier College, California I knew nothing about Czech culture or language. Within the first few days of arriving in Prague, CET helped me feel comfortable and competent in my new surroundings, providing intensive language learning, amazing housing with a Czech roommate, and cultural excursions. Each day I would wake up in an apartment just outside of downtown Prague, and take a short 5 minute tram ride into to the FAMU academy's studio building, where my CET film classes were held. Sometime's I would also take a tram to FAMU's main building where professor at the academy would teach additional elective courses. Throughout the semester, there was plenty of time to work on my film, explore the city of Prague, and attend classes. Sometimes CET would even provide free or discounted tickets to events like soccer games, hockey games, operas, theater performances, music festivals, and wine festivals. My semester was an excellent way to immerse myself in my passions and discover a new country from the inside out.

There is nothing I could say badly about this program. I was placed with my good friend from school In a home stay, with Stella, the most amazing Italian woman and basically my second mother at this point. The food was incredible, the wine delicious, the people were wonderfully friendly, and the city is remarkably beautiful. The group of students becomes very tight-knit and we would do everything together. We traveled on weekends, relaxed In the piazza, or just did our homework or had Italian movie nights together. The professors all deeply cared about not only our academic progress but our personal comfort and happiness as well. We would often meet them outside of class just to grab a snack or to chat about current events. Siena is a vibrant city with so much local culture and history to offer if you're open to branching out and experiencing it. Not to mention, they have some of the best pizza and pasta I've ever had in my life.. If you're presented the opportunity to study here, do not say no.

I participated in this program twice and both times I learned way more Chinese and way more about China than I even expected, forming lifelong friendships with American and Chinese people along the way. Harbin is a wonderful city and a perfect environment in which to study Chinese, and CET provides a huge amount of institutional support.

During the summer of my sophomore year in college, I decided to study abroad in Florence, Italy for two months. Being that I had a struggled with an eating disorder for eight years, I hoped that, being around a culture that embraces spontaneity, creativity, flexibility, art, freedom, and food would change me.
I remember Italy clearly, there were many ups and downs; it was a journey to say the least, one that I needed to take, and I do not regret it. For a few days, I was living the dream as I climbed the Duomo, visited the Baptistery, went to authentic restaurants with incredible food, went to famous museums where I saw breathtaking works of art, and just explored this fantastic city of Florence while taking college courses at The University of Florence and learning about this incredible place.
I had some incredible and enlightening moments in Italy that I will never forget, and these moments were the ones that truly motivated me to change. Turns out that I met another young woman in my study abroad group who had also suffered from an eating disorder; what are the odds, right? She confided in me one day, and this time, instead of running away and shutting her out, I listened, hoping to gain some insight into how to beat this disorder by listening to someone who was fully recovered. She told me about intuitive eating, a new concept that I had never heard of before, but something that I always dreamed of, being able to listen to your body and know what it needs in terms of nourishment, whether it be through food, spirituality, movement, etc. It is that crucial mind and body connection that the eating disorder severs, and therefore, in order to break free from my disordered mindset, I had to start listening to my body again, which is what this beautiful culture emphasized.
Overall, what I had learned from my journey to Italy was that life is a journey, and therefore, we must choose to make the most of it by living in the moment. I truly believe that Italy was a step in my recovery that I needed to take in order to get to the place that I am at now, and that is, living a balanced life.

I really enjoyed my experience in Osaka. I think my most difficult challenge was trying to learn Japanese from scratch. However, I eventually got over the language barrier thanks to the staff at CET.

The summer I spent with this program was life-changing. Osaka is surrounded by so much culture and history that I was continually learning on a day-to-day basis. I could take a stroll around the city and run into the most delicious food I've ever tasted, take a train to Kyoto and visit a famous temple, visit Nara and interact with deer roaming on the streets; the possibilities were endless! Every weekend was a new adventure and the Japanese roommates only made it even better. They are actually the best part of the whole program. Aside from constant language practice at home, they were always so excited to take us out to a new area or organize a get together at someone's house. At first it was hard to interact because everyone had just met and most of us weren't used to the language yet. However, the roommates made me feel so comfortable that I got over my fear of saying something wrong and quickly began to speak naturally. Now the main reason I want to go back is to see them all again. I absolutely recommend this program.

This program is by far the best thing I ever participated in. If you are serious about learning a language, then CET is the way to go. The academics are truly challenging, and the language pledge can be difficult for lower level speakers, but if you can push through, you will find your abilities improved tremendesouly in just a short amount of time. I lost a lot of sleep, but it was worth it because i was able to create so many memories with such great people everyday and with the special activities CET plans.

Before attending CET I had already done a multitude of different Study Abroad programs all around the world. CET provided me with a different experience. Through CET I was able to learn more about Chinese Culture and habits than I had learned when I was in a host family during one of my other programs. During my time at CET I became very close to some of the TA's for my class and also to my roommate, who was about the same age as the TA's. These people were not afraid to correct me when I said something wrong or to teach me little habits and customs that are normal in China instead they were so willing to help me learn.
There definitely were somethings about CET that I did not like, for example the food in the cafeteria, the lack of access to sports, but overall my experience with CET was positive and if I had to choose again where to do my study abroad I would probably choose CET.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my study abroad experience through CET Florence. Many of the classes offered (such as Renaissance Art and Food & Culture) allowed us to study aspects of the local culture in situ, through museum and market visits.
However, there were some classes and activities listed in the program description that were not actually offered as a part of the program. One main example would be the opportunity for language partners. I would have really appreciated a native Italian to meet and converse with on a regular basis to help practice my Italian even more. It also would have been great to have been able to meet more locals through CET-organized activities.
I would also not recommend this program to non-Vanderbilt University students. As someone who does not attend Vanderbilt, I was of a very obvious minority on the program. And as the program continues to grow, this factor will become even more overwhelming. CET needs to do a better job of advertising the fact that their Florence program is co-hosted by Vanderbilt, so applicants are aware that almost all participants will come from the same school and already know each other. This is not the study abroad experience that most students expect.
However despite all this, CET did a great job of making the program enjoyable and enriching. The program included group visits to both Rome and Venice (although the <2 day trips were extremely quick), where we were able to have guided tours of almost all of the important sites. They also tried their hardest to come up with group activities that related to the local culture, such as aperitivos or a mafia-themed movie night. The staff and teachers were extremely friendly and helpful, so they definitely made the experience much more positive overall. It was clear that they wanted us to have the best study abroad experience possible.

CET in Siena is an incredible program. Not only are the academics rigorous with wonderful teachers, but the housing situations are also fantastic. The resident director, Christina, is also extremely knowledgeable about basically everything, and she is always so willing and available to help with anything, be it buying bus tickets to Naples or where to find a good pair of jeans in Siena.

I chose the homestay option for my semester, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I had an American roommate from my program, and we lived with an Italian woman who had a grown son and a 4-year-old grandson. My host mother was an incredibly sweet woman who really took the time to make sure we felt right at home, and she was also a fantastic cook! We had breakfast and dinner together every night and listened to her tell incredible stories about her life and Siena.

Siena itself is a wonderful city. Since it isn't as big as one of the major cities like Florence or Rome, there are less people that speak English and you are able to use Italian every day, in shops, the market, and just on the streets. Don't worry though if you are just beginning to learn Italian - Italians are so helpful and they'll understand if you get some words or grammar wrong, and many people have a basic understanding of English. However, don't be afraid to use your Italian! The locals love it when you make an effort to speak their language. Siena is also so full of rich history, and I loved how I was able to learn about the city's past by just walking around the streets. There are a LOT of hills though - so be sure to bring good comfortable walking shoes! The food in Siena is incredible, my favorite restaurant was Fonte Giusta however La Mossa is a close second so I would recommend trying both of them!

Classes with CET are great and while I really enjoyed all my classes, I still wish there had been more of a selection of classes. However, it is understandable since there were only five students in my study abroad group. Each student takes an Italian Language class - I had only one other student in my class so it was great to have real one-on-one experience with the professor, a native Italian. Each student also is required to take the Italian Cultural History class, and this offered a really interesting perspective on Italy and how its past influences its present and future. Then each student takes two electives, I took a class on Sienese Art & Architecture and also one on Etruscan and Roman Art & Architecture. Both teachers were very passionate about the material and really enjoyed teaching - it was obvious how much they cared about their students.

The CET Siena program is an absolutely incredible program and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. If you're looking for an experience that is unique, intimate and off the beaten path, then look no further than CET Siena.