CIEE Teach in Spain (after completing 1 year) without TEFL Certification

This is my review after doing a year of teaching abroad in Madrid by going through the CIEE "Teach in Spain" program:

There are pros and cons to going through CIEE which I will outline below, but overall for the cost to benefit ratio I would suggest not using them if you are motivated and decent at researching on your own.

Pros:
CIEE will provide you with detailed outlines of how to complete certain application processes such a applying for a VISA, a TIE (Spanish resident card), a bank account, a transportation card, and general information on what to bring to Spain including a packing list and paperwork.

CIEE provides a timeline of when you should complete certain steps and documents (though I would start looking at housing a little sooner than they suggest).

CIEE will provide an "orientation" which is useful for meeting other people in the program. That is about the main reason for it though. You will be put up in a hotel for your first week while you look for housing, but paying for it yourself would likely be cheaper.

Along these lines, you will be put into a CIEE Facebook group which is useful for sharing information and meeting other Auxs (teaching assistants). However, there are also plenty of other expat/aux groups to join.

CIEE will guarantee you are placed in Madrid (keep in mind "Madrid" is huge and that does not necessarily mean the city center). You can apply to be an Aux in many regions of Spain.

CIEE will provide insurance (called iNext) and this is useful for getting documentation together for your VISA, but there are cons too (see below).

Cons:
Most of the information CIEE provides can be found through other resources/blogs for free. Some of the information they provide is not as accurate as it could be (however, this is also due to the Spanish system which is rapidly changing and not universal in its requirements).

If you run into trouble with your VISA, due to consulate issues or anything else, CIEE really can't help. It is simply outside of their scope of influence.

If you run into trouble with your teaching assignment, CIEE also cannot do much other than direct you to the official channels. Again this is simply outside their scope. (I did not personally run into issues with this, but a few of my friends did).

If you go directly through the Ministry of Education in Madrid to apply, you can save a significant amount of money, you just have to do a lot of your own research. The Ministry also provides, what I have gathered to be, superior health insurance through Cigna (based on comparing experiences with my friends who went through the Ministry).

Assistance with housing is not provided. They will direct you to Idealista and online housing groups. That is by far the most stressful part of moving to a new country, and you are really on your own.

Overall:
After going through the program I am not upset that I used them for my first year. CIEE provided a level of comfort when moving, but I would not use them again, nor would I suggest a friend use them. I would tell my friends to do their own research and go through the Ministry.

Note: I did not go through their TEFL program, and have heard that is decent, so they may be a good option if you want a TEFL certificate.