Studying Abroad in China

[yizhimao]

So this is my dilemma. I'm a Canadian sophomore at an American university trying to decided how to go about studying abroad next semester in China. Originally I was planning on going through my school sponsored program, however I've begun to realize that it's sort of an overhyped/overpriced program with from what I can tell a fairly for-profit program. It's a program with the China Studies Institute which was apparently formerly affiliated with American University. Anyway, I'm a little hesitant to go down that road.

Recently I've been throwing around the idea of direct enrolling at a Chinese university and taking some sort of immersive language course. I'm an International Relations major, so pretty much any language course I take should count for credit in my language requirement. My problem now is choosing what city in China to study in, what university to go to, how to do it cheaply, how to apply in time, and do it all with only one year of Chinese instruction under my belt and little external support through the application process. I've been reading through some threads posted by people with a similar problem and I thought I would try to find some online advice. Which Chinese universities have the best internationally accessible language programs? Which cities have you found to be particularly engaging? My ultimate goal is to have a very authentic, culturally immersive, worthwhile and independent experience. Thanks for any and all advice you can give.

非常感谢！