Seriously Disappointed in CIEE

Before teaching abroad, I had done quite a lot of research on CIEE and heard great things from friends who have worked with them in the past either teaching or studying abroad. I was so excited for my time in the Czech Republic and have found CIEE to be a burden if anything else. The staff is very unorganized and have given little support throughout this whole process. We had to make our own housing arrangements so while it says that housing in apartments is provided that is not actually true except for a few girls in homeshares outside of the city. Any problems that I have encountered in my time here have either been ignored or dismissed by CIEE staff both here in the Czech Republic or in the U.S. At this point I do not even bother to seek their assistance. When I brought up this lack of communication to the staff in the U.S., I was basically and told that I was overreacting...

The current program consists of only 7 people yet they definitely are struggling to manage. I worry for future applicants as I know they want to expand this program. Unfortunately, I do not think that will be possible with the current number of staff.

The expense of this program, forgetting all of the additional expenses I have spent to be here, does not equal the "service" you receive from CIEE unfortunately. If you want to teach in the Czech Republic... which I highly encourage anyone to do... then I suggest using a different program. My time here has been amazing but with no thanks to CIEE.