CIEE Study Abroad Madrid

Nina

2025-11-11

Google

This program is a nightmare. I paid for a specific age group and support, got neither. I wasn’t given my placement until after I arrived, which left me completely unprepared to find housing, another disorganized and stressful process. When I finally got my placement, it was with a completely different age group.

The school is absolute chaos. Students are out of control, and the teachers expect you to do their job for them. On top of that, the commute is 2.5 hours every day, which was never communicated.

CIEE responded to the first couple of emails with very little guidance and then stopped providing support. The only advice I received was to “contact AuxMadrid,” which does not resolve the issue. I am now stuck with no options.

This program is disorganized, unsafe, and unprofessional. Do not waste your time or money.

Juliette

2024-09-17

Google

Administration was so kind and understanding during my time in the Spain study abroad for 4 weeks

Nina Johnson

2024-05-30

Google

Amazing company. They answered all of my questions in a timely manner. They have been so helpful, kind, tentative, and upfront about everything we had to do. If a mistake was made on their end, or there was an inconsistency, they set out to resolve it ASAP.

R FB

2024-04-18

Google

Do not come here for your Open campus block (especially 2 and 3), do not pay for select housing they give it to everyone for free anyways. CIEE support is a misnomer in itself. By the 3rd block especially do not expect to be placed anywhere near the actual city of Madrid. I love Madrid but CIEE is a big part of why my experience was less than.

giselle marcos

2024-02-16

Google

I am studying in Madrid with CIEE for spring 2024. I regret my decision choosing this program and advise you to not pick CIEE if you want to study abroad. They only care about money and don't care at all about the students!

I paid for upgraded housing to have a single room, but found out many students got this upgrade for free. They are very disorganized and unprepared and did not plan accordingly to the amount of students coming, so there was no availability left for regular housing. When I found out that some students who got upgraded for free received better/more upgrades in their single rooms, I voiced my concern to receive my refund for the upgrade as it is not fair to not get priority for something I paid for. My room's A/C also doesn't work and they left me in an unbearable hot room. The CIEE team had no regard for me and told me they know it is unfair, but there's nothing they will do for me. They only care about receiving the money from the students but don't give fair treatment or care to help with any issues.

Overall, this program is horrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone!

Jane Rosett

2023-10-23

Google

I am currently studying abroad in Madrid through CIEE (fall 2023). I have been consistently let down by this program. I signed up for classes before coming to Madrid through CIEE and once I arrived, none of the classes I selected existed. I am stuck in four random classes that do not align with my interests at all and CIEE could not have been less helpful.

Secondly, CIEE placed me in an apartment with nine other girls. The commute from our apartment to school is consistently over 80 minutes each way everyday. We were promised while enrolling in the program that the maximum commute was 45 minutes.

Lastly, the apartment we are required to live in has had fifteen power outages, no air conditioning, no hot water, and just an overall lack of working appliances.

I love the city of Madrid and wish I could have lived in a different apartment and had classes that I was interested in. CIEE does not care for their students and runs the abroad program like a business. They only care about getting your money! Go somewhere else!

Maite

2023-04-20

Google

Empresa DISCRIMINATORIA y EMBAUCADORA de sus posibles futuros clientes.
En nuestro caso ha sido muy triste ver cómo la familia que me acogió en el extranjero cuando yo fui estudiante, finalmente decide no venir conmigo por los motivos tan desacertados que les plantea esta empresa. En concreto fue EVA la que aclaró que no habría problema si la familia nos elegía a nosotros para ser su familia durante la estancia del joven en Madrid, pero no hay duda de que se ha encargado de que no fuera así.
Somos un matrimonio joven que tenía ganas e ilusión de poder devolver lo que un día en la vida se nos entregó sin esperar nada a cambio. El motivo por el cual nuestra ilusión ha sido mermada ha sido la distancia respecto a la academia donde los estudiantes harán sus estudios. Para CIEE es imprescindible que solo tarden 30 minutos como máximo en volver a casa y puedan hacerlo con sus compañeros, teniendo en cuenta que vivimos en Madrid, la gran capital, y que los alumnos estarán prácticamente todo el día juntos. INACEPTABLE.
45 minutos en transporte público, 20 minutos en coche, que nos separarán de una parte de la familia que en su día me acogió y me abrió las puertas de su casa y hoy NO será posible.
Si estás buscando ser familia de acogida para jóvenes estudiantes de otros países, podéis encontrar otras empresas o academias que prestan los mismos servicios sin tener segundas intenciones como ha demostrado tener CIEE.
Y si eres futuro estudiante, reflexiona sobre las maravillosas oportunidades que te puedes llegar a perder por algo que carece de sentido a día de hoy en esta preciosa ciudad.

A M

2022-11-08

Google

CIEE is a relatively expensive program and I wish I realized earlier that the 3-day hotel stay was an option, as it is roughly $1000 cheaper than the 7-day hotel stay that I did. Nonetheless, orientation was well-executed and prepared me to teach at a secondary school in Madrid. Working hours are great, roughly 16 hours a week with added hours for course planning, but never more than 20 hours a week including this. Everyone works 4 days a week, so you will either get Friday or Monday off. I have Mondays off and I love it! In one of my "Cons", I wrote "stipend of 1000 euros a month". However, it is important to note that this is comparable to what many full-time English teachers make here in Spain while working closer to 40 hours a week (I believe their monthly stipend is closer to 1500-2000 euros a month, if that helps give you an idea).

Pros:
- 4 day workweek, only 16-20 hours a week
- Do not need to speak any Spanish to be on the program
Cons:
- Stipend of 1000 euros a month
- Spain is not the most racially accepting

Jeremy Suzuki

2022-08-18

Google

Muy guay y organizado

monica verdugo

2019-07-09

Google

Colaboro con ellos y entre todos conseguimos que los estudiantes vivan una experiencia inolvidable. Todas las personas que trabajan en ciee tienen como prioridad a los estudiantes, se esfuerzan para que se sientan bien y seguros, se diviertan y aprendan. Sólo puedo decir cosas buenas.

Diana

2019-07-06

Google

excelente servicio! y adminstracion