Program Reviews

My daughter was a student at EF Malaga. She was to stay in Spain with a host for 6 weeks and study the language. We, her parents, paid the tuition and housing, $4000, and she paid for her airfare and spending money, $3200.
She arrived on a Sunday morning and was picked up at the airport by EF transport. She was then taken to her host stay where she was dropped off at a 7th floor apartment, spoke briefly to her host, who then left, leaving my daughter alone. She had no food, water, and no idea of where to go or what to do next. She called us and thus began the first of daily phone calls to EF to discuss our student’s situation. Had we been told she would be dropped off, no host there, and no supplies, we could have prepared her for the situation. But we were never told she would be dropped off at a 7th floor apartment with no assistance, food, or water. She called me in tears and I called the EF emergency number. I had no help from the emergency number other than “this is homesickness and will pass.” I relayed to the EF Malaga team member she had no water or provision of any kind.

My daughter was placed in a host facility with 3 other minors - 16 or younger. NO EF team member offered any help or resolution to the lack of provisions and host presence. The apartment was not air conditioned and so my daughter asked for a fan. After 3 days of fan use, the host texted her to say the fan was running too much and would burn out the motor and was too expensive to run while sleeping. The new rule would be 2 hours on and 2 hours off. I called EF again to complain about the host situation and was told residence and dorms were full and there was not another host available. In addition, there was a dog in the home which was repeatedly left alone for the entire day. One text from the host was to tell them the dog was at home, locked in the tv room, throwing up, and the host would be gone for the day!

I called EF to request a change in host situation on Monday. The host home was not hospitable. Rules were posted in every room and the sleeping room for my daughter and a roommate was the size of a closet. She had no dresser, wardrobe, or other place to unpack and would live out of her suitcase for the next 6 weeks. There was a 10 minute bathroom limit which was enforced for the students but not the host. They were told you break it, you pay for it daily. There were texts from the host complaining about the bathroom conditions, and other details which were against the “rules” but these expectations were not verbalized or posted anywhere. The food was mediocre on a good day and most days it was served cold. On the second Friday, the host texted my daughter and her roommates and said she would not be cooking that day as food was being left on the plates and this was wasteful and costing too much money and she would not cook. I called EF again to let them know of the situation and was told this was acceptable and the Malaga campus would reach out to the host and the students. The host also refused to cook vegetarian meals for the vegan roommates. Additionally, we were told, and per our documents, the host would provide 2 meals a day. NEVER during her stay was she ever offered anything but dinner- she was never offered nor served 2 meals a day- ever. No resolution or follow up was made by the EF staff.

Every time I called EF, which was almost daily for 2 weeks, I was told my daughter needed to speak to the Malaga team on campus. She did speak with them and was repeatedly told, “you are homesick, yes. This will get better.” Which was dismissive and rude. Yes, homesickness will ease but the horrible host situation would not and never did improve.

I called EF almost daily and in most instances was told EF staff would follow up with an email or phone call. I was never once given any follow up for any call or inquiry I made. No attempt was ever made to change hosts for my daughter nor was anyone willing to follow up with me. Some days I had to call 2 or more times to try and get a resolution for issues.

Our concerns were dismissed and no EF staff member attempted to contact or help my student. I would never recommend the program to anyone - no matter the age. I feel like the host situation was deceiving. It was more of a youth hostel than a home and my student was continually harassed for being there and carrying on with her daily activities. My student, a 16 year old, was dropped off at a 7th floor apartment with no guidance, provision, or welcome. Her host left the evening my daughter arrived and did not return until after 10 with a man.

My daughter left the program early, the host conditions, rudeness, and dismissive behavior were intolerable. When I notified EF International of the early leave they expressed concern and wished they had known sooner so they might have reached out to help. They did know of the situation, had received daily calls from me, and my daughter had approached the EF Malaga team numerous times. They knew and chose not to intervene and help. In attempting to schedule a new transport time for departure we were told it might be an extra transport fee. I let EF know this was ridiculous as we were leaving with 3 weeks, and thousands of dollars, remaining and EF now is going to charge me for the INCLUDED transport fee. We were told she would know at least 3 days in advance of transport arrangements - once again, lies. We were told with less than 24hours before departure of the pick up details on leave day. EF International told me over the phone that someone would reach out to my student and let her know - all false. I had to call 2x and my daughter had to visit the EF Malaga office 3x before we were told her transport times. I did receive a follow up email letting me know my daughter’s departure was scheduled. THis is the only follow up I received from EF. IN addition, my daughter has now been home for 3+ weeks and no EF team member has ever followed up with questions, concerns, or comments. I would NOT recommend EF study abroad to any individual.

Visiting Paris with EF was the most memorable and most amazing experience of my life! I spent 4 weeks in a residence in Lafayette, it was about a 15 minute walk to school. The teachers were so supportive and kind, I made some life long friends, and enjoyed the most amazing and fun activities with EF! The activities provided were well priced and I was able to learn and explore with the best activity leaders! I definitely recommend learning with EF, I will definitely be coming back to learn again!

This summer, I embarked on my first-ever EF experience in Tokyo, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The program allowed me to immerse myself in the Japanese culture like never before, offering a perfect blend of education and adventure. From the moment I arrived, I knew I was in for something special.

The educational aspect was equally impressive. Over just three weeks, I was able to advance from A1.1 to A1.2 in my Japanese language skills, thanks to the supportive and engaging teachers. Their kindness, thoughtfulness, and sense of humor made learning enjoyable, and I was thrilled to stay connected with some of them even after the program ended. The variety of spin classes offered allowed me to tailor my learning experience to my interests, and the ease of switching classes if something wasn’t a good fit was a bonus.

This experience was amazing! I made so many friends all around the globe and learned so much Spanish. The school was so nice, and the teachers very good. You need to go on this place. The food at school is very nice too, and the staff were so kind with me. You have many time between your classes for going to the beach, in the bar for taking a drink, and you can made excursion in other city during the weekends. The staff for activities are so sympathetic and help you every time. Thanks you to EF for this moment.

The TLDR of my review is it was ultimately worth it because of the experience I had and how much I grew. It opened me up to the possibilities that I hadn't realized were within my grasp.

However, the financial cost was somewhat unexpected as we were encouraged to pay for multiple activities in addition to the trip. I hope in future programs they will be more transparent with this in the future.

While I was with a host family in France, my initial first experience with the family was disheartening to say the least. With my second host family, I really was able to enjoy myself. I was not the only student who had a negative initial experience with the host family.

As for my internship, I was so grateful for what I got. I still keep in contact with my boss and made some great memories while in Stockholm. This is not necessarily something that I thing EF needs to do, but I wish that I had been told that there were so many career opportunities while in Stockholm because I feel some regret after for not having taken advantage of that while there.

Taking the EF gap year has shaped the person I am today in so many incredible ways. This program is perfect if you want to see and experience new places in a fun and safe community. Traveling always has its moments of uncertainty, however, the EF local staff always did their best to support us and provide a plethora of information on the places visited. I loved this particular program because it allowed me to visit multiple countries and participate in a language study, service work, and an internship. Those experiences paired with tourist activities allowed me to fully experience the countries I was living in. This program allowed me to gain independence, meet so many wonderful people, and see places I never thought I would have the opportunity to see. I’m so grateful for this experience and highly recommend it to anyone considering!

I traveled Europe because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. While I was in Europe I found myself and who I wanted to become. I shed my ego and my worries and became someone who wanted to embrace change and help others along this crazy journey we call life. EF gave me that opportunity and also gave me the opportunity to make friends for life. I will be forever grateful for being naive because I am now the person I am to today because of it. I will always be grateful to EF, for ever.

My gap year experience was life changing. It’s unique that I got to learn a language, volunteer, have an internship and travel to so many places all over the world in the span of six months. I learned so much about the world and interacted with a variety of cultures along the way. The experience taught me how to travel with others and also cherish the time to myself.

I’m now living and working abroad in Thailand, one of the countries I visited with EF. The gap year gave me the confidence and skills needed to make that possible.

My teenage daughter arrived in Tokyo and walked around FOR THREE HOURS lost and scared. We called the Tokyo school and spoke to staff, no one bothered to help her. This set the tone for the entire trip.

In my opinion, very expensive (I paid approximately $6000) and very disorganized. Also in my opinion, classes were sub par.
I paid six hundred dollars for a roundtrip airport transfer to Narita that was literally never used. For the return, this company was notified of an airport change approximately four weeks in advance and a limo still showed up to take the student to the wrong airport. In my opinion, every aspect of this program was disorganized.

I totally got the run around regarding a refund for the unused airport transfer. After emailing the customer service rep for assistance, I was advised to schedule a meeting with the "student experience coordinator." The "student experience coordinator" did not show up for the Zoom meeting and did not respond to my emails to reschedule. (I had sent several emails, previously, explaining this simple issue and no idea why a meeting was even necessary.)
This is a very simple issue: please refund me the $600 roundtrip airport transfer that was never used.

In my opinion, once this company has your money, they care about nothing else.

During my EF gap semester, I was able to travel to some of the most beautiful places in the world, meet some of my best friends, and work on environmentally-focused projects in several different countries, all while improving my Spanish and learning new words in Quechua. I also had the opportunity to do this program under a Digital Media fellowship and my EF experience allowed me to get a taste of the life of a traveling videographer/documentarian, which I am eternally grateful for. The whole experience is one that I will happily and gratefully carry with me for the rest of my life.