<p>I'm interested in basically anywhere in Europe, but especially French speaking countries...</p>
<p>what's the cheapest (but still safe) way to study abroad?</p>
<p>Ask around your family and friends about anyone they know who lives abroad. Have them call first to see if the person might be interested in hosting a student. Give them a call or write a letter buttering them up- I mean, explaining how you'd love to study abroad but you can't afford all those crazy program fees. Live with them, and study at the local branch of the country's university. The fees should be much cheaper without the middleman. Go during the off-season to get cheap plane tickets.</p>
<p>prostudent -- are you interested in studying abroad during the summer or during the school year? there are many programs available, including programs that offer financial aid. Consider AFA (awards for excellence scholarship) or SYA (I believe Andover is part of the cooperative) for school year study abroad.</p>
<p>Oxbridge has a summer program in france and they do have a few scholarships if you have need and are a top student.</p>
<p>start googling "french study abroad high school" and see who offers FA -- it takes some research, but there are programs out there.</p>
<p>the absolute cheapest way to study abroad is to buy a cheap plane ticket and travel on your own or with a companion and stay in youth hostels. my son has done a bit of this -- but you not only have to have the money to do it (it might be cheaper, but it isn't free) and you have to have parents who are willing to let you go.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are a huge number of options for studying abroad cheaply in French-speaking countries. To keep this brief, Ill mention just a few factors that will help keep your costs down.</p>
<p>You might also look at the posting on 07-14-2007, 10:27 PM from snowball called,
Another Study Abroad-Spain</p>
<ol>
<li> Program cost. Compare prices of programs, and be sure you look at what is included. As an example, for Strasbourg prices can range from $5300 to $21,000 for a semester program. In Paris, there are some that show costs of less than $2000, but that only includes tuition and fees, and does NOT include housing, airfare, meals, local transportation, insurance, cultural excursions, etc. More realistic for a reasonably-priced program in Paris would be about $11,000 for all expenses like Accent, ISA, Coast Community College and others.<br></li>
<li> Location. Often, smaller cities or towns are cheaper to live in than the big cities like Paris and Lyon. Not only is rent lower, but public transportation, food, clothes, and other items can be cheaper. Another advantage can be that you might have fewer US students there, but this is not always the case. Other French-speaking countries in Europe include: Belgium, France, Monaco, Southwest Switzerland and Luxembourg. Switzerland is the most expensive country of all these, but small town France or a town in Belgium might be your cheapest options.</li>
<li> Direct enroll vs. US university-sponsored. Direct enroll programs usually cost less because there is no middle man, and they typically cover only tuition and housing. Usually they dont include excursions, multi-day orientation, meeting you at the airport on arrival, and many other services that a quality program would offer.<br></li>
<li> Eating out vs. cooking for yourself or eating with your host family. It is very expensive to eat in restaurants in France. While this is a good experience, you can save by not doing so. Host families will make home-cooked meals, and helping with cooking may form a bond with them and a chance for you to learn about French cooking. Food is VERY important to the French.</li>
<li> Safety. In general, small towns are a bit safer than big cities. There is a lot to say about safety, much of which is the same as what you know living in a U.S. city (dont walk alone late at night in dark areas, watch your pockets/purse/backpack, etc.) You can also read the US State Department warnings at <a href="http://travel.state.gov%5B/url%5D">http://travel.state.gov</a> and read the OSAC website for recent news stories and more tips on safety abroad at <a href="http://osac.gov%5B/url%5D">http://osac.gov</a> </li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>One more option, if you don't want or need credit, and you already have 2 years of college-level French, you could do the BUNAC program <a href="http://www.bunac.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.bunac.org</a></p>
<p>It gives you a valid work visa for France for a few months (it's limited) so you could do a paid job there. But you do need French for that one, since you'll be communicating with people in French.</p>
<p>French eh?</p>
<p>if you live in the U.S, you could just go to Quebec lol</p>
<p>intladvisor -- very good information! however, prostudent is just now entering sophomore year of high school -- so I assume he is looking for high school study abroad programs. but i will be saving the info you gave for my older son!</p>
<p>Find a good program that offers scholarships and then work your butt off to get one. I just got back from six weeks in Japan through Youth For Understanding. I was able to get a scholarship for the program and paid about 500 dollars for it. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I would definitely recommend it. I'm pretty sure they have programs in France or other French speaking countries. Check it out.</p>