CIEE College Study Abroad in Seville, Spain

I had the most incredible time during my time abroad. Sevilla was a very exciting city with lots of culture. The CIEE program was well-run and enjoyable. I like the conpany visits for some of the classes and loved going to Morocco. Everyone involved was very nice and helpful and definitely helped improve your Spanish. Living in a home stay with a family was also an excellent choice for me. I loved living with a mother and her three children. That kept everything exciting at home and allowed me to speak even more Spanish during the day. I was also able to travel many weekends. Overall, I had a phenomenal time abroad in Spain.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of CIEE's Liberal Arts program in Seville, Spain. I always had my heart set on studying in Spain. My school had partnered with CIEE to offer a program in Seville, but I was a little skeptical at first. I had studied abroad with a third party program before and was not thrilled. I liked what the program had to offer, but I was unsure the academic rigor, home stays, and excursions would meet my expectations. I am glad to say CIEE vastly exceeded my expectations. My homestay was flawless, the excursions were JUST what I was looking for, and my classes forced me to think. In fact, I ended up getting more B's than A's.

I was most impressed with the quality of the staff. I accidentally left my laptop in the Madrid airport on my way to Seville and the CIEE staff was instrumental at helping me getting it back (for free). They were more than exceptional.

I absolutely had the time of my life abroad in Seville this past summer. I was extremely impressed with the staff from the program as they were extremely supportive of everyone that participated in the program, and really genuinely tried to get to know all of the students, which was very important to me. The academic part was a little challenging, but definitely had a huge impact on my Spanish. Some of my favorite memories were traveling all over Europe and parts of Spain with all my friends from the program, and actually immersing myself in the Spanish culture and actually putting my Spanish to the test and seeing everything I ever learned about Spain or the Spanish language come to life. My advice to future participants would be to let go of everything that is going on back home and enjoy every moment of being abroad. You will learn so much, meet so many people, and experience something truly unique. It may be nerve-racking or scary at times since you are on your own and in another country, but the more you relax and go with the flow, the more you will get out of the experience. You could meet some of your best friends abroad. Sometimes in life I sit back and realize how great life is, but that is only every once in awhile. I am not lying to you when I say I felt that feeling every single day with the people I met in Seville, and that is why this experience was so unique to me.

My experience studying and interning abroad in Sevilla, Spain through CIEE was beyond amazing. It exceeded my expectations in almost every way possible. The staff and orientation guides were clearly interested in providing us the best experience they could, and I felt that they did a phenomenal job introducing me to the city and helping me feel at home. I cannot speak highly enough of the homestay aspect, either. I grew very close with my host family and still talk to my little host brother on WhatsApp now. I 100% feel that the homestay was key in increasing my fluency level, and I now feel confident putting bilingual on my resume. My internship with Biomedal not only contributed to my language skills, but it was also very relevant to my academic studies in bioengineering seeing that it is a biotechnology company. I cannot think of a single complaint about my study abroad experience, aside from the fact that 8 weeks was far too short. I already miss Sevilla and hope to be back very soon. Thank you CIEE!

My experience studying abroad this past summer in Seville, Spain through CIEE was an amazing one. I was nervous to embark on this trip by myself, but knew I wanted an intense Spanish immersion experience in a city with rich history and culture. My four weeks spent with CIEE flew by, and that was thanks to the incredible staff, who were so helpful and accommodating, as well as the rigorous but fun education I received. My housing situation worked out perfectly, and fit the criteria I requested, and I thoroughly enjoyed my teacher and class material. My Spanish improved so much in the month I spent there, and classes were never boring or too overwhelming. The staff at CIEE were available always to answer any questions, and made sure that my experience in Seville was positive and memorable. There are so many things to do and places to see in this gorgeous city, and CIEE made it very accessible for everyone to make the most of their time there. All of the people in my program were awesome, and I made some great friends that I am still in touch with today. Seville holds a very special place in my heart, and CIEE plays a large role in that! I would definitely recommend this program and company to anyone looking for an incredible immersion and/or cultural experience!

The academics really depends on what classes you take. The difficulty of the content was not a problem for me; the real struggle came with trying to understand the professors. Eventually you get used to the way they speak and it will be fine, but the challenge really came from the language barrier, not the actual content of the classes. The classes at the local universities don't have much day-to-day work, they just have one big exam at the end of the semester. CIEE has tutors on-hand to help you with whatever courses you take, and I highly recommend using them to make sure you're on the right page. If you do that, then you shouldn't have any issues academically. There are plenty of opportunities to go out at night, and Feria de Abril is a must-even if you only go one day just to experience it. CIEE is always available if you need anything. They give you a lot of freedom to travel and experience Spain on your own, but all you have to do is ask (for walk-in clinics, lists of family-friendly restaurants in case your family visits, good flamenco shows, etc.).

Seville is one of the safest cities I've ever been in. While theft is an issue, violent crime is extremely low in Spain in general, so I felt very safe and very comfortable in this city during all hours of the day (or night). My host family was very helpful and took care of a lot of things for me, and they understood that as a college student I'd be coming and going on my own schedule.

Seville is a great city full of history, and you should definitely go to a flamenco show, a soccer game, and go to the beach at least once. I loved my time abroad and I would certainly choose this program again. There's time to travel (in Spain and out of it) and you can really get into the local lifestyle through the various holidays, especially during spring semester's Semana Santa and Feria de Abril. Seville is known for these events, so take advantage of them!

I had a wonderful experience studying abroad in Seville, Spain through CIEE. The staff was helpful and kind, and clearly cared about our safety and wellbeing. I appreciated the consistent communication to program participates and how the staff showed that they were readily available to chat regarding any concerns you may have had, from housing to academics. For anyone who is worried about doing a homestay with a host family, I understand why you would be nervous, because I was too. However, I highly recommend doing a homestay, as this is the best way to learn and become integrated into the local culture. While it is important to get to know your host city, I believe that, if you have budgeted for it, you MUST travel around Europe, or even just within Spain. I am so happy that I got to experience a new city almost every weekend because I feel that it enriched my cultural experience beyond what I was expecting to get out of my time abroad. Take advantage of program-run excursions, too, though, because they are fun and well-organized, and takes the burden of personal travel plans off of your shoulders for a couple of trips! I think my biggest pieces of advice for anyone thinking of traveling abroad would be to always stay on guard and look after your belongings, look after your peers, always make sure your phone is charged, and plan ahead for your weekend travels, including flights, lodging, and a rough itinerary of places you want to go/things you want to see. Finally, don't be afraid to take a solo trip somewhere. I would recommend doing this once you have a little bit of travel under your belt, though, because sometimes traveling alone can be nerve-wracking.

Going abroad with CIEE was absolutely life changing. I loved every second of it and never wanted to return home. The professors were incredible and the staff was wonderful. I never felt unsafe or like I didn't have any support. CIEE was fun, informational, and helped me reach my goals for my study abroad experience both academically and culturally. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in having an amazing experience abroad.