Advice for study abroad

[Solarin]

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some advice on study abroad ideas, since I've lurked here long enough to see that you all have a lot of experience in learning Chinese, especially in China.

 

I'm a college student and I want to go study in China again for a semester, but I'm not sure which option to choose, I could either...

 

A) Enroll into one of those super intensive/expensive programs like CET or IUP, I've heard these programs do wonders for Chinese ability but they're also quite expensive. I'm actually wondering if they're worth the cost, since I'd imagine a lot of your time is spent interacting with other foreign students and speaking to them in Chinese rather than truly immersing yourself with Chinese people.

 

B) Apply for the Chinese government scholarship and directly enroll into a Chinese university - this is definitely the cheapest choice (even without the scholarship) but of course the Chinese classes found in these schools are quite bad. I'm wondering if it's possible to actually enroll into non-Chinese classes and take classes with other Chinese students, I'd definitely be quite lost in class but I feel like I'd actually learn more this way.

 

C) Anyone know another idea on how to study abroad in China and maximize language learning/immersion? For reference, my ACTFL OPI score is Advanced-Low, so I'm not even close to fluent but I'm also not a beginner. 

 

Thanks in advance!!!

[tysond]

I don't know much about the formal study programs.

 

But consider, whatever you choose, that you can do a home-stay to maximize your immersion.

Since you're going to have to pay for rent and food anyway it's a good way to make sure you are spending much of your outside class time speaking Chinese.

Given your level is pretty decent already you can probably survive just fine from day 1 but get to practice all the time.