Had more potential than it saw. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes varied widely in the rigor. Some courses were on par with courses at my home university and a true joy to attend. Other courses were surpassingly mediocre and I walked away wondering what I actually learnt. All courses suffered from students with wet blanket attitudes towards learning in general. It was like revisiting high school. After awhile it seemed some professors just gave up. Professors here also prefer student presentations in lieu of lectures -- half of the time the presentations are garbled messes of copy-pasting. Professors also often give both a final written test and ask for an essay during finals week which came as a shock for many students who had long since zoned out. To the program's credit there is a wide variety of courses offered and students have access to international courses as Charles University and the film school, FAMU.

On-site administration of your program

Generally CIEE staff did a good job handling activities and whatnot but they seemed slow to respond to student issues at times The field trips were great experiences - CIEE staff did a good job arranging those -and there were several guest speakers who visited. Orientation was handled well and in hind sight the information covered was very useful. The school facility is run smoothly. Not enough information regarding arrival on the first day was given.For example, I was only told my address maybe a week before I would arrive. Instructions for at the airport? Look for people in orange shirts. In the end everything worked out fine, but it felt as if I was taking a leap of faith when I boarded my plane. The biggest headache I confronted while in Prague was arranging for my visa to be extended so that I could stay for a second semester. Moreover, it wasn't just me, but every single one of the all-year students ran into problems with their visa. I will refrain from ranting, because the process snowballed after a silly procedural mistake. But, really, the whole ordeal was a mess...

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

There is housing in dormitories, apartments, and with host families. In the end I wish I had picked a host family: every one staying with one had only good things to say. However I choose to stay in the apartments. There are different apartments so experiences will vary, but I greatly enjoyed living right in the middle of Prague. The place was clean, newly renovated, and secure: never had a problem with the infrastructure. Commuting to school took maybe 15 - 20 minutes and traveling to main squares took only 5 - 10 minutes. Prague was a truly expansive network of public transportation and season passes are arranged before arrival by the program. A Czech student lives in each apartment which is great for random questions and getting introduced to city life. I could have had better roommates but that was just bad luck on my part.

Food and drink is cheap, especially for Europe. Czech food gets repetitive after awhile - there are only so many ways to pair meat and potatoes - so if you are into gastronomy I'd advise a different country. But, the city offers cuisine from just about every country in the world and the grocery stores sell just about anything they would in America. Except marshmallows.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I made friends with local and international students readily enough, and there usually were groups arranging visits to festivals and events. However, it often felt as if I was moving within an English-speaking "bubble." We lived alongside our neighbors, but not with them.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I was never sick or injured so cannot speak to this. CIEE arranged travel insurance and on-site we were given recommendations for English-speaking doctors and such.

I never felt unsafe wandering around Prague even at odd hours of the night. I never had anything stolen and the one time I lost something on a tram I was able to recover it. There are homeless people visible on the streets. They are, however, very polite and do not aggressively confront people to beg for money. Some of the peripheral neighborhoods look sketchy but really are not bad.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Just about every thing is less expensive in Prague. Even eating out several times a week did not strain my budget. Goods meals can be found for less than 200 CZK (=10 USD).

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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