Hi, everyone!
Does anyone know of any study abroad programs in which I could study French in France before entering college? They would also have to offer substantial scholarships, because I can’t pay for much.
Thank you!
SYA = School Year Abroad.
Rotary has scholarships.
CIEE, YFU offer possibilities but I don’t know if they have scholarships.
You could also try to direct enroll, I don’t know if it’s legally possible and even with a public boarding school you’d have to handle weekends (public boarding schools are cheap but close on weekends) but there may be a local family that could take you or something.
Oh, I’m sorry, I should’ve clarified - I want to do it just during the summer before college starts. Thank you guys!
Perhaps rotary has summer programs?
I volunteer in my university’s learning Abroad office and I studied abroad Spring 2016. I say this in all honesty, not just to be mean.
I’ll be honest, there is very little funding for summer study abroad across the board. There are acceptions—Gilman Schoalrship, Boren Scholarship, Critical Language scholarship as well as other opportunities also from the US government—but you need to have completed at least a semester or two to apply.
Furthermore, most of the big scholarship opportunities are for fall/spring study and the three listed above are focused on critical need languages (Urdu, Mandarin, Various African dialects). That said, I know Boren funds French programs in Africa—its not France, but really interesting experience nonetheless.
Enjoy your summer, get a job, and hang out with your friends before you head off to college. Start saving up and during your first semester go talk to the study abroad office at your university. They’ll be able to help you find and finance programs. Furthermore, they can help you find either 4-6 week summer programs, or year long programs. I also recommend going to towns/cities you’ve never heard of—small places. They’re (1) cheaper and (2) you’ll have to speak in French at the grocery store/shops/movie theatre/cafe. In popular destinations (read: Paris, Nice, Lyon) it will be really easy to slip back into English. Taxi drivers and shop clerks will use it on you to move you through the line faster.
Definitely go to your study abroad office as early as possible. The sooner you go, the more flexibility you’ll have in choosing a program and arranging your classes, but the longer you’ll have to be on a program (semester/ year versus a summer), and the more time you’ll have to work things out with your parents and save up.
Go on your own and directly enroll into a language school.