Rigorous program in the heart of Shanghai

I initially CET Shanghai because it was advertised as an academically challenging program that still allowed for students to participate in internships (if they chose to do so). Since I was double-majoring and studying abroad for a full academic year, I couldn't sacrifice any course credits during my time abroad - a CET program was a logical choice because students receive a ton of classroom time and, even on a non-language intensive program, students get the equivalent of one full year of language instruction in one semester.

My situation was admittedly a little weird; there were only 6 students on the Shanghai program that semester, so I ended up having a 1-on-1 language class for the entire semester. That meant 2.5 hours every day of individual language instruction. It would've been easy for CET to just fit me into the nearest language level with other students, but instead the Director chose to provide a separate class to meet my academic needs, and I really appreciated that.

The only downside to my experience was the social scene - since there were only 6 students, we didn't have a big group to explore the nightlife, and we never really bonded. My roommate was friendly and helped with my Chinese, but we didn't share much in common. The roommate experiences of the other students on the program seemed better, so I think it's just hit-or-miss, and it certainly didn't define my experience in Shanghai. Overall, I was really satisfied with the coursework, and I left feeling like I'd made the right choice based on my academic goals.