Kaplan International: Bournemouth

I was staying in the Kaplan living Residence. The location was quite good, very central. Sadly, the school was quite far away from the residence. The infrastructure at the residence was very bad. There were 3 dryers and washing machines for over 1000 students. The Kitchen was dirty, one of the worst kitchen I'd ever seen. I spoke to the reception and was told that was the problem of the residents, even though I had just arrived and never used the kitchen. There was one vacuum cleaner available, again, for all the 1000 students. Everything I needed to clean the Kitchen, what I had to do myself, was bought by me. The next week the kitchen was dirty again, and I complained, and they didn't do anything to address the issue.

Over my whole stay, 2 months, there were construction works ongoing. I wasn't informed when I booked my room. The workers were very noisy, drilling and hammering until 6 pm at least. You couldn't get a quiet second to safe your life. They also worked in front the windows, so you didn't have any privacy either.

On one occasion I was sent an email telling me that I had to leave the residence tomorrow at 10 am, although I had paid for 3 more weeks. I was told they had double booked some rooms and it was the schools fault, and I should see where I could stay. It was a pain to figure out what was happening. I talked to someone at the school to solve the issue, Weiwei, and she was playing a game on her phone when talking to me. I finally had to change my room after being left without any information for over 72 hours. In my new room there was no electricity on any plug.

On an other occasion, the laundry room was renovated. It took them 5 days, planned was 1. We did not get informed in advance and were forced to hand wash our clothes or using them dirty.

The school on the other hand was very boring. It came to no surprise when I noticed that every book they used was over 9 years old. It wasn't the teachers fault, they just tried to make the best out of it.
I was in the C1/C2 class, but the level was fluctuating between the students so that I got very bored because I often had to wait for lower level students who took way longer to understand or finish a topic/exercise. I talked to multiple teachers about the issue and they said they couldn't do anything because I was at the highest level already and the school was not willing to open new classes.

I also asked to do a C2 Cambridge proficiency exam, and it took the school 2 months to tell me there wasn't one available until November. I also did mock exams which I was asked to do, and handed them in, but never got them back with corrections even though I was told I would.

I payed over 5000 CHF for my 2 month stay. Absolutely wasted money. Unprofessional and overpriced.

Would not recommend at all. Save your money please.

Everything was beautiful, though the Institute needs some development in learning, recreational facilities, and restoration of furniture.

First I was in an afternoon class but after a week I changed. I just couldn't listen to the lessons. The morning classes' teachers (the first two) was a bit bad. I learnt present perfect for two weeks, that was really boring. The best teacher was the entensive's. I really liked it. I've never bored. Inshort it was a great holiday for me and I happy with it.

I've been learning english since I was 6. I learned almost everthing about the grammar, butIi couldn't speak. I've never spoken with someone in english. But once I arrived here I started to speak it, well I was forced to do it, and now I can keep a good conversation with someone. I've met many friends and it's incredible and really funny going out with school mates from different countries. What about teachers? They are very very funny as well! I've improved and at the same time enjoyed a lot! Bournemouth is a very beautiful city (or town, even now I can't understand what the difference is), and the school is not so far from my homestay...every day I can choose if catch the bus or go on foot! Well not really every day because as you know here it is always raining.
I've been here during the period of winter, that's why they didn't promote lots of activities, they should do more things, they might promote inside sports. Fortunately I've been staying in the most beautiful homestay ever! I've improved a lot also with them.

I had a good experience and I have certainly improved my English.

My name is Khamit. I have been studying for 3 months at Kaplan Aspect (Pre-master course). So, within this period I have gotten some knowledge about Business and IELTS skills. Also, I was obtaining some language support lessons.
It is quite difficult to reach a conclusion about this college however I am tempted to say that during the time which I have been in College, I achieved almost everything that I planned. So I want to emphasize here that there was a huge number of foreign students who helped me to achieve a great improvement in speaking skills. Additionally, there are many qualified teachers who are always ready to help you. However, there are some rules that you have to mainly follow after. The biggest advantage in Bournemouth is location because it is situated next to the ocean. It has remarkable appearance!
On the other hand, there are some weaknesses in facilities. In fact, it is too small a city and there is a huge quantity of elderly people, hence, industry of entertainment has a medium level. Also, it is quite expensive to rent some accommodation in comparison with other parts of the UK.
To sum up, if you come here to obtain just some knowledge, it would be the right place. But, if you want to get social experience, it would be a little bit boring. However, it is just my point of view.