CET Italy

This has by far been the best semester of college yet! Florence is an incredible city with great food and lots to do. The staff at CET were always helpful with recommending activities and places to eat around the city. All of the classes are very interesting and designed in a way that allows students to engage with city by incorporating field trips and guest speakers. Classes are Monday through Thursday which gave us a lot of opportunities to take weekend trips around Italy and Europe.

This has been the best semester of my life! CET offers an array of interesting courses. Although the professors don't always speak perfect English, they are usually very helpful and the classes are enjoyable. CET is very helpful preparing you for the journey the semester before you leave and also in integrating you into the culture of Italy once you get there. Not having any classes on Friday was PERFECT because it made traveling so much easier. I was not very well traveled before but now I have been all over Europe! Florence itself is amazing. There are so many awesome restaurants, bars, clubs, and things to do. The food is incredible. If you are into art, this is the perfect city for you! The school work was challenging but not so much that I did not have time to enjoy other experiences. I have learned so much about the world and also myself this semester. Nothing can replace the people I've met and the experiences I've had. I wish I could stay longer!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with CET Siena for the Spring 2018 semester. The people, both staff and other students, made my time in this program absolutely delightful. The program manager, Vicky, was a delight to work with. She helped all of use if we ever needed it, and was always supportive of our wants and needs. Each professor that I had was amazing. They really cared about us as people and about our academics. They were all very engaging in our courses and very approachable. The courses themselves were at a challenging level that I was looking for in a study abroad program. They were challenging enough to make me know that I was still working hard enough and learning many new things. Yet, they were not overwhelming or super stressful, so that I could also enjoy my free time to travel around Italy on the weekends and get to know Siena better during the week. I must say, however, that the other students definitely helped increase the ambivalence of the ambiance that was set up by the staff. I think this is an excellent program for studying abroad, but the other students do make it or break it. I would still recommend this program for anyone interested about learning Italian, specifically Sienese, culture and art. Many if not all courses are also very interactive and many times hands-on.

Florence has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined. Being in a city filled with such a rich culture has enabled me to grow in many ways. CET has definitely been a major factor in this experience. CET allowed me to explore many of the gems of Italy and Florence, and make the most of my academic experience. The staff are some of the most welcoming, charismatic, and knowledgeable people I have encountered during my experience. The professors are well-versed and passionate about their respective fields and challenge us learn more about Italian culture. The staff also were tremendous help in making my adjustment to Florence very comfortable and helping me navigate this city. Thank you CET!

CET Florence is a great program for those wishing to study in Florence. All of the housing is in the center of the city, which is a great way to immerse yourself in the Florence culture. The academics are relatively difficult, and do a good job of exposing you to many aspects of the city and culture of Italy. The program also organizes a few trips and activities for the students, which are not required but are available, which is nice. The staff is very nice and goes out of their way to get to know you, although I think that they could have been more supportive when it comes to absences for cases that should be excused (such as sickness, this is not excused). CET was a great program for me, an art history student, who wanted to learn more about the culture and history of Florence.

My semester abroad was fantastic, and CET was a big part of it. The program offered interesting classes that I could take with my friends, and they also do a good job of offering activities outside the classroom to give students the Florentine experience. I spent a little less than half my weekends in Florence, but I still found things to do while I was here, and being here really made me appreciate the Italian culture. While it might be nerve-racking committing to spending 4 months on the other side of the world, I've had the absolute best time, and I also got the chance to grow personally. Coming to Florence was the best decision I ever made, and I'm thankful I got the chance to cross so many things off my bucket list!

My time in Siena this summer was incredible. I loved waking up and starting my day with a cappuccino or expresso from down the street. After the bar, classes started at 9 and then by 12:30 I was out finding an authentic lunch down a random street or cooking in my apartment. On Wednesdays there was a big market with fresh vegetables and fruits and some of the best baked chicken. I was only a short walk from the campo where much of the tourist would crowd during the day, but then by night all the locals would be having an aperitivo or dinner later. Siena was a great place to study abroad for me, because I really wanted an authentic experience. Siena had tourists, but for the most part they only were on a day trip to the city. Also many of the shop owners and waitresses would speak Italian with us to allow us to apply the skills we were learning in class. However, I noticed this was not always the case in other places we travelled to in Italy, therefore Siena was a great choice. Classes were Monday through Thursday with an exception of one or two Fridays which was very helpful when traveling. Because of the longer weekend, I was able to travel to Budapest, Amsterdam, Capri, Venice, Cinque Terre, and many other little towns or cities. This was amazing because I was able to compare cultures to the Sienese culture I was living in everyday. I would highly recommend this program if you are looking to learn a lot through classes and then be able to use your knowledge out on the streets in your free time.

CET Florence provides an amazing abroad experience. Florence is such a beautiful city filled with so much history and delicious food. I didn't speak any Italian going into the program, and the teachers and staff were more than happy to help me translate and get around. Also, taking classes at the CET center makes it super easy to meet all of the other students on the program and make new friends. The classes aren't too difficult either, which makes it easy to travel every weekend too. It was definitely my favorite semester of college!