1. Go Abroad
  2. First Year Abroad
  3. College Decision Countdown Terms and Conditions

College Decision Countdown Terms and Conditions

 

  • The sweepstakes is open only to U.S. legal residents who meet ALL of the following criteria:
    • At least 17 years of age at the time of entry
    • A legal resident of the fifty (50) United States the U.S. District of Columbia, excluding New York and Florida.
  • No purchase is necessary to enter.
  • The sweepstakes begins on December 2, 2024 and ends on May 1, 2025.
  • Winners will be selected randomly from all eligible entries.
  • Winners will be notified by email.
  • The prize will consist of (i) travel prizes worth up to $1,500, (ii) round-trip airfare to/from a CIEE First Year Abroad or Gap Year Abroad program location.
    • The prize is non-transferable and no cash equivalent is permitted.
  • Winners are responsible for all applicable taxes.
  • CIEE reserves the right to cancel or modify the sweepstakes at any time.

1. HOW TO ENTER To enter, a complete application must be submitted through the online portal at www.ciee.org no later than the applicable deadline as follows:

  • To enter to win $1,500 in travel prizes and the free flight: Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time (“ET”) on March 1.
  • To enter to win $500 in travel prizes and the free flight: Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on April 1.
  • To enter to win the free flight: Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on May 1.

Please note that all application tasks must be completed and the submission button pressed within the designated timeframe for your chosen entry level. Entries received after the final deadline of May 1 will not be considered.

2. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY / ELIGIBILITY TO WIN Entrants agree to abide by the terms of these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor which are final. This sweepstakes is open only to individuals who meet ALL of the following qualifications: (i) legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia. By participating in the sweepstakes, entrants: (i) agree to be bound by these Official Rules, including all eligibility requirements; (ii) agree to be bound by the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding in all matters; and (iii) agree to and adhere to the CIEE’s Terms and Conditions for studying abroad. Employees of sponsor and members of their immediate family (e.g., spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings) are not eligible to win. Entries that are incomplete or corrupted are void and will not be eligible to win. An effort by an entrant to misrepresent himself or herself through the use of aliases or multiple email addresses will disqualify all entries of such individual. Sponsor and its agents reserve the right to verify eligibility qualifications of any winner. Failure to comply with these Official Rules as determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor may result in disqualification from the sweepstakes. This sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law.

3. THE SPONSOR The Sponsor of this sweepstakes is CIEE, Inc., located at 600 Southborough Drive, Suite 104, South Portland, Maine 04106. This sweepstakes may be advertised on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram or on high school grounds but this sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, or high schools.

4. HOW TO WIN / PRIZE WILL NOT BE AWARDED IF THE WINNER DOES NOT COMPLETE AN APPLICATION. One (1) winner will be selected at random and receive a prize consisting of (i) up to a $1,500 value in travel prizes, (ii) round-trip airfare to/from his/her CIEE First Year Abroad or Gap Year Abroad program location. Prize is not transferable to anyone and cannot be redeemed for cash value. No prize substitution, cash substitution, or assignment or transfer of prizes is permitted, except by Sponsor who may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if any portion of the advertised prize becomes unavailable. No more than the stated number of prizes shall be awarded. Any unused portions of a Prize will be forfeited, will not be redeemable for cash, and may not reduce the prize value awarded for tax purposes.

All federal, state, local and other taxes, costs, and expenses regarding the use and acceptance of the Prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. PRIZES ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE AND MAY NOT BE RESOLD. Unless expressly declined by the prize recipient, all prizes will be awarded, so long as there are a sufficient number of eligible entries.

5. WINNER DRAWING AND NOTIFICATION The Winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received by the Sponsor, on 5/1/25. The Winner will be notified by the Sponsor by email. If a potential Winner cannot be reached within five (5) business days after the first attempt to notify him/her, the Sponsor may select an alternate potential Winner in his/her place at random from the remaining entries. Winner must respond with a valid email address where required documents can be sent.

6. PRIZE CONDITIONS Except where prohibited, acceptance of the Prize constitutes each winner’s consent, and each winner will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Publicity, and Liability Release (“Affidavit”) and/or IRS W-9 (if required by IRS regulations), prior to and as a condition of acceptance of the Prize within fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt of written notification, or the Prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner may be selected. In Sponsor’s sole discretion: (i) if a prize or prize notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to a potential winner; (ii) if a potential winner fails to complete and return the requisite documents within the specified time period; or (iii) if a potential prize winner is not in compliance with these Official Rules, then such person shall be disqualified and an alternate winner may be selected for the prize at issue.

7. GENERAL CONDITIONS If for any reason the operation or administration of this sweepstakes is impaired or incapable of running as planned for any reason, including but not limited to: (i) infection by computer virus, bugs; (ii) tampering, unauthorized intervention; (iii) fraud; (iv) technical failures; or (v) any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this sweepstakes, the Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it believes has tampered with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the sweepstakes in whole or in part, at any time, without notice, and to award the applicable prize using all non-suspect eligible entries received as of, or after (if applicable) this cancellation, termination, modification or suspension date, or in any manner that is fair and equitable and best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual deemed to be: (i) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the sweepstakes or Sponsor’s website; or (ii) acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.

8. RELEASE AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY By participating in the sweepstakes, entrants agree to release and hold harmless CIEE, Inc., any administrator, their employees, legal representatives, successors and assigns, and any advertising and promotional agencies (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or causes of action, suits, debts, indirect or direct damages arising out of participation in the sweepstakes, or the awarding, acceptance and use or misuse of a prize. The Released Parties shall not be responsible for: (i) any technical errors that may prevent an entrant from submitting an entry; (ii) unauthorized human intervention in the sweepstakes; (iii) printing errors; (iv) errors in the administration of the sweepstakes or the processing of entries; or (v) any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. The Released Parties are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or telephone lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems, human error, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participation in this sweepstakes or downloading any materials in connection with this sweepstakes. In the event Sponsor or its agents are prevented from continuing the sweepstakes as contemplated by any event beyond its control, including, but not limited to fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war, or any federal, state, or local governmental law, order, or regulation, or order of any court or other cause not within its control, Sponsor and its agents shall have the right to modify, suspend, extend, or terminate the sweepstakes.

9. PUBLICITY By accepting the Prize, where permitted by law, the Prize winner grants to the Released Parties and those acting pursuant to the authority of Sponsor and the Released Parties (which grant will be confirmed in writing upon Sponsor’s request), the right to print, publish, broadcast and use worldwide IN ALL MEDIA without limitation at any time and in perpetuity the winner’s full name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness and/or biographical information for advertising, trade, and promotional purposes in connection with the Sponsor, this sweepstakes, and the Sponsor’s websites, subdomains thereof, and its digital media channels, without further payment or additional consideration, and without review, approval or notification.

10. PRIVACY NOTICE By entering this sweepstakes, any personal information entrants submit will be disclosed to the Sponsor and will be used only by us consistent with our Privacy Policy. Sponsor may use entrants’ personal information, including postal and email addresses, to contact entrants regarding Sponsor’s goods

and services and any other offers and/or promotions that we believe may be of interest to entrants. (If you have previously asked us not to send you promotional emails, your entry into this promotion and sweepstakes will cause you to receive emails related only to this promotion).

11. LAW / DISPUTE RESOLUTION This sweepstakes will be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions. Any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with this sweepstakes shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Any action or litigation concerning this sweepstakes shall take place exclusively in the federal or state courts sitting in Portland, Maine, and you expressly consent to the jurisdiction of and venue in such courts and you waive all defenses of lack of jurisdiction and inconvenient forum with respect to such courts. ANY CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS AND/OR AWARDS SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTERING THIS SWEEPSTAKES. YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHTS OR CLAIMS TO ATTORNEYS’ FEES, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR NOT AND WHETHER BASED ON NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE.

12. ODDS Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received during the Entry Period. This sweepstakes is intended to be advertised as follows: (i) on the CIEE.org website; and (ii) on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels.

13. WINNER LIST For the name of the winner, available after May 1, 2025 (“Winner’s List Date”), send a stamped, self-addressed envelope (except where prohibited) and a note identifying the name of this sweepstakes, within 45 days after the Winner’s List Date to the Sponsor at the address set forth above, Attention: Marketing Department/ College Decision Countdown Sweepstakes.