<p>My son just returned from a month long study abroad program in Japan. He lived with a family in one town and traveled about an hour each way via train and bus to attend school (a private all boys high school) in another. He had a wonderful, transformative experience. I want to put in a plug for the Intrax Program; my son had relatively little direct contact with the program people, but everything they did was helpful and well-organized.</p>
<p>I just got back from Japan through CIEE. I met wonderful people and had a great time.</p>
<p>How is CIEE? Is it hard to get into? Are there any requirements to get in? </p>
<p>Does anyone know of any other programs that are about Japan, for over the summer?</p>
<p>i was looking into alot of study abroad programs, including CIEE and intrax for a semester abroad next year. i was wondering about two ques.
1. How much contact do you get with org. before (application process) and during your stay in the other country?
2. Was there a big difference between what the stated cost was on their website and how much you paid in all?</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>For Intrax, contact mostly consisted of a very well-organized orientation for parents and kids via a conference call a few weeks before departure and then a day or so of orientation for the kids once they arrived in Tokyo prior to disbursing to their individually assigned locations. I don't think my son had much contact with program people during his stay (but this was for the summer program and may be different for the full semester programs), although he had numbers to contact them had he so desired. He was satisfied with the contact he did have, which was pretty much centered around making arrangements for the return trip.</p>
<p>Apart from what we paid for clothing for school and gifts to bring his host family, the stated cost was exactly what we paid.</p>