English In Western Europe (Grade 12 English)

This program really helped me grow as a person. This isn't because the program was good. In hindsight, I wouldn't spend my money on this, but I do think it changed me for the better. I made friends I will never forget, even now that I am home a month later. It was a great way to force growth out of myself, which is what I was looking for out of this trip.

I found the staff uncommitted. I often felt they were rushing us out of places like the Dachau concentration camp and the Sistine Chapel. When we went to the Pantheon, they weren't even aware it was free student admission and didn't encourage us to go in. I'm not sure why we'ren't doing lessons at this time or need to work on assignments. There was no way to contact staff other than Google chat, which is a little scary when you are out in the city and may need help. I think they were using it as more of a cheap vacation than actually wanting to be our teachers and mentors.

The hotels were also awful. Other than Verona, I had to share a bed in every location. They were pushed together (often unmovable) but had separate napkin-like sheets. I would say the hostel ranks second for the most comfortable bed. That's bad. Most of the time, there was minimal privacy, and I could not even go to the bathroom. There are also no real common spaces (where we couldn't go into each other's rooms at one point), so if you need to work on projects or want to spend time with one other person or even just not leave the hotel to hang out or work, you can't. You had to use cafes, which sometimes felt like a waste of money

The content of the course was great. I loved learning about the history of different locations and how the morning notes worked despite how intimidating it sounds to write 800/900 words.

Overall, it was a good experience that made me come back a better person, but if you are from Ontario, use a different school. This one targets rich teens from Alberta, avoiding their long exams.