I spent a semester in CIEE's Open Campus during Summer Session 1 and want to say that it was an incredible experience. I enrolled in the language track and took Intermediate French 1 to improve my French skills.
As for the Global Institute itself, the location was perfect! It was in a well known area in just about the center of Paris. The program staff was incredibly welcoming, supportive, interactive, and friendly. It seems that each student was taken into consideration and their well being was always of concern. Also, orientation sessions were very thorough as to where students could access basic necessities in the area and maneuver themselves around the city. With that, I felt that I was able to safely navigate and explore the city. Not to mention, the group trips coordinated by CIEE were very fun and enlightening! It was nice to see other parts of France and the cultural history associated with those areas.
In regards to academics and the course I took in French, I learned so much and made great progress. My professor was very attentive and engaged us in tours of Paris' historic and artistic quarters. I felt that the professor was able to adapt to us as students and provide us with the care that fit us. My French skills were improved significantly even living in an apartment with English speaking students.
The living arrangements were also pleasant. The apartment was in great condition and came with basic living necessities. The location was also in a very friendly area with many grocery stores, restaurants, shops, and a park nearby.
Overall, this experience was incredibly worth it and I walked away with wonderful memories, improved language. skills, a stronger sense of Independence and a richer knowledge of Paris. I was able to meet many new people through the program and make lasting friendships. I strongly recommend this program to anyone seeking a culturally stimulating experience.

I loved the program as well as Paris itself! I thought the center did an amazing job matching me for my homestay. That was one of the best parts of my time in Paris and why I learned so much. I am still in touch with my host and know I will be for a while so thank you for giving me such a wonderful and caring host! One improvement could be the excursions. We went to Bordeaux which was fun but I wish we got to go to a different francophone country to compare cultures.

I enjoyed my time with CIEE. I was placed with a wonderful host family that I am still in contact with and I will always cherish those times. The social planning staff are really wonderful and welcome students into their culture, I learned a lot from Jean Paul and Linda!

Unfortunately I felt that the academics did not reflect the purpose of students' study abroad experience. Classes were either Tuesday Thursday or Monday Wednesday Friday when I personally believe they should both be twice a week classes to allow students the opportunity to have a 3/4 day weekend. This change would allow students to take cheaper flights and trains to travel which is an integral part to the study abroad experience. There was no leniency in the attendance policy which was actually stricter than any class I have had at my home institution.

Technology was sometimes banned in classes which hindered students who like to keep online notes, or for students like me who like to use class notes in our papers that were pre-assigned. This ban is not student friendly and was tedious.

Although the academic portion of the program was flawed and often superfluous, the staff in Paris really care for the students and I felt incredibly welcome in the center solely because of the staff.

This a retelling of what's in my fellow CPEC (as it was known then) student's intro chapter to his personal memoir and history of the circus called The Ordinary Acrobat (plug!). Our program director told us we had an event coming up--a circus show. Circus? With elephants? No, no. Nouveau Cirque. We saw Et après on verra bien, loosely translated "And after, you'll really see", incorporating acrobatics, a guy singing Simon and Garfunkel in a French accent, a guy yelling "Ça va!!!" et us responding and a guy falling with a chair on a trampoline, saying in French, "the more you guy up, the more you'll come down." It inspired me to continue nurturing my passion for the arts in French and my friend to write a book and have a career in circus and all of us to want to learn French better.