CLOSE UP cancelled the trip due to lack of enrollment. The 3 families that actually paid the deposit lost our money. We understood that the deposit is not refundable if we cancel. But WE did not cancel. THEY cancelled. And they refused to refund our deposits. 3 struggling families, each out $500. Unacceptable. They didn't even offer to use that deposit as a credit for a future trip. I would not be able to trust them to even attempt to participate in another trip. read more

I am incredibly disappointed in Close up and how they handled a situation with my son. My son was very badly injured and is requiring 3 surgeries. He has had 2 already. Due to external rods sticking outside his body, he is unable to fly due to risk of swelling and blood clots. I have a drs note stating that it is too dangerous to fly. I requested a refund based on a medical situation which was mandated by his surgeon. I was told that we missed the deadline for a refund. Really????maybe I should just ask my son to get injured the previous week. No compassion in their business. It is simply not the right thing to do. Very disheartening they are company involved with students dies not have their best interests at heart. read more

One of the workshop teachers lost my group in the Arlington Cemetery. They don't tell you what workshop is but it's basically an hour and a half of "learning" after an over 12 hour day. We also were forced to bring around a "learning" packet that didn't teach us anything. We were taken from our trusted teachers and forced to be with a random workshop teacher. The workshop leaders don't know what they're doing either. We also had barely any time to actually appreciate the monuments and special views because the leaders would rather sit there and tell us a story than let us explore. As an example we had 5 minutes to explore the Supreme Court. That is not enough time. They were losing kids so frequently it wasn't even funny. Don't book a field trip with close up just do this trip on your own time. read more

My daughter had a blast and said they got to see EVERYTHING. She did have an issue of another group from somewhere else steal her brand new hoodie, but she didn't say anything so nothing could be done but it still wasn't nice. I really have nothing to complain about just the refund policy is a little rough, it was very nerve racking knowing you will not get a refund if your child doesn't maintain their "C" average or gets sick and can't go. read more

Well talk about a school field trip, but imagine a school overnight trip! Yeah, other programs do that, but Close Up gives us our flights, our hotel, and even gets us MEAL VOUCHERS (I thought I would have to use my souvenir money on meals). They act as a parent to us. The tours are not just talking and taking notes, it is engaging and interactive, as we get to do a fake Congress as well. Made great friends, saw amazing sights, did interactive activities, and getting to go INSIDE our nation's capitol building, and even seeing the White House! Who else does that? This is a field trip taken to the next level! This is the real way for kids to learn about DC! read more

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Amazing experience for a high school student! Great balance of popular sites to visit with making real-world connections through mock-debates, group discussions, and more with other high school students from around the country! Super impressed with the organization and communication from staff! My daughter absolutely loved it and said it's been the best trip she's taken during her high school years! Thank you CloseUp for creating memories she will never forget! read more

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Close up Washington DC is not a trustworthy organization. On the website they mention that deposits are fully refundable but then representatives of the organization tell a different story. They have taken advantage of me as a working class single mother and my trust within the organization. Ryen of close up was not very honest with me and now they are refusing to refund $900 of payments made for a trip they canceled. I would never recommend this organization to anyone else and I will continue to go on every social platform available to warn others. read more

Close Up Foundation - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Close up foundation is a fraud PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU GO I just finished my 5 day experience with close up and let me tell you that is something i would never want to go through again. We would have wake up calls at 7:30 am and be out and about till 10 pm. Multiple times would they put you through hour plus long workshops and debates with very very strict rules. There was multiple times where i was not even allowed to sit on the bus without being told information on top of information. And if i were to ever try to text my mom and talk to her they would come over and yell at me for having my phone out. This so called "Close up" company takes you to nothing special or actually close up. We would stand at free monuments for hours and have to work on worksheets and papers before we could even go see the monument. Not once did I go to something cool or close up that i could have just done on my own free time. We would sit and Analyze the monument from a distance for multiple hours. Not once could I sit down. The food they would prepare for us was not good at all, multiple times I would not eat breakfast or dinner cause the food is unappetizing and tasteless. Because of this I would go try to get food from a little store and i would end up get yelled at and not be able to get food, so on multiple days i would be starving until i could finally find a good meal. Not only would they work us for 15 hours a day but we would also have only an HOUR of free time from 10-11pm, at 11 pm we would have room check and from then on out we can not leave our room. They would set security outside our room and a couple times we would catch them with their ear to our door listening in on our conversations. This company is invading on my privacy and I can not do anything about it. If i were to step a foot outside my room past 11 I would be threatened to be sent home on my own expense. This company is a tyranny and is power hungry in any way possible. I HIGHLY suggest you do NOT go on this trip. read more

Close Up Foundation - NEW COMPANY NAME - this is all you do on this trip, there is no actual close up things - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My daughter went on the middle school trip to DC, and was exhausted, not provided a seafood free meal (even though I write on every document that she could not have seafood) and was made fun of for being Korean by some young boys from another school in her group. The "teachers" didn't stop it, and my daughter left what she thought would be a great trip with an empty stomach one night and very hurt and disgusted feelings. The group did not get to see the capital, the White House, or meet any members of Congress. They spent lots of time at the air and space museum, but that is undergoing renovations and was more than halfway closed. We do not feel like we got our money's worth. Meal vouchers were not adequate for those with allergies, disrespect and racism was allowed, and the real govt wasn't portrayed at all. Instead it was a pretend view of how the history books say our govt should work. Not real at all. read more

it was so bad. hshahdhdhsjdhdhdhbdhdhfhfhhffh. boring!!!!! mean instructors!!!!! they yell. I hate it. No accomodstions. they didn't let us even get water. how terrible. read more

For those of you who also lost your money when Close Up Foundation canceled your trip but refused to refund you, you should file a complaint with the Virginia Office of the Attorney General. It is quick and easy, and they do respond. Here is a link: https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumer-protection/index.php/file-a-complaint You can also call their Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-552-9963 read more

Do not do business with this company and I really hope our school doesn't do business with this company again. My 8th grader was set to go on the DC trip in June 2020, obviously it was cancelled due to the coronavirus (and no fault of our own) and they refused to refund our $400 deposit. Granted it did say it was non-refundable, but of course most airlines/hotels and other companies are refunding customers non-refundable money due to the pandemic closures, except Close Up. They did refund us $100 of our deposit, but my family is out $300 and right now that's not good. I'm very disappointed with this company and how they handled this situation. read more

Over many years of teaching I have been on many different tours. Close Up Washington, DC provided the best experience of them all! Of course when one of the owners of the company showed up at our 7 AM bus departure site before we left, I had a feeling these guys knew what they were doing. I was impressed with the quality of instruction, supervision and dedication of the Close Up staff. They challenged our kids to problem solve, provided a mix of fun, educational activities. Brought us to interesting sites. Know their way around town and chose restaurants that offered food the kids liked. But, most appreciated was that they keep count of the kids and at night have a staff that sits in the hallways so the teachers on the trip can actually get some sleep! Thank you Close Up for your organization and professionalism! read more

I am a student who just finished the 5 day program in DC. First of all the only reason this review deserves a star is because of our group leader Danny. He did a great job leading us around the city and keeping us engaged. He really needs a promotion. But besides that I can't provide anything positive about this organization. There is absolutely nothing closeup about this organization. Everything that we did during the week could be done by any average tourist visiting the city. While Danny tried his best to keep us engaged the closeup material was terrible. For a group of teenagers you would expect something more interactive. But the whole week was filled with bland and non-engaging material and discussions. While we learned about justice freedom and liberty, none of this was fulfilled by this organization. Our day started at 8 am to 10: 30 pm and was filled incredibly uninformative lectures and painful experiences. When we tried expressing strong political views of our own we were often shot down yet we forced to spend hours in DuPont circle which is the center of dc's lgbtq community. Not once was the faith which our founding fathers built this country on discussed. And this is unacceptable for closeup if they want to claim they are a bipartisan organization that wants students to develop their own political opinions. This leads me to the almost tyrannical way the students were treated. At the hotel we were constantly being watched and judged. We even caught one of the "security guards" putting their ear up to our door, which as we "learned" this week, is a direct invasion of privacy. Lastly I would like to discuss the director of our week whose name will remain anonymous. Not once in my life have I met someone in his position of leadership with such poor social skills, ability to make decisions, and public speaking ability. The fact that he was in this position says so much about this organization's quality. One of the most shocking and abhorrent experiences of the week happened on the last day when the director accused our group of chanting something "incredibly inappropriate" and he threatened to send our group home on the next flight. We were shocked and confused. His accusation was completely false and when we asked him what he heard he refused to tell us. We were left shocked and disturbed. Again the fact that this man is in the position of a director or even an employee is extremely unsettling and shows how poorly run this organization is. Some major changes need to happen. read more

Close Up Foundation - Invasion of privacy - Middle Schools & High Schools Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Do not do business with this company. They are refusing to refund the money paid for this year's trip, which was cancelled because of the Corona virus pandemic. It would be somehow understandable if they were keeping a small fee, but it's hundreds of dollars per student. This is highly unethical. It is also unfair to the parents and students that make a great effort to put together the money for the trip. read more

SHAM! This organization is a fraud- period. This organization is everything that all the negative reviews have said about them. They claim they cannot offer refunds because they had to pay staff to schedule, market, and pre pay for the trip. They received $1-2MM (look it up) in PPP money. and hey can't refund the students? Try calling Close Up to speak to a representative.. you will only be able to leave a voice message (I've left several) and good luck emailing them to have someone contact you directly.. it's been several months and no phone call. There are many parents who are angered and disappointed that they have lost their money with this dis-organization. Basically, the trip never happened, we handed them $2500 and they gave us an unusable flight voucher (good for one year), and $400 .. they kept the rest. Many of these families at my daughters school cannot afford to hand over money that Close Up has basically 'stolen' from them.. SHAME on them...CROOKS! I would give them 5 FALLING stars if I could..Beware of signing up for this trip. Would be better to go as a family with friends. read more

Let me start out by saying that my experience with Close Up was so negative that I created this Yelp account to write about it and inform the public. Washington DC is a fascinating city with a multitude of interesting places to go to, yet at the end of every day with Close Up I was left bored and frustrated with their style of teaching and traveling. We spent an unnecessary length of time (multIple times each day) in "workshops" where we discussed unengaging material with a remarkably awkward and passive aggressive group leader. My group leader (who will remain anonymous) made a big deal out of small things. I'll give two examples. 1: my group couldn't pick who would be our facilitator so a girl from another group picked a number in her head and whoever guessed closest would be the facilitator. My leader overheard and heatedly chewed us out for not being "democratic". 2: we were standing in a circle and several group members were standing on a shallow step and my leader made them come down because they were not "as close to eye level as possible". Finally, the head of the Close Up organization in Washington DC never ceased to shock me with his disrespectful and immature attitude towards the students, and how easily he took offense at things that were not even directed at him. In short- if you are going to Washington DC in the near future, avoid using the Close Up organization. read more

Echo all the other families who lost thousands of dollars.

I went on a school trip to Washington DC two years ago and everyone in my grade still remembers how our trip was ruined by close up and even the teachers agreed and that was the only year our school used close up. They told us as students to get into a "three-sided​ square" and their strict rules and work they made us do crushed the fun and the ability to explore and enjoy DC. read more

My son was scheduled to attend a school trip to Washington DC this spring. School has been cancelled for the remainder of the year due to the COVID-19 crisis and therefore the trip has also been cancelled. Close Up is keeping $250 per student which amounts to over $50,000! They claim that it was for museum tickets, restaurant reservations, bus and hotel reservations. Museums are free, restaurants do not charge a reservation fee and all hotels and buses are fully refundable. They refuse to provide an itemized list of what costs were incurred for the students thus far. I believe this cancellation fee is about profiteering and will never allow my other children to attend one of their trips. read more

We are high schoolers on the DC trip with Close Up and we are having a shit time. Do not send kids on this trip if your looking for a fun way to get 'close up' to DC as the Close Up Foundation suggests. Besides from the brutal lack of free time (scheduled from 7:00am-10:30pm) all we did in DC was visit memorials. Yes we all love a good memorial but after the 30th you feel very bored, especially when you are missing out on the Smithsonian's, the capital building, and the White House. It was very clear that little preparation had gone into our touring. We spent so much time in the classrooms and discussing the basics of American government that I felt like we missed opportunities to be inspired or learn anything new. One of the main reasons we were excited by this trip was the idea of meeting new people from a different side of our political spectrum. Most of the kids were liberal but I did learn a lot about Puerto Rico! One night we had a debate set up on racial profiling and a kid shared an incredibly racist view on the subject. He was sent home on his own expense. I see this as an infringement of his first amendment rights as no threats were made during his part of the debate. Even forgetting the first amendment I thought this program was suppose to be about sharing views and working them out, obviously his view is not one I support but to send him home for what he said was too much and hypocritical. End of story, do not go on this trip!!! We were mad at our teachers for painting the wrong picture so hopefully this will clear things up. read more

Before you take part in the 'close up' DC trip, I would encourage you read this first. The only positive experiences i gained from this trip was the bonding that occurred between my peers and I during times of complete distress. The 'close up' schedule and curriculum is VERY taxing and VERY demanding. Regardless of temperatures or exhaustion, the day continues with expectations of full participation and engagement with each activity. Your day starts at 7:30 in the morning, and ends at 10:30 at night, with little to no free time. we are expected to participate in long grueling hours with no lenience on buying food when we were to the point of dizziness from hunger. we were given a meager 40 dollars that we were expected use to cover 4 meals in a tourist town. The cost for the trip far exceeds the experiences we were able to have at the free monuments. The rules and guidelines are extremely strict and unnecessary, as well as unreasonable. At 11 at night there are room checks, at which point you may not leave the your room unless it is an absolute emergency. There are guards outside of the rooms who have been caught deliberately invading privacy by listening to private conversations with their ear up to the door. During social media research, disturbing pictures were found of a leader that left us feeling uncomfortable to be in their authority for a week. On top of this the the staff is very rude. After a minor incident was dramatized into a major deal, I and a few others went to have a civil conversation with a leader, where we were rudely interrupted every time we spoke, and made to sound as though we were stupid. After a banquet, a group of my friends and I were confronted after dinner by this same leader about something that he "could not repeat" and would not repeat. This interaction was followed with a statement of, "you can all act dumb, but everyone heard it from this table". As someone who has gone through a government class in order to have a "close up" experience in washington DC, I found that many of the rights I was learning about were borderline infringed upon if not completely violated. I encourage you to strongly consider going on this trip or sending your children on this trip, as my whole group learned more with our bible teacher in one day in DC, than we did in a whole mentally taxing week of unnecessary monuments. read more

We are very concerned with what is going on with the Covid 19 virus pandemic. Our school is scheduled to go for the Close up trip in a couple of weeks. Schools in our area are canceling trips and ours may soon to follow. Close up will not reschedule or even give us a partial refund. They said our child can still go on the tour even if the school doesn't. I'm not exactly sure how they expect us to do that unless we take them ourselves. Washington DC is in a state of emergency and officials recommend that all "non-essential mass gatherings be postponed" They are allowing kids from all over the country to come and gather with each other. I understand they are concerned about losing money but what about the safety of our kids? After going on their facebook page and reading reviews from yelp I am concerned with the attention or lack thereof that their staff gives to the kids. We have two kids going which are costing us $5000 for 3 days. I'm thoroughly disappointed with this program and would give it negative stars if I could. read more

I have now gone on two Washington DC trips organized for our high school students. I had such a great experience with the prior organization (american civics center) that I encouraged many parents to come along with us the second year (with the close up organization). Because of the large size and experienced staff, our high schoolers were challenged to think deeply. It was a reflection of the many years of service that this company has been functioning in. Close up was definitely a better organization for our high schoolers. The adult experience was quite the contrary. As parents we paid a higher price (more expensive than the American Civics Center adult price) . We felt like an after-thought. The last organization had the adults in a separate organized program which was awesome. The close up program just sent us on our way. When we asked if we could go on some of the guided tours with the students, we were told there was not enough room. I felt like it was such a waste of money. We could have just bought airline tickets and rooms in the hotel for a lot less. We all felt let down. I would strongly recommend to allow your children to go, but as adults I would look into going with the "American Civics Center" where they take pride in giving the adults an education also! read more