Good summer Programs?

[Ren_st]

Are there any good summer programs in Beijing or Shanghai that I can spend during early June-end of August or around that time? I know it is kind of late, but its worth a try ..

Thanks

[madmaxxx]

Well, all the big universities offer some good summer courses. I personally prefer those smaller language schools, as they are much cheaper, while classes are way smaller. Then it depends on where you want to stay in Beijing. Wudaokou usually is the place to be for studying Chinese. ;) All the big universities are there, and also a lot of those smaller Chinese school are located there. I have done a course at Global Village before which was okay, but later on I tried Bestty Chinese (BC), and was more satisfied because they had smaller classes and a cosier atmosphere for the same price. Also do I think, that the teachers there were better than the others I have had before. But that´s just my personal opinion, other users might have had great experiences at other language schools as well.

[dartsidius]

I apologize for reviving this thread, but I didn't want to create a new one since I have a similar question.

I am interested in studying in Beijing this summer (preferably for 2 months). I have taken 2 semesters of Mandarin in an American college (~160 hours) and can converse on a basic level. In the past several days I've been doing research on different schools, and here are my current thoughts:

BLCU: seems like a great university, if only there weren't so many foreign students that speak English. I thought it wouldn't matter too much, but after speaking with a friend who's been in a similar situation and reading through the opinions of users on this forum, I decided that I'd rather not do a summer program here. Mainly because this will be my first time traveling abroad alone and I'm afraid I would unconsciously clique with English-speaking people. Also, it seems like even the area surrounding BLCU is swarmed by English-speakers so trying to go out of my way to meet Chinese speakers would also be difficult. Many people online claimed to know people whose Chinese barely improved after attending. As of now, this is my backup option.

Beijing Normal University: sounds of about the same quality as BLCU, but with more of actual Chinese. Somebody mentioned that there's more academic work than BLCU, which I could actually appreciate. Fewer Westerners is a plus. The area sounds reasonable, with foreigners not being a definitive factor; plus it's close to Wudaokou (which, as I am understanding, is a getaway place for students). I am happy with everything I heard about it, aside from the problems some people on this forum were having with actually applying to it. It seems like the staff is unresponsive and it's unclear on how to pay; housing assignment seemed to be problematic as well. I understand that if done properly this shouldn't factor into my choice of a program, but since this is my first time applying to these programs, I am just worried that something will go wrong and I will end up not going anywhere this summer at all. Another concern is that, according to their website, there are two periods of summer programs (A & B, each 4 weeks long). I am not sure if I'd be able to apply for both and take different courses during both; according to their schedule, the cultural activities are the same for both periods.

Beihang University: pretty much very similar to BNU, but smaller, which is a potential plus. Hearing that the application process is fairly easy and done online, I got excited, but was quickly disappointed as I was unable to find any summer programs. I just wanted to confirm: do you guys know if Beihang offers Chinese summer study programs?

Peking University: same question (I realize that it does for partner schools; my school is not a partner).

Could you guys please tell me if my thoughts are correct? Also, I'd really appreciate it if you could address any of my concerns I wrote about or suggest any other summer programs that you think would be suitable for me! Alsoooo, since I haven't had any experience with these applications, would you recommend my using a third-party organization (e.g., China Study Abroad) for application? I realize that they cost more, but it sounds like they take care of all the application procedures, provide insurance and set me up with tutors; I am not sure how hard that would be for me to do alone and how much money I would save.

On the last note, if all else fails in Beijing, I have an opportunity to study in Taiwan through my college with a group of students. However, I prefer that option the least as the learning might be less challenging (for one, it is 15 hrs/week) and people say that the Beijing accent is more standard throughout mainland.

ANYWAY, thank you for reading and thoughts, and I am sorry about the length of this post!