Love Cape Town But Wouldn't Suggest CIEE Past Review
By A student (Geography, University of Maryland - College Park) - abroad from 06/13/2015 to 07/22/2015 with
CIEE: Cape Town - Summer Community Development and Social Justice: Theory + Practice
Beautiful landscape and interesting perspectives on international healthcare and issues.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
THE WORST! Poor and indirect communication. Horrible attitudes and non-existent leadership skills. Pretty clueless the whole trip. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Misleading. Said we'd be at UCT but ended up staying in some random house in a neighborhood. No heat! Barely any dishes. No essentials were provided so you're on the hook for pretty much everything. Thin blankets and pillows. |
| * Food: |
Pretty cheap. Very delicious! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Pretty much self-initiated. No real efforts by the staff |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I never needed any medical attention. |
| * Safety: |
Use common sense. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 150 |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Seriously their foreign language course was a 2 hour lecture by an RA (not even a professor)...and the second course mysteriously never happened...so it sucked |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | CIEE is literally the worst. I was warned before I went...but just choose a different program in CT!! |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
