I studied abroad with CEA in Aix-en-Provence, France in the summer of 2017. I cannot say one negative thing about this program. The staff, both in the U.S. and onsite in France, were absolutely amazing, attentive, and supportive from beginning to end. They did everything to make the entire application process as clear and efficient as possible and were always there to answer questions and address concerns both myself and my parents had. They offer an impressively wide range of cities and courses to choose from. While abroad, they offer several additional excursions and cultural events (such as a 4th of July barbecue or soap making) for students to enhance their experience. My school (IAU) was beautiful and had all the amenities and luxuries offered by a university in the U.S. My homestay helped me to improve my French more than I thought possible in just six weeks. CEA Study Abroad works hard to ensure every student has a positive and unforgettable experience. Studying abroad with CEA was one of the best decisions I have ever made and would make again in a heartbeat. Definitely recommend and definitely worth every penny!
CEA - Cultural Experiences Abroad
It is truly ashame to charge parents the ridiculous amount for this program. The lack of orientation is by far none. The welcoming staff barely speaks English and was never seen again for four months . Your staff at CEA in Italy gave no through orientation or bare guidance to students.Your professors rude and condescending to students. When coming from a accredited University in the US to this program, one fines it lacks the respect between professor and student. As a parent paying 17k for this program , your level of staff should be professional and up to standard.
Your housing for students and housekeeping is bare minimum , leaving students to fend for themselves in a foreign country. Example : a rodent problem or an electric problem, no guidance or staff member is available to students. God Forbid, if there is a true emergency!!
The housekeeping staff showed up for 8 minutes and left. No issue for young adults to clean up after themselves but not acceptable when advised no major cleaning is needed and that it is taken care of. Instead at check out parents and students are left to major clean the housing themselves so it is left in acceptable standard or even better.
Items promised were never in the apartment., printer none, a poor internet connection for the number of students in the apartment .
If your college student is accustomed to professional level of education , please do not sign them up for this program. It is costly and not run professionally!
After compiling a formal complaint letter, I will keep it short and simple. CEA is a waste of anyones money. Aside from coordinating my family, and giving them money for my stay and food, they did nothing. My home university in Vina Del Mar, Chile helped the students with our introduction week, planned field trips, transcripts, and any issues the students were having. I spend $10,000, when that money should have been going to the community and the school. I had a friend on the trip who wasn't willing to pay this price, so he contacted the university he was interested in attending, and the international department helped him find a family, he paid half the price.
CEA barely coordinates with the students when they are abroad unless you have questions, they do NOT care about their students, after working with them you really just feel like they want to make money. They had difficultly assisting me when I was robbed, lost my credit card, and failed to reach out to me to make sure I was okay when there was a massive earthquake and tsunami alert.
Steer away from CEA, but if you want extra money to travel, think outside the box and talk to the university themselves!
I rarely write reviews but upon reading so many bad reviews, I felt really compelled to create a username and write a review on here for CEA. I had a WONDERFUL experience with CEA, life changing, actually. I studied there in 2007, but the staff is the exact same and I'm sure that it has only improved since then. I am now a French Teacher, and I would never discourage any of my students from studying in Aix en Provence with CEA, as I did. I lived in an apartment just off of the Rue du 4 Septembre. The location was awesome and the location of the office was awesome as well, and I know that they have since moved to the Cours Mirabeau, which is about as centrally located as you can be. I walked to school every day through the most charming of cobble street roads, past the market square and though the center of everything. Our school was across the street from a 13th century chapel and the bells would chime every evening as I walked home and grabbed myself a crepe on the way. My apartment was perfect. I was wasn't fancy- it was a student apartment, and all of the furnishings and what not were basic. It was small. Very small. It's Europe! My windows opened up onto a school courtyard and the first day that I arrived and opened up and looked out my windows, I was greeted by a little school boy who shouted 'Bonjour Mademoiselle!' I will say that if I could have done it over again, I would have stayed with a host family because the students who did seemed to have an advantage in speaking more than I did at home with my American roommate. I was just nervous that I would get put with a family that I didn't like- which happens.
My classes were awesome. Not a word of English and I felt that I was appropriately placed by the placement test that we were given on the first day of classes.
The town is a relatively large city for the region and it has good parts and bad parts. Don't be alarmed if you see some beggars, some graffiti, and a little bit of trash. For the most part, the center of town, which is where the university aix-marseille is and where the office is, is immaculate.
I really enjoyed our excursions. We went to the Camargue, Sainte Marie de la mer, Arles, Avignon, Monte Carlo, Eze, Nice, Cassis and more on weekend excursions. There was opportunity to travel on your own during spring breaks and students went to different countries around Europe and even to Africa.
I really can't say enough about my study abroad. No, it wasn't perfect, but it was perfect to me! Please contact Vivienne in the Aix office if you have any questions and I know she will help you. She is English speaking as she is originally from Ireland.
stay away, stay away, stay away! classes are complete fluff and no academic rigor at all. this is a "mill" designed to get your $10,000 so your kid can spend a month abroad.
housing situation is sleezy, poorly maintained apartments that previous students destroy. they then meticulously document all this BS as damages when you leave, and deduct if from your security deposit as stuff you did.
would not recommend, and would never ever let another one of my kids go w/ CEA.
OHP
