CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Paris, France

As someone who has never gone abroad before, CEA made the whole process much easier and less daunting. Luckily, I was able to get a travel voucher that covered my roundtrip flight, making the overall cost more manageable (plus I was able to arrive two months early to do some traveling!). The US staff was wonderful leading up to departure and I absolutely adored everyone at the Paris location--if you are feeling unsure or have literally any question ever (what's the best bakery, how do I use the metro, etc.) they will help you!

I lived with a host family in a large apartment in the 11th arrondissement, which was super cool, but be warned that it may be more difficult to hang with friends when you are with a host family!

My advice is to NOT take a whole bunch of classes. Typically, I take 6 classes a semester at home and manage, but I was only taking 4 while abroad and was overwhelmed, especially during midterms/finals. Don't let school get in the way of learning, as Paris has much to teach.

Overall, the excursions were AWESOME, there is always something to do in Paris, and I met a ton of people that I know will be a big part of my life for years to come. Thank you for everything CEA.

CEA made the logistics of studying abroad easy and accessible. Their thorough attention to detail (like helping us through the student visa process, ensuring that our first few days in a new country weren't terrifying, and being there to solve any problem throughout the semester) let me feel safe and free to enjoy my time abroad.

Along with courses tailored to French culture and the city of Paris, CEA also included numerous excursions to city events and trips around the country. These experiences let me understand and enjoy France in a way I'm incredibly grateful for.

The staff at the CEA Paris Center were absolutely lovely! They truly made Paris feel like a home to me, and their interest in our lives/experience made it feel like more than just a school campus.

I so recommend studying abroad with CEA, because you won't be able to craft such an immersive and breathtaking experience anyway else.

I knew I wanted to study abroad in Paris and CEA was the right fit for me! I was immediately drawn to the fun courses they offered - my photography and oenology courses were actually as fun as how cool they sounded in the beginning. CEA takes care of all the stuff you don't want to like housing and maintenance, and they also give us tips and advice along the way. I would recommend becoming a MOJO blogger/photographer for a great way to document your time abroad while building your resume. The excursions included in the program, especially Honfleur, was super fun to hang out with the other CEA kids in Paris!

My experience studying abroad shaped the way I want to live my life. The professors were personable and adaptable, the housing was clean and accessible, and the country was inclusive. Because of this experience, I decided to continue my education and am now in a master’s program for Intercultural Communication. I can’t wait to live in France and I know I have support when I return from the friends I have made there and staff I have met.

I absolutely loved my semester with CEA. Professors and staff members were fantastic, it was easy to make friends, and I enjoyed everything CEA had to offer (excursions, activities, and information for getting involved outside CEA). My only complaints would be when it comes to course difficulty and absence policy. The courses were a lot more difficult than I was anticipating for study abroad, and I felt as though the absence policy was a lot stricter than necessary. Nevertheless, I had an incredible time with CEA, and I would absolutely recommend CEA Paris to anyone.

I am giving CEA a 1 star for their disappointing first impression and for their poor system of assigning roommates. I have studied abroad once before, through a different program, where I had no problems with roommate requests. If anything, roommate requests should make CEA’s job easier when it comes to matching roommates. I had requested to be with my friend back in November, and I was with her when she accepted my request. That should be a big enough indicator that we wanted to be together. CEA is claiming that I needed to also accept her request which seems like a whole unnecessary second step. When I called CEA to ask about our roommate assignments, they were able to see that we had requested each other. When I asked why they did not honor our roommate request, they were not able to give me a valid reason. Not only am I not roommates with my friend, but she’s not even in the same building as I am in! I would have been less inclined to complain if she going to at least be placed in the same building as me. CEA should make roommate requests a bigger priority because some people choose to be roommates because of plans to borrow/share clothes, toiletries, electronics or so they can split bills on groceries or taxi cab fees, etc. It is not only inconvenient, but it also adds an unnecessary risk to our safety. Our travel plans include us arriving to airports and train stations late at night and it is unfortunate that we now have to take separate routes to get to our own apartments instead of us just staying together. It is obviously safer to arrive back to your apartment with someone, so if two people knew that they would be with each other the majority of their stay, I don’t understand why CEA would not want to honor their roommate requests. I have worked incredibly hard to save money for this program and it is so disappointing that this program does not try harder in granting roommate requests. I have talked to other people on this program and they too have said their roommate requests were not granted. I will not let this roommate mix up incident ruin my trip, but hopefully CEA proves to be more accommodating, organized, and hospitable for the remaining of the program. 

I could not recommend CEA Pais enough. I dont want to leave, none of us do, and many of my friends are even staying a year now because they cant leave! In short, | would say it is a city where you cannot have complaints, and CEA really meets you to ensure your time is even better. They were careful to match us with roommates who we are most alike, who will hopefully be my new friends for life! We were so fortunate to have a gorgeous and very spacious apartment, which can be so hard to come by in Paris, in a safe and very french arrondissement.

In Paris, you are living in a city where you will hear little to no English in passing, you basically must know at least key french words to get by, and I actually felt fully apart and integrated into the french culture off the bat. That is definitely someting I can't say about other european cities I visited. I feel so lucky to know I have really and truly had an experience where I can call it a home, and don't consider myself a tourist, because you quickly learn that you won't be treated the way you want to if you act like a tourist. I learned to adapt to a culture completly different from my own!

If you are to join CEA Paris, my one advice is, DO everything. Go to the free events: soccer games, wine tastings, tours, overnight trips, because those were where we became close as a program and | built relationships with students (CEA students) from all over the united states that I would have never met otherwise.

I did enjoy my time at CEA very much. 4/5 of my professors were excellent. My experience was incredible, and I loved Paris so much. Thank you for a great semester. I had a great experience with great professors, for the most part and the CEA administration is excellent. I lived in a lovely neighborhood, although my dorm wasnt the greatest (not through any fault of CEA), they were lovely and very helpful.