CET Academic Programs Reviews

I had the opportunity to intern and study in Amman. I interned 2 days out of the week and studied 3. It was awesome but one has to remember that an internship in a country like Jordan is not like an internship in a traditional internship destination. I was thankfully guided in this experience by the teaching and mentorship of Dr. Zubi AL Zubi, who was the dean of the University of Jordan's business department. He was incredible guide on the ins and outs of interning in a Muslim country. It was also somewhat difficult to communicate in a place where there are so many dialects of Arabic used, but eating was easy, with grocery stores and restaraunts all around and there was always somewhere to watch the World Cup and break fast. It was awesome!

"La Dolce Vita" means "the sweet life" in Italian, and very accurately describes my time in Florence. In Florence, there are unlimited fun activities in which to partake and the best food you've ever tasted. Classes are stimulating, but not so challenging that you don't have time to travel every weekend. International travel out of Florence is a bit more challenging than other cities, but totally doable. Florence feels very safe, and there are MANY American students there. I would go back in a second if I could!

Best Japanese Classes I've ever taken!
Professors have a solid curriculum and will take the time to teach you anything in Japanese you are curious about.
Isolation from university students
Lack of extracurriculars
Japanese roommate was fun and helped me a lot with my Japanese
Love Osaka!!!

The word intense does not even begin to describe this program, but I would have it no other way. There are three things that make this program unique: the language, local roommates, and the city itself. The program's language pledge seems like it will be extremely hard to keep up, however by the end of the program it seems weird to speak English. Still I have to admit, this was the most challenging thing I have ever encountered in my life.
The city allows students to fully immerse themselves in the culture and the language. Kunming is a city in which the majority of the population does not speak English. Also, in the city there are places to take local classes such as Jiequandao or Jeet Kune Do. I took group classes from a local master and it was a great way to meet locals while learning a fun skill.
However, the best part of the program is the roommates. They are the source of information about the campus and where to get great, cheap food! They are also so supportive. They become more than just a roommate, they become a friend. I still keep in touch with my roommate as well as a few others.
If you are looking for an intensive program where you can learn the language and have fun, then this is a good choice. Though, you need to prepared to be under stress and be dedicated to staying in Chinese the entire duration of the program.

My experience studying abroad in Vietnam was great. I took Vietnamese language classes, classes on Vietnam's development and public health, and had a service learning placement at a local NGO. Both CET staff and Vietnamese language teachers were extremely helpful and nice. I learned a lot both inside and outside of the classroom. What I experienced and observed during daily life in Vietnam was explained by what we discussed in class and vice versa. My service learning placement was a terrific experience, I had the opportunity to interact with Vietnamese staff and volunteers. We exchanged knowledge and I gained professional experience. My day to day life consisted of going to classes, studying with friends, frequenting the nearby alley for lunch, and exploring Saigon's markets and parks. I had the opportunity to experience other places in Vietnam as well, thanks to the traveling seminars and personal traveling during spring break, in which I went on a trekking trip. The food was delicious and inexpensive. I had to buy water and be careful of petty theft, but overall felt very safe in HCMC. A wonderful program and wonderful country that opened me up to so much new knowledge, experiences, and possibilities.

I would give this Program 4.5 stars out of 5.
The location of Kunming Is great. The city has comfortable weather year round and the location of the classrooms, your living area and everything else you could need is very convenient. The residence provided during my stay was actually a hotel owned by the school. Complete with a cleaning staff to make your beds and replace anything you might need.
I would say that the local dialect is what I found most challenging. Although it is safe to assume that most people you will come in contact with are able to speak standard Mandarin, especially the younger generation, occasionally I was unable to understand a few of the locals. This was usually avoided because the roommates selected by CET often traveled around the city with us.
Overall I would say this experience was fantastic for me. My first impression of China was definitely a good one, and I can't wait for my next chance to go back.

During my year with CET, I fell in love with Harbin. It is an incredible city and now all I want to do is to go back. Our classes were challenging but always fun; our teachers were our friends and were 100% committed to teaching us to speak Chinese. We would WeChat after class, see each other around the university and the town and even eat together. It was great! Our roommates were almost always willing to take us out or to join us at bars, restaurants or even just for a walk around the town. I dated one of the female roommates, visited her home and traveled all over China with her.

There were some challenges. Sometimes a few of the students turned the study of Chinese into a competition, with the bad attitudes to match. But it was always easy to rise above it. There was some horrible pollution, but a pharmacy right down the street sold the appropriate masks. It was cold... very, very cold... but honestly, it just added to Harbin's charm!

Living in Beijing, for the most part, was the best experience of my life so far. The food was out of this world, the people were generally hospitable, and the memories you make with your friends and roommates are priceless. School work is tiresome at times and can really wear you down, and the pollution can get to your brain, but it wasn't worth sweating over. There was always someone you can hang out with to cheer you up if it got to be to much. Even your professors care about your well being and will ask how you're really doing when you're feeling down. Also, thanks to the little bit of time we had off during the semester, there was enough time to travel and see more of China. During my stay, I went to about five different cities all along the southern coast - some of them twice. There's just so much to see and do that I honestly feel I could never get bored. Also, day to day life was done in the middle of a district made up of only Chinese people. This was a nice way to really focus on bettering my local Chinese and getting to know the people around me and how they live. Honestly, I feel like BIE was just far enough away from strong foreign influence that I got to experience a part of Chinese culture that most others don't when they visit. And that was what I feel made my whole time in Beijing with CET priceless.

Prague is a fairy tale. Some of my best memories of Prague come from my aimless wanderings around historic Old Town and Lesser Town. From the tallest spires of the Prague castle down to the aged cobblestones of the streets, Prague offered something for the artistic, the adventurous, and the homebody. One of my favorite times in Prague was when I got to show off my magical city to visiting friends. I swelled with pride and love for this incredible city and its winding streets, ancient bridges, and hidden gems around every corner.

The actual filmmaking program at FAMU, which only accounted for about twenty percent of my misery, was pretty disappointing. Considering that it was a filmmaking program, I expected us to be doing a lot of the making part. In reality, we mostly just watched movies and talked about them. This was not completely useless, but it was leagues below the usefulness of actually learning by doing. I don't think I was unreasonable to expect something like, "This week we're learning about shot selection. Your homework is to make a thirty second film that employs the following technique." I did get to make one short film at the end of the semester, and that was admittedly a fantastic learning experience. But I didn't incorporate anything into my film that I learned in class because I basically learned nothing. Let me rephrase that. I was taught nothing.

The rest of my study abroad experience also less than ideal. I felt alone and depressed most of the time. It's hard for introverts like me to make friends quickly, which is exactly what you need to do when you study abroad. It was hard to be in a room with people for more than a short time without feeling like no one wanted me there. I'm not saying that no one wanted me there. That's just how your brain works when you're shy and socially anxious.

The point here isn't that my program sucked or that the people were terrible. CET tried their best to make everyone feel comfortable, and they organized plenty of fun events. As for the people, everyone I met was wonderfully nice and welcoming. The problem was my having trouble feeling comfortable around new people. Now, you might be thinking, "If you're so shy and introverted, why the heck did you do the program?" That's a very good point, and it brings me to why I wrote this review.

Chances are, if you ask someone who studied abroad how it was, they'll say it was great. Maybe even life changing. But there's a small chance (judging by my program, about 1 in 50) that they had a pretty miserable time. And if that's the case, they'll probably still smile and say it was fine. Because the people who don't enjoy studying abroad are the same ones who don't like to speak up. I heard so many positive stories from people that I honestly thought studying abroad was this magical experience that couldn't possibly go wrong. The fact is that it can go wrong, and people should be aware of that when deciding whether to do it. If there's anything you should take away from my review, it's this: there are a lot of people who should study abroad, but there's a chance you are not one of them.