I want to travel abroad and figure that the summer before I start college is the best time. I'm not sure where to look to do this. I want to know whats a good price and which programs are generally trusted. Also, do universities generally give better deals than private programs. Thanks.
Private programs will cost you on average Four times more than if you go directly to a university abroad. Private companies run a lot of programs (often to foreign universities). From what I have read, they have tons of overhead costs and administrative costs - and that all gets put into the cost to you of the program.
You probably won´t believe how cheap it really is to study abroad. But, here´s a site with that in mind:
Some examples:
Fall semester in France, tution less around $1500 or $1600
http://www.cheapstudyabroad.org/cheap-study-abroad-in-france-aix-marseille-iii-fall-semester-1350-euros/
Semester in Italy at Siena, about $1500
http://www.cheapstudyabroad.org/cheap-study-abroad-italy-semester-in-siena/
Semester in Florence - holy cow … only $700 in tution if I read correctly.
http://www.cheapstudyabroad.org/courses-programs-abroad/4442/universita-degli-studi-di-firenze-semester-florence-650-euros
Sorry for all the links. I get geeky about this stuff and never understand why people don´t find these programs.
Anyway, look at the programs. You will see that many of the programs are the same ones that are offered by private study abroad programs - except that the private programs charge you about 4 times as much.
Hope this helps!