CIEE - Save Your Money

The only reason you should sign up with CIEE to teach in Spain is if you want to be absolutely guaranteed to be assigned a school in Andalucia. Otherwise, you should save your money and apply directly through the government.

CIEE offers an orientation program that occurs two weeks before the school year starts. This orientation program is a waste of time if you have ever lived abroad before. Really, I learned basically nothing, and some of the information was completely inaccurate. In the end, the only thing I really gained from orientation was the friends that I made who were in my program.

After orientation, I barely ever heard from CIEE. They sent out one email each month, which contained some information, but most of it was useless. The only real times they sent out useful information was when they were addressing a concern that had been raised by several participants and had already been answered on a group Facebook page.

All in all, if you have never lived abroad before and are absolutely set on living in Andalucia, I guess that CIEE fits the bill. Otherwise, it is option that is not at all worth the expense.