Review of CIEE Teach Abroad in Madrid

I would only recommend CIEE for people who are very self-sufficient. The only helpful thing I felt they did was the packets provided and guaranteeing Madrid. I had a very difficult Visa process and CIEE did not help get me in contact with anyone at the embassy or have any information that could truly benefit me. The orientation provided helpful information about residency cards and paperwork for the schools, however, it had a lot of expensive social events (such as a flamenco show) that felt like a waste of money, given we were only given a hotel for four days and most people did not find apartments in this time. I love the friends I made at the CIEE orientation, but aside from those four days I did not feel like CIEE was extremely helpful or worth the extremely high costs. Getting a school in Madrid was great, but I think if you are independent it would be worth it to take more of a risk and apply through other programs.