Great time at CIEE + UCEAP

I really loved this program. decided to do this program for my last summer before graduating (August 2025) and have no regrets.

The staff was very helpful in reviewing my application and matching me with an internship.

The process was easy. I met online with one of the staff members, who asked me about my goals and what I wanted out of this program, and pretty much got to know me. Then a month later, I got matched with an internship, and interviewed with 2 of the internship supervisors and a CIEE staff member. I knew immediately I would be working with them, seeing as the interview went great, and we both agreed on the call that we were very eager to work together.

Right before the program, however, I was a little lost as to what I needed to do; a lot of students were in the dark. BUT, the predeparture orientation was super helpful, let us know where we would be living during our program, what to do upon arrival, and what to bring with us to Tokyo.

Upon arrival, the CIEE members were visible at the airport in bright orange shirts, and they were ready to help guide us to the waiting area. We waited for everyone to show up and then took charter buses to our dorms. The next two days were very helpful orientations, and after that, we were on our own in the city, but this wasn't super scary since Tokyo is very safe.

The class, however, was a different story. The class was VERY easy, you met 3 times during the whole program, and submitted assignments on the CIEE canvas pages (different than your home inst.) BUTTTT I feel that the class could have used more staff oversight during its creation and curriculum writing. It's not super applicable to what you're learning. The teachers they chose were very nice, but in this program setting, I feel that either a culture class, a language class, or a career readiness class would be better.

The program is a bit expensive, even as a low-income student (-1500 SAI) I still had to pay $3,000 out of pocket, and that's including the scholarships that CIEE gave me. SCHOLARSHIPS, another great thing about the program! If you're from a low-income background like me, the financial need-based scholarships are pretty much guaranteed. The Gilman Go Global grant is very nice, it's a great ailment when the Gilman rejection comes in. What I didn't like, though, like was that the scholarships team never advertised that you (potentially) could receive more aid. I didn't know that I could petition for more aid as they present the financial aid appeal form (the form that could give you up to $2,500 towards your summer program) as a form to fill out if you "need to cancel due to financial need". I was scared to click this form because I was scared of automatically cancelling my application SOOOOO don't be like me, FILL OUT THE FORM!

Money aside, I loved my experience, I had THE BEST internship experience, and learned so much about my future career goals, and learned invaluable skills that I can (and will) apply in the future.