USAC program experiences?- Chengdu or Shanghai?

[mctrigger]

Anyone have any experiences studying through USAC study abroad program in Chengdu ( at SWUN)

or

at Shanghai Univ. (Yangchan campus)?

SHANGHAI PROS: better weather, sunnier than CD, more convenient (trains, subways to get anywhere u want), more food options (if you dont like spicy food), close to the ocean,

more nightlife options, possibly more work opportunities (easier to find tutoring or PT teaching gigs? Really don't know)

CHENGDU PROS: Large city yet not as hectic as SH or BJ, people are friendlier?

cheaper rent (some say as cheap as 600rmb/mo. for your own place...others say up to 2000), More of an "authentic" China experince..

not as "westernized" as SH, not many English speaking foreigners... you end up speaking Chinese more.

Honestly, I'm attracted to both cities..Curious to hear other people's thoughts...

What's the name of the district that SWUN is in? It looks fairly central- just southwest of the center, in Tibet town. Are there plenty of apartments near the campus?

Simple, clean, 60sq.meters or smaller. If I go there, really hope to be able to walk to class.

The USAC program states that it is quite intensive - Students focus primarily on Chinese language or a

mix of language classes and China related undergrad courses (taught in English).

While I'm very interested in learning Chinese, I'm not looking for a program that involves six hours a day of class, M-F, and

homework (four hours/day seems standard, more reasonable)...

the program is somewhat strict in that they require all USAC participants to take Chinese history, culture and/or social/business studies classes. Typical full time (12 credit min.) semester classes would be something like this:

Elem. Chinese I (4credits), Elem. Chinese II (4credits), Ancient Chinese history (3credits), China Phenomenon (3credits).

Since I'm dependent on financial aid to cover almost all the costs, I will probably go with USAC b/c I can use U.S federal aid, grants to cover this.

Additionally, I earn college credit for classes taken at SWUN, so obviously this is a huge factor in my decision (So far, I've completed 4 semesters at a Univ. in the U.S.)

If financial aid weren't a factor, I would just go to SWUN or Sichuan Univ directly and pay the cheap tuition...or an established private language school that sponsers for the student visa. but then need to come up with money to cover rent, living expenses etc. every month.

I realize lots of people teach on the side, but I cannot count on this as a steady source of income, especially b/c it's not legal (yet tolerated) and with a full time class schedule, I wouldn't have much time to focus on work.

This is a bit of a rambling post, but any feedback, esp. about the USAC program, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!