High School Study Abroad in the United Kingdom

This experience has been the best most educational and formative of my life. It has changed me as a person and permanently altered my mindset for the rest of my life. If you choose to do this it will be something you never forget. You will gain memories, friends, and a new home no matter how long you stay.

I loved CIEE! It was a great experience and I feel like I learned a lot about the world and myself. My day trip to London! It was insane to be in one of the biggest cities in the world exploring with one of my best friends (that I didn’t know three months ago).

I will look back on my Summer with Immerse with amazing memories! I made life long friends from round the world who helped me grow in confidence the summer before starting college. My tutor was so knowledgeable but also approachable and confirmed my decision that Architecture is the right path for me. What I wasn't expecting was the support and friendliness from my mentor throughout the programme. I learned so much from her in terms of what to expect from being an undergrad. She was like a big sister! I wish I could attend every year but will keep in touch with all the amazing friends I made.

I really enjoyed the program; they were very helpful with flights and finding me a good host family. My coordinator, Miga, was incredibly kind, friendly, and supportive throughout the process. I also made friends from all over the world!

I had a good experience with CIEE, and I would recommend it to any of my friends interested in studying abroad. One evening, while walking home at dusk, I realized I had to pass through the cemetery if I stayed at school too long, which creeped me out. I started texting my friends about it, but just as I was typing, the church bell rang right next to me, startling me so much that I shrieked and ran out of the cemetery, laughing maniacally at how goofy I must have looked. When I checked my phone, I discovered that I had sent my message in the group chat prematurely, so it just said, 'I just realized when I leave school late I have to,' which made everything even funnier.

I would definitely recommend studying abroad, considering the skills I have acquired as an exchange student and the many experiences I have had the opportunity to be a part of. However, it is a significant commitment and can be quite expensive, making it impossible for many people. Additionally, I have faced numerous hardships that were difficult to navigate, particularly regarding my homestay. Nevertheless, this experience has ultimately made me a better and more resilient person. The most memorable part has been the friendships I have formed, especially with my fellow exchange students, and the weekend trips and excursions we have taken together, which have strengthened our bond. I have also cherished the time spent with my two host sisters, sharing laughter and evenings together; I truly could not have done it without them.

Best month of my life, by far. The only word I can think of to describe this past summer is “unreal”. Nothing can compare to sipping tea at Kensington Palace, climbing the Arc de Triomphe and eating pastries atop the Eiffel Tower, sailing down Amsterdam's canals, visiting a giant German castle overlooking a stunning alpine lake, paragliding and whitewater rafting in the Swiss Alps, having brunch in a rotating restaurant on top of a nearly 3,000-meter-tall mountain, negotiating at an Italian leather market, relaxing at a gorgeous villa on a winery, exploring the Roman Colosseum, hiking in the beautiful Cinque Terre, swimming in the crystal-clear waters of the French Riviera, and partaking in a Spanish Tapas Masterchef-esque tournament, all within a month. This is just a small taste of what this trip has to offer. The amount of meaningful memories I’ve made is endless. I met new friends, tried new foods, experienced SO many things for the first time, and had an absolutely surreal amount of fun. 10/10 across the board.

One would not believe what an impact can 2 weeks have on their life! The immerse physics course at the Cambridge university encompassed fun, learning opportunities and relationships, which opened many doors for me in the future. It was not only an opportunity for me to try out the environment of a university, but also a way to develop myself. The complete beginning of my stay began with an essay competition held by the Immerse Education. It gave me a taste of what writing an academic essay outside of my school feels like as well as it brought an ecstatic feeling of happiness, when the results came in announcing I was given a scholarship for the course. From that moment on, the immerse staff started guiding me towards my stay and were incredibly helpful in trying to meet my needs, which was incredibly useful taking into consideration the COVID situation we have found ourselves in. When finally on the course, I have found myself in an incredibly friendly environment. My mentor, Sam, showed me around and I was able to network with people from all walk of life in an instant. It did not take long before I managed to find some amazing friends, with whom I still am in contact with. These relationships were later on supported by many leisure time activities (such as sports day, botanical garden visit, or murder mystery night) prepared by our mentors and the other members of the Immerse Education staff. The physics part of my course was both challenging and enjoyable. Of course, when it comes to science programs, one must be prepared to study hard, this one was no exception. However, it was all worth it. I was taught by a graduate of the Cambridge University who showed us numerous ways to tackle tasks in various fields of physics. Not only did this help me to understand the matter on a more advanced level, but I have also expanded my problem solving skills providing that our teacher gave us brain teasers as a form of relax during some of the harder sessions. Last, but not least, this course gave me my first ever experience of working with my peers that are all interested in the same domain as I am. We helped each other understand some of the mathematical dilemmas we were dealing with as well as proposed each other some useful studying materials that we had been using in the past. Another enriching part of the program were the mentors themselves. When having a minute of spare time in between different parts of the program, we were able to talk to them about their experience at the Cambridge University. As they were all students there, they were able to give us insides on how to write a good personal statement, choose the correct college, what parts of the city are a must see, or how to get a better room within the dorm. In conclusion, the course was not only amazing in expanding my knowledge of physics, but also created space for me to make lasting relationships, get a better idea of how life in Cambridge is like, and gave me many memories of a well spent summer time. Now, that I am back home, I have found out that my outlook on my future has completely changed and many of the challenges I deemed impossible, now seem easy. I still expand on the knowledge I had obtained on the course and think about the great time I had with my friends.

This program was splendid! I was granted the opportunity to meet and interact with like-minded people who has a love for education and learning. The mentors were great too, giving us a very insightful taste of what it was like to study at Cambridge, also offering us mental and emotional support. The housing was very good, with adequate essentials, good workspaces and a balcony that exceeded my expectations. Additionally the food was okay, but sometimes the lunch meals were slightly unusual, so I found myself leaving campus for lunch often. Apart from that, the course was great!

Taking part in the 2-week Immerse medicine program hosted by Oxbridge was undoubtedly the highlight of my summer break. Due to COVID restrictions, I had to attend the course online. Nevertheless, I still felt really involved and engaged. My tutor, who took us through the medicine course was actually a medical student in Cambridge but he was extremely knowledgeable and was able to answer each question thoroughly and beyond my expectations. He also made sure to explain all the concepts that seemed tough in a simpler way which made them easy to understand. With our tutor, we were allowed 1 on 1 sessions before class on specific days which allowed me to ask questions on the content taught that were not so clear but also about any other content I encountered through further reading that I did not understand fully. In addition to the normal lectures we had in the morning, we also had afternoon workshops hosted by admissions officers who helped us understand how to write good academic essays, how to engage in debates, and what is important in submitting university applications. We also had sessions with students of Oxbridge (I had both a first year and final year student) who gave us virtual tours and insights about the two campuses. Learning with Oxbridge's Immerse was really enlightening because I was able to answer questions based on things I already learnt in regular school and also, expand on that knowledge. After the program, I received a really motivating report from my tutor which encouraged me to move forward with my studies in the medical field. I would definitely recommend participating in the Immerse program because it is one of the most enriching experiences out there. It is also very simple to get into. I took part in the essay competition and earned a discount fee on the course. All it takes is genuine interest and passion in the subject.

Last summer I took part in the International Relations programme in Cambridge and I had a wonderful experience! The course was really well structured and it really gave me an insight in what IR is about! We also got to develop a personal project giving us the opportunity to apply what we learnt to a topic of our choice. All the activities proposed, both in the course and outside, were engaging and well organized! Despite the sanitary emergency we had the opportunity of exploring Cambridge...and Oxford and London as well! In the two weeks I spent in Cambridge I made new lifelong friends and got to meet people from all over the world! I would highly encourage everyone to have this experience at least once in their life!

My Summer Medical Programme at Cambridge university came about in an indirect way. I heard from friends about an essay competition that would give people a full ride scholarship into a summer programme at Cambridge or Oxford that would focus on the career they were interested in. As a potential medical student, I wrote an essay for medicine titled ‘what makes a good doctor?’ I received a partial scholarship and was able to attend this medical programme in July 2021. Me and the other students in the medicine programme stayed at Sidney Sussex College and our lessons were undertaken by a researcher who had done a phD at Cambridge. We talked about pathways into medicine as well as the intricate biochemistry that underpins medical discoveries, breakthroughs and beliefs. I particularly loved our classes as my huge attraction to medicine is its explanatory power and the way actions are based on principles that have been studied and confirmed. I particularly enjoyed dissecting, learning to suture and practicing gel electrophoresis (which I had learnt about in my IB Biology class). Each day, we also had social activities ranging from movie nights and museum trips to quizzes and rides on the River Cam that enabled us to interact with and get to know the students enrolled in other programmes. It was truly an amazing programme and one of the few things that made being unable to go home for the summer enjoyable.

L&E provide a good outlet for people who maybe aren't so confident going away from home. Because of the community and family feel of the place you shouldn't worry about spending a week or more away from your parents and home.

It has improved Michael's overall confidence and behaviour and it's noticed by everyone once he returns home. He learns so much. Gaining confidence in activities he would never try or contemplate in the past.

Making lots of new friends from all around the world, it’s a great way to get to know people from other countries. An amazing experience for Kasia, and being star camper was the icing on the cake for her. The blog and photos were an excellent way for us to see what was going on and how she was doing. She was an extremely long way away from us but we never felt nervous as she was clearly so happy and well looked after, thank you.

I was expecting that it was just a normal camp like the ones in America but it is much more. It focuses more on bonding between campers and gives everyone an opportunity to do what they want to do. L&E is truly the best camp I have been to so far. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and create genuine friendships that you will always remember.

Our children attended the camp twice for one week, now they are begging to come for two weeks.....! No further words necessary to explain how enthusiastic they are about the camp! Last year Elise came home with tears in her eyes as she wanted to stay longer!

My summer with TFT is one that I will never forget! I was super nervous to travel with people I didn't know, but the kids I went with were absolutely amazing. The counselors did fun games with us to get to know each other. By the time we felt Europe all of us were sad because we had to leave our friends. Overall an amazing experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to travel.

To see all these countries in the span of a couple weeks is amazing. This allowed me to be more immersed in the culture, relax, and have a good time. The cooking classes were a blast, and even though it was only my second time with the company I instantly felt at home with my group. Being a Counselor In Training for TFT is fun and gives you the opportunity to meet new people, enjoy great cuisine, and see awesome sights around the world. Every day of my trip was a once in a lifetime adventure that just kept getting better. This is a chance to explore some of the coolest, most diverse spots in Europe. The Alps, London, Rome, Barcelona, the south of France, and a chocolate factory in Paris were a few of the highlights for me. And seeing the cities firsthand with a local guide, good friends, and one of a kind counselors is so rewarding. I could not have asked for a more special treat because each stop is incredible and filled with excitement. Thank you Travel For Teens you have made a trip I will never forget.

I am writing as a parent, since my son, Cameron, is who actually doing the exchange in England. From the get-go, Greenheart was informative, helpful, available--- for each step of the application process, for all of our questions (mine as a mom, my son's, and even the high school counselor here in the states). I was impressed with the extensive questions which were there for our security and protection, as well as for asserting the proper place, home, and school for Cameron. When he and I communicate about his experience there, it's always so interesting and so great to hear the contentedness and maturation in his voice. I cannot thank God enough for this wonderful time not just for Cameron, but for all of us as we vicariously enjoy his stay in the UK. Well done, Greenheart and Allison and Hope, our awesome reps!