<p>Hey I'm a college senior graduating 2010. I have been accepted to UF, applying to its honors program, and am also waitlisted to Swarthmore. I'm not sure which of the two I would go to if I had to choice, but that's another story. I have always wanted to go abroad on a program to experience a different culture and see new things. I'm not really particular about what kind of program whether it is studying abroad or volunteering, etc.</p>
<p>My preferences for traveling abroad is that I'd enjoy going to China or Japan. I don't really want to pay the high cost that most programs require. And I don't want the program to take the majority of my time, less than year, I'm searching for one that would last a few weeks to 1-2/3 months.</p>
<p>Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi Terran910, I would definitely check out the CET academic programs <a href=“http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Parent_ID=0&Link_ID=5A1D413F-F16F-6001-E14EC3437CDC5A67[/url]”>http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Parent_ID=0&Link_ID=5A1D413F-F16F-6001-E14EC3437CDC5A67</a>. They have programs in both China and Japan, and they offer programs in the fall, spring, summer, and even sometimes a January term. A lot of the programs are language based, but I know for a fact that they have some in China that are strictly general Chinese cultural studies.</p>
<p>I have friends who did programs both in Shanghai and Beijing, and although they said it was a lot of work (probably because they did the language programs), they said it was a great experience and they definitely recommend it.</p>
<p>Good luck,</p>
<p>[The</a> Study Abroad Blog](<a href=“The Study Abroad Blog - Nate Nault”>http://thestudyabroadblog.com/)</p>
<p>Sounds like a cool program, I’ll check it out. Thanks!</p>
<p>Also be aware that you don’t need to pay the (ripoff) fees an US college would charge. A friend of mine directly enrolled in a language school near Shanghai for a couple of hundred dollars per semester (or something of that order).</p>
<p>That language school was also used by Harvard, so his classmates were paying Harvard tuition (tens of thousands of $) for the same school.</p>
<p>If you want a real experience and not to get ripped off, actually enroll in a Chinese or Japanese school yourself – don’t rely on your American school to hold your hand.</p>
<p>Hey Terran,</p>
<p>From what I have seen, there are international programs at Japanese universities and there are also Japanese language schools that offer intensive Japanese programs. In Japan, you might be better of at a university with an INTENSIVE language program (I’m assuming you’re considering the language). There are language schools in Japan, but some of my Japanese friends said that a lot of the schools specialize in teaching Japanese to Chinese students – doesn’t mean you can’t go, too, but you might prefer a more international student body (I would).</p>
<p>I always recommend this site for langauge schools: [Language</a> School Links Homepage. Links and Contact Info for Over 1,000 In-Country Language Schools Worldwide.](<a href=“http://www.languageschoollinks.com%5DLanguage”>http://www.languageschoollinks.com)</p>
<p>I took a quick look their Japan page, and it has a lot less schools than, say, Spain or Italy. But it might be helpful for you. One city I didn’t see on languageschoollinks was Kobe, which is apparently a popular place for international students going to Japan.</p>
<p>Also, I know there’s a Japanese site out there that has an English version, but I don’t remember the name and I can’t find it on the first few pages of google. The site, design was is c**p, but it seemed to have every Japanese school in Japan along with a breakdown of where the students came from – sorry I can’t find the link, but I mention it so that if you decide to search for it, you’ll definitely find info out there.</p>
<p>And as “keepittoyourself” mentioned, you will save a chunk of change if you go own your own, as the schools that host US programs are oftentimes universities and langauge schools that host the US programs (but which also offer classes all year long to anyone who wants to study the language). </p>
<p>Good luck with it! Sounds like a cool thing to do.</p>