Foreign exchange HELP?

Question

i am going in to my sophmore year and want to go to france my junior year...what is the best agency to go through...and...how much is the average cost and....are there scholoarships....and please let me know about anything i missed

Answer 1

I'm hopefully going to germany next year to study abroad :)

I reccomend going on this website www.cultures-shocked.org. It is a massive forum dedicated to all the questions you may have about exchange. I has helped me alot and it will give you information from people that have gone/are going themselves about the cost, how good the programs are or aren't etc etc.

Hope it helps :)

Answer 2

my opinion your first mistake is to think you HAVE to have an agency. all an agency does is do some paperwork for you. why pay them a lot of money to do yoru application, visa, tickets, dorm etc. you are in college. you already know how to deal with a school and get a dorm, fill out paperwork etc...

if you want to go to france look up schools in france. look at the  homepage. download some applications and send it in. if you get accepted your in, that easy. then you go get your own visa, talk to the school about dorm. its far cheaper and much more personal. no reason to pay some agency thousands for something you already know how to do! you did it once already to get to your college...

Answer 3

there are some great universities in france, like

for mba, insead

for social sc, univ of toulese

for eng, univ of paris IV

go to www.studyinfrance.fr or visit official site of education in france.

best of luck

Answer 4

I know just how you feel and I hope you get a few more answers than I did on some of my questions.  But I can help a bit.  I'll most likely be studying in France my senior year, which technically will be the same year as you because I'll be a junior next year. Anyway, a few of the best programs to work with are: AFS, ASSE, Apsect, Rotary, and CCI(Based on things I've read--and heard from other people). Make sure when you're searching you stick with organizations that are CSIET listed--if not, they are not technically official and there may be problems if you work with them.  Do loads of research and go thoroughly over every program(other than and including the programs I listed)--each one varies, which can determine prices, available countries and scholarships.  

Talk with your school guidance councilor as well, they can help you decide, or your school may already have a program set up.   Like i said, cost can vary depending on available scholarships, the program itself and the country of choice.  In most programs, France is usually about $9,000, but that is only an average--check everything out first.  Some are cheaper--some more expensive.  But one thing is for sure, it's not cheap by most standards! Do the research, i stress again.  Also, scholarships are usually available.  Most programs I've looked at offer them, but the amount they give you, the possibility you'll get it, etc is always varied. Really, it's difficult to determine anything, until you know exactly everything about every option you have.  I do wish you the best of luck and Cheers.  

PS: Do loads of research..lol

Answer 5

First, you have great timing! Now is the time to begin preparing for that year.

You will need to look at which programs exchange with France. Most of the "big" ones do -- AFS, YFU, Rotary, etc. Like was already pointed out, make sure your program is CSIET (www.csiet.org) listed. If not, you may have trouble getting credits transferred back to your American school.

Of all the programs, you'll find Rotary to be the cheapest, but most competitive. Others offer scholarships, but mostly to Asian countries or minority students. Unfortunately, this is an expensive thing to do. Costs will run $8,000 + for the program, plus you need to budget around $300/month for expenses. (Rotary will be considerably cheaper.) That could go higher if the dollar tanks further!

My best advice on finding a program is check with your school counselor and see what programs are currently operating in your school and which ones he/she recommends.

You should begin applying in late September or October, ESPECIALLY to Rotary or if you want scholarship consideration. The old "early bird" phrase is apt!

Something else to consider, exchanges to France with almost EVERY program have a language requirement -- two years of high school French or the equivalent! If you don't have that, consider Germany. Most programs will ask for your top three picks -- so if French is your thing, you can put down Switzerland and/or Belgium (both also have language requirements).

For lots more advice on being an exchange student, check out http://www.exchangestudentworld.com/ -- an online community of those who have "been there, done that."

Good luck!