USA

I didn't have a great experience with ELI. They wanted to charge me an extra $200 for "staying an extra week." They changed my program dates without notifying me and expect me to pay. I haven't paid. Upon my arrival to Costa Rica they picked me up at the airport and took me to a local family's home (the family was very nice) The next couple days they finally "shipped" me on a bus to my actually host family. The program is unorganized and inattentive. I did the medical program since i'm a medical professional and the program was only shadowing and being bored. When I first arrived at the clinic it was like a scavenger hunt to try to figure out what my actual tasks where. The coordinator rarely checked up on me. I spoke with my host family and they said they received about $200 (american dollars).... i paid $900.00 thinking the family would receive it all. Definitely not fair and I think it was just a rip-off. So much for nom-profit huh? I would have rather gave the $900 to the family personally then through ELI. I won't recommend this program.

CSA is a company that submits registration information and then makes payment on you behalf. CSA does not do anything you can't do on your own. You can register for free on University international program website and transfer payment directly to University bank account. If you pay directly you will also save significant amount on conversion rate (CSA is using their own rate - not in your favor).

I had bad experience with CSA and won't recommend it to anyone.

CSA offers summer program for 820 EUR (est. $1295 - this is CSA conversion rate).

I paid confirmation deposit to CSA by check. According to CSA website registration is free and deposit goes towards the total cost.

In further e-mails they asked for more money than stated on the website and explained that deposit is not deducted from the program cost but added to it and that there are other costs as well - approx. $1895 total (without accommodation). CSA refused to provide official breakdown for this new cost.
This is not the cost that has been advertised their website.

Situation falls under false advertising practices and is regulated by consumer protection laws.

I just arrived home last Thursday as I spent a month in Spain after leaving France.

Geovisions did a superb job matching a French family and a Canadian English instructor!!! Thank You for being the liaison in connecting us. Besides having 4 wonderful children to work with I also had access to the countryside for daily walks with their chocolate lab dog. Living with and meeting friends and relatives of my host family was an excellent way for me to experience the French culture, and partake in French cuisine daily. My relationship with the family shall continue.

I believe it is a plus that the application process with Geovisions allows for candidates to look at the family resumes and see if they would be comfortable living with the family and vice versa. Access to a Geovisions staff member is readily available, another plus!

I would certainly recommend Geovisions to anyone wishing to share their English skills in exchange for experiencing a new culture.

Thanks for providing opportunities for enhancing one's life.

My daughter used Abroadco to study abroad in Paris Last year. The first semester went well the housing that we arranged was changed but she liked the dorm. Actually the program was not bad and she enjoyed herself. However since she has returned she has been unsuccessful in obtaining a transcript for her spring semester. She did not receive the deposit for her housing as well. Chris will not return any calls or emails. Basically once they have your money it's gone. If there is anyone else out there having the same problem obtaining a transcript or getting deposits back please fill out the Arizona Attorney General consumer complaint form. The link is posted below. http://www.azag.gov/consumer/complaintform.html

This is the most personal and dedicated class in teaching I have yet to experience in the seven years I have been teaching. I took a class from The Language House in 2006, From Chris Westerguaard and I was teaching partners with Skipp Pots. The amount of teaching methodology addressed, practiced, and observed beats any USA teaching program that I have participated in. I am currently working in Texas as a public high school teacher (accreditation from alternative and certified routes) and I got my start at TLH! Prague is the most beautiful and romantic city on the planet, for me. And I would highly recommend anyone with an adventurous spirit takes this leap and start living the dream!

Did a year abroad in Brazil, AFS USA is polite, well organized, and does a good job keeping their students safe, AFS Brazil, on the other hand, is a complete disaster.

This is very beautiful hotel.Me and my partner are very much impressed.we have decided that whenever we will go to Orlando we are going to stay at this hotel.I stayed at this hotel with my 2 years old baby.The staff is very polite and attentive.Staff members took extra effort for my baby.They provided me a crib.

I was very pleased with United Planet. Their people were friendly and kind and their programs are affordable. It was nice to be able to help people in other countries. I would definitely recommend United Planet to anyone interested in traveling and volunteering.

I very much like AFS program in Iowa, US. It was a great experience. The staff were very professional and the orientation was great. I got to meet students from different parts of the world. My experience with hostfamily was great in general. There were problems, but just consider how different it was to live in a country you've never been before and stay with a family you've never met. It was hard, but both my hostfamily and my local AFS liaison tried to overcome the problems. I especially loved my high school. All the teachers there were great and they loved to talk to an exchange students, so were the students. I still have connections with a lot of my American friends, and other AFS friends around the world. I DID see some students having problems with hostfamily and something else, and one of them was my friend. She ended up going back home early...I was really sad. But it's a special case though....we had maybe 50 students(I'm not sure the exact number as I did not meet all of the students in my area), and she was the only one. All the students who stayed were happy I promise. We used to complain a lot when we got together during some orientations, cultural shock, host family issues...etc. but now it's been a year since I went back to my home country. And I look back to the experience, it really changed my life in a more positive way. I could have been more mature to solve some problems I had that year, and have a greater year. But there is NO WAY to blame AFS for my personal issues. I would recommend AFS to anyone who wants to go to the United States, and Germany (my friend had a great year, too) But for other locations, I have no right to comment.

We were asked to host a student from China for a year of high school. Host families, beware -- it is very common for students coming to China to come for one reason -- to get admitted to a U.S. college. Little or no interest in their host family, any cultural exchange, or any reciprocity. supposedly, this is not the purpose but it happens all the time. Be careful that you won't be "used" by a student for room, board, food, and transportation, with their having little or no interest in you or your family.