CIEE College Study Abroad in London, England

I've always dreamed of living abroad. My university had canceled all of its study-abroad programs due to COVID, so the only way for me to study abroad would be through an external program. I am extremely grateful to the CIEE for giving me this opportunity. The staff was extremely helpful and accessible. The courses that I took really stood out to me. I was able to take several courses on art and photography, and in these courses, my instructors made a point to expose us to the many museums and galleries London has to offer. I was able to have incredible cultural exposure just by going to class every day. The CIEE also made a point to organize many fun events to show us around London and expose us to different cities in the UK.

I had a bit of a difficult transition to London. My arrival was delayed due to COVID, and that made the new adjustment a challenge. I did not click with my roommates the way they all had and I felt very isolated for the first month or two. I found it incredibly difficult to make friends. The CIEE staff encouraged me to go to their events with students from other programs and helped me get in touch with mental health professionals, but I feel that many of the issues I was having were enhanced by the housing situation. The apartment they put us in was very nice, but I had no space for myself and was constantly forced to deal with the difficult roommate situation. The lack of individual rooms also became a problem when we contracted COVID and had to be moved in order to isolate.

Luckily, London is a great city to meet new people. Through the experiences that I had in London, I have become considerably more confident and independent. I learned to get out of my comfort zone and dive into new things and in doing so, I have made so many great friends. After the initially difficult adjustment, I am happy to say that my time in London has been amazing and I'm so grateful for these experiences. Through rail travel and cheap flights, it's a great place to be in to explore Europe. There is so much to do in London that you could never leave and still have an amazing time.

CIEE London is a great learning experience. Since I participated in the Open Campus program, I had the option to move between cities every 6 weeks but I decided to stay in London to get a feel for the city and do some in depth exploring. CIEE offers plenty of opportunities to adventure around the city you are studying in and with the weekend long excursions you learn even more about your host country! We went to Liverpool, York, and Cardiff (Wales!) while I was here and these trips were the things that I looked forward to the most. The staff is very helpful and friendly, which made the transition into living in another country quite inviting and welcoming. I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to study abroad but also be around Americans at the same time.

Studying abroad in London opened my eyes to the world. It helped me engage with people I would have never expected to have the opportunity to meet. This experience was one that helped me learn more about myself as an individual but also pay close attention to how I am similar to those around me and those who are not around me. It taught me more about hardships that others face and the limitations I unintentionally put on myself.
Studying in London allowed me to broaden my horizon, I would have never in a million years vision myself walking the street of the United Kingdom and for a month I did just that and more. I visited Northern Ireland, and woke up one morning in Paris as a dream come true! Trust yourself enough to accept the risk of growth. Sometimes we hate the feeling of being uncomfortable but it’s a sign of growth!

I did have a great time abroad and met a lot of fun amazing people. Although this program could of been run a lot better. Compared to other CIEE global institutes that my friends told me about this one seemed to be run very poorly. I had a very hard time getting assistance from CIEE staff members and on occasion when I would ask them questions for help they wouldn’t even respond to my messages. In addition I felt that they avoided helping students in the program when they could’ve and did the least they could do to improve the experience for students. They were overall very hard to work with and it made my study abroad experience a lot harder to enjoy. Although London was a great city to study abroad in, I would not recommend doing it through CIEE. If you do wish to study with CIEE it might be better to study at one of their other global institutions that have better supporting staff.

The best part about studying in a global city like London is that there is something new and exciting around every corner. You don't always have to do the most touristy things when studying abroad. There are a plethora of places to explore outside the main attractions. I had the most fun wandering around with friends and getting lost. Try exploring places like Ealing, Shoreditch, Hackney, Brixton, and Camden Town to start!

I am a master's student at BU and took part the comparative public health systems first at London followed by Amsterdam.
The comparative public health systems for Amsterdam took place right on the beautiful campus of University van Amsterdam (UvA). Professor Swan was a wonderful and exceptional resource. Not only did she have a PhD in Nutrition but she grow up in northeastern USA and worked in the health systems in London. Finally, she now resides and works in Amsterdam. She could really provide the information for Amsterdam's unique health features (legal drug policies, euthanasia, elderly care, etc) in a way that placed within the global context. We also had some very inspirational trips - my favorites included the medical museum Vrolik and the senior center Sarphat. I won't talk about them especially but they really enforced the material. Finally, we had many guest speakers and it was a wonderful way to discuss topics with experts in the field of healthcare systems.
The CIEE team, all of them, prepared wonderful trips (day trips and overnight trips), dinners, lunches and cultural events. We also had workshops for general career growth and training. The events really took to the heart and core of what all that we did in Netherlands. Whether it was cheese tasting or photo tours or Indonesian cuisine or travelling Zoelle, the team made sure to make it worth the while.
I would recommend the course(s), and as for the wonders of Amsterdam, it is best to say as little as possible because words really cannot convey the magnitude.

I encourage anyone studying abroad to keep an open mind. Housing and transportation and spending may not be ideal or what you are used to, but the best way to enjoy and use your time abroad is by keeping an open mind. Take advantage of the time you're there and the free extra events that your program offers because they are things you may not get to do otherwise. Just use your time wisely, travel on the weekends but don't forget to stay in town some weekends to experience the local life. Keep an open mind and use your time effectively, those are my top two recommendations.

My experience with CIEE was particularly unique because I participated in the program as my last semester in college. For me, that meant I was giving up the opportunity to walk at my graduation in order to spend some time overseas. And let me tell you, I have absolutely no regrets. The CIEE London Program afforded me every opportunity I wanted during my last semester of college. I got to take awesome classes that challenged my perspectives, with instructors that treated us more like colleagues than students. The administrative staff was supportive and fun, and I got to know many of them very well because I was on the Student Representative Council. Additionally, London has so many airports surrounding the city, it made travel extremely easy. I got to celebrate my official graduation day at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Like I said... no regrets. London itself was a crazy, vibrant city. On any given day you could go to a pub to watch a football match, or listen to live music, or go experience the nightlife at some of the tallest buildings in the city. I could go on and on about all the different opportunities that CIEE gave us to experience the city and the rest of the UK, but to sum it up, there were many and they were all exciting and entertaining times. I would definitely recommend the CIEE Open Campus - London program if you're considering study abroad!