i get to study abroad

[acw2097]

Ah, my first post. I am in my second year of university here in the usa. My friends and I have always had an interest in Japan, anime, manga, Japanese culture, ect… I wish to explore my interest in the culture more by studying abroad next fall sem in Japan. My university is pushing for me to study abroad at Lakeland College located in Tokyo. From looking at its website it looks like its nice, but I was wondering if anyone here has any knowledge of it?
Its site describes it as “An American College in Japan.” Would this lose out on the whole Japanese experience if it’s described like this? It is a host family prog though.
My next Q is on the language. I’m Japanese 101 here. Would not exactly speaking the lang hurt my study abroad experience? i would be taking jap lang classes there also.
Oh great experienced ppl of outpost nine, enlighten me with your thoughts! :frypan:

[Crowley]

You cannot learn the language better than immersing yourself in its culture. Learning in Japan, staying with a Japanese family is exactly the way to do this.

[Akagaminosteven]

You cannot learn the language better than immersing yourself in its culture. Learning in Japan, staying with a Japanese family is exactly the way to do this.

Quoted for truth. If it were not for my own host family experience, there is no way I'd be as capable in Japanese as I am today had I just taken language classes. Do yourself a favor though--don't be shy, hesitant, or unwilling over there. Step out on a limb and involve yourself as much as you can to take in the language and culture and you'll shape up really well.

[acw2097]

way cool guys, thanks. i will keep that in mind once i get accepted.
i got a few more Qs though about what i have heard from people who have been there.
1. is it true that they dont have showers over there? (as in baths only)
and
2. will my laptop work over there with out a japanese power adapter?
these are prob really dumb Qs lol :duh:

[darje]

1. Lol, no. They do have showers. The baths you have for reference are probably onsen.
2. I *think* most modern laptops (as in anything past 2001) have a power adapter within their battery. Mine worked like a charm in Uruguay, and it's not only like 5 years old, but also the power current is totally different there. In any case, what you'll need is an adapter plug.

[Akagaminosteven]

I might have had to buy an outlet adapter, but I think it was because my cable was three prong and theirs was two.

[acw2097]

I might have had to buy an outlet adapter, but I think it was because my cable was three prong and there's was two.
so anything is ok as long as it is not 3 prongs?

[acw2097]

1. Lol, no. They do have showers. The baths you have for reference are probably onsen.
2. I *think* most modern laptops (as in anything past 2001) have a power adapter within their battery. Mine worked like a charm in Uruguay, and it's not only like 5 years old, but also the power current is totally different there. In any case, what you'll need is an adapter plug.
no i dont mean the onsens or any other public bath house, i talked to someone who went and he said his host family did not have a shower, just a bath. maybe i misunderstood him. i think he was somewhere in osaka.
thanks for the computer info. my notebook is pretty new so i guess it will be ok then. it is japanese after all. so i guess its going home lol

[darje]

I guess that depends on the house then.

[Vic_Rattlehead]

so anything is ok as long as it is not 3 prongs?

You should be able to get a converter anyway, which is what I use when I go abroad!

[acw2097]

thanks for the info all

[stsparky]

...
1. is it true that they dont have showers over there? (as in baths only)
and
2. will my laptop work over there with out a japanese power adapter?
these are prob really dumb Qs lol :duh:

1. There are showers. You use one before going into the bath.
2. You won't need a converter for your laptop - get a two prong adapter for your three prong grounded plug if you can.

[seiji]

American AC power is 120v, 60Hz. Japan is 100v, 50-60Hz depending on region. Check the power range on the bottom of your laptop's AC adapter: if it goes down to 100v, 50Hz and has only two prongs (polarized or not), it will work in Japan. Same goes for any DC (battery) device with an AC (wall) adapter, including CD players, electic razors, etc. AC devices (hair dryers, lamps, tvs, etc) require an AC converter, but those are very expensive and not entirely effective, so it's better to buy/borrow any AC appliances you need in Japan and leave them there. Keep in mind that you probably won't be able to buy a really cool new mp3/minidisc/5.1 speaker stereo in Japan and take it home with you.
As far as showers vs. baths, there may have been some confusion over what constitutes a shower. Even if they don't have a typical shower stall, there's probably a shower head on the the wall to wash yourself before you get in the tub. You just might have trouble standing up under it like a western shower.
And as long as your exchange program helps you with all the complicated legal stuff, you should be able to get along fine with only an elementary education (unless you can be mistaken for Japanese, nobody will expect you to know much of the language). I do suggest, though, that as soon as you feel comfortable with basic conjugation you familiarize yourself with the more common keigo forms, as that's what you'll get hit with from every single customer service person in Japan. And don't be afraid to use extravagant hand gestures to get your point across.

[羽之助]

The house probably wouldn't have a 'shower' as in a standing stall. What you do is sit on a stool and wash with a shower head that's attached to a tube and the wall, so you just hold it and direct the spray wherever you like. If it's evening and you're tired, proceed to the bath :)

As for language ... I always say, learn as much as you can before you go, but really, as it has been stated before the best way to learn is to get the hell over there.

[acw2097]

American AC power is 120v, 60Hz. Japan is 100v, 50-60Hz depending on region. Check the power range on the bottom of your laptop's AC adapter: if it goes down to 100v, 50Hz and has only two prongs (polarized or not), it will work in Japan. Same goes for any DC (battery) device with an AC (wall) adapter, including CD players, electic razors, etc. AC devices (hair dryers, lamps, tvs, etc) require an AC converter, but those are very expensive and not entirely effective, so it's better to buy/borrow any AC appliances you need in Japan and leave them there.
thx, i think i will be ok with my notebook then. i took a scan of the brick:
http://cis001.rmu.edu/localuser/INFSWielgus/scan.htm
i do have an da-307 electric razor. there are not any power marks on it. think i would need one of these adapters for it? would its battery recharge?
thanks for the info

[stsparky]

what does the plug look like?

[seiji]

Your laptop will be fine. I don't know about the razor. If you can't find a power range listed anywhere on the battery, adapter, or manual, and it was manufactured in or specifically for America, then it might not work. I have an off-brand (made in China, probably) electric razor that says 115v 60Hz on it, and it simply takes a bit longer to charge here than it did in the US because of the lower voltage here. My Discman, iPod, and speaker dock AC adapters are all rated down to 100v and work perfectly.
If you don't want to bother carrying your razor and charger all the way across the ocean just to find out it doesn't work, they sell all the same electric and disposable razors here as they do back home.

How long do you plan on staying over there, anyway?

[kitsunepixie]

If you stay in a dorm, then you may actually have to deal with "pay showers." Where I lived in Tokyo, for 100 yen you got 5 minutes, the first 3 of which were ice cold, the last 2 of which were scorching hot...:bored: Needless to say, I joined a gym and wound up SAVING money by taking baths/showers there (student discount!), and of course got to enjoy all the gym's sweet facilities...jacuzzi, massage chairs...(plus exercise stuff too :yes:)

[acw2097]

what does the plug look like?
its a 2 prong. so i guess it will work.

[acw2097]

Your laptop will be fine. I don't know about the razor. If you can't find a power range listed anywhere on the battery, adapter, or manual, and it was manufactured in or specifically for America, then it might not work. I have an off-brand (made in China, probably) electric razor that says 115v 60Hz on it, and it simply takes a bit longer to charge here than it did in the US because of the lower voltage here. My Discman, iPod, and speaker dock AC adapters are all rated down to 100v and work perfectly.
If you don't want to bother carrying your razor and charger all the way across the ocean just to find out it doesn't work, they sell all the same electric and disposable razors here as they do back home.

How long do you plan on staying over there, anyway?

i plan on doing a one semester homestay.
i cant find anything about my razor on the internet other that that it exists. so maybe i'll just buy a new one that says it can step down to 100v. i did not save the packaging, but if good old walmart still sells it then i should be able to look at the packaging there. remington seems to be a rather popular company.

[seiji]

Is this one semester the only program you can do? It's better than a month or a summer, but ideally you should try to stay for at least a year. It often takes six months just to get comfortable enough to start really speaking the language, especially if you're not very good yet.

And because I have an OCD streak and it's on my mind, a short list of common American foods that are prohibitively expensive in Japan:
-peanut butter and all related items
-plain (unflavored) pretzels
-macaroni and cheese
-maple syrup
-most western snack foods, except cookies and Pringles
-all American candies.
If you're addicted, bring it with you.

[gentlemanandscholar]

Or get a buddy who'll ship that stuff to you. I just sent a care package to Hanenosuke a week ago loaded with 9 boxes of KD. woop.

[Daddaluma]

You cannot learn the language better than immersing yourself in its culture. Learning in Japan, staying with a Japanese family is exactly the way to do this.Quoted for truth. If it were not for my own host family experience, there is no way I'd be as capable in Japanese as I am today had I just taken language classes. Do yourself a favor though--don't be shy, hesitant, or unwilling over there. Step out on a limb and involve yourself as much as you can to take in the language and culture and you'll shape up really well.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this. As I only did a year long intensive program at an American university and I learned faster and was able to speak faster and far more correctly than people who learned by immersion.

Perhaps if the program I did was held in Japan, that would be ideal, but as it is, people who learned by immersion and can also speak as well as I can as exceedingly rare, so I'm betting that the program I did is better for learning Japanese than immersion is.

[acw2097]

Well to help skip-start my language skills even more, I plan on taking an “intensive class” over the summer. i would hope that the classes here in the usa and the class and experience of being surrounded by the language in japan would help. almost like learning how to swim. i learned how to swim when my father threw me in the pool. being surrounded by water sure as hell made me learn. but its not like i wont have at least some language experience before hand. i have the willingness to learn and perhaps this is most important.
thanks for the idea about the snacks too guys. if i end up having a problem with the food there is always instant ramen, we do live off that stuff as poor college students after all :P

[mikem]

thx, i think i will be ok with my notebook then. i took a scan of the brick:
http://cis001.rmu.edu/localuser/INFSWielgus/scan.htm
i do have an da-307 electric razor. there are not any power marks on it. think i would need one of these adapters for it? would its battery recharge?
thanks for the info

Your laptop will be fine. When you get to Japan you can buy something like this

http://www.sanwa.co.jp/product/syohin.asp?code=TAP-AD1GY

at any electronics store in the country. Just remember the 2P to 3P. (Or say San-Pee Ni-Pee Adaputaa arimasu ka. They'll figure it out after a few tries.)

[mikem]

I'm gonna have to disagree with this. As I only did a year long intensive program at an American university and I learned faster and was able to speak faster and far more correctly than people who learned by immersion.

You're really talking poteytoe/potahtoe here. If you don't think an intensive program in Japan is better than at an American university you're just nuts.

Don't compare your ability to those of language school drop outs and think that's some fair comparison. 18 month intensive courses at Japanese universities here get you ready for native undergraduate classes and they don't pass you to the next level just because you pay your tuition every semester.

[stsparky]

its a 2 prong. so i guess it will work.

Excellent - you're good to go then. - Sparky

[Chinpokomon]

You're really talking poteytoe/potahtoe here. If you don't think an intensive program in Japan is better than at an American university you're just nuts.

Don't compare your ability to those of language school drop outs and think that's some fair comparison. 18 month intensive courses at Japanese universities here get you ready for native undergraduate classes and they don't pass you to the next level just because you pay your tuition every semester.

True, but I think that doing some study before you come is a great idea.
Basically, if you show up speaking no Japanese, or only a little, what language are you going to speak to the Japanese people around you?
For the most part, English, I'd reckon.

If you speak English to everyone, you're not going to make progress in Japanese.

Even after you learn to speak Japanese competently, you'll still be more inclined to speak in English to the people whom you've been speaking English to all that time.

[Akagaminosteven]

.

Even after you learn to speak Japanese competently, you'll still be more inclined to speak in English to the people whom you've been speaking English to all that time.

Gotta agree there. Even though I'm very dedicated to getting better in the language, and speak pretty decently at the moment, when I was over there I found it pretty hard to resist speaking in English to those that could. I suppose it's something one just needs to get in the routine of.

[羽之助]

I learned enough Japanese before I went over that I was able to participate in the classes with no English instruction (albeit babytalk Japanese) and not feel like a moron. So there is much merit in studying before you go, if you want to act like an adult and not like a child learning the language anyway.

[mikem]

True, but I think that doing some study before you come is a great idea.

Obviously correct. Daddalama likes to pretend that his amazing American university was somehow superior to learning Japanese in Japan though. He's mentioned this so many times its sickening.

Unfortunatly I was completely failed by the American way of teaching. Back when I was taking Japanese we didn't even learn our first kanji until the second semester. I shit you not. Two years of Japanese back then has been almost completely useless to me.

Luckly the way modern textbooks teach is much much better. (I'm particularly impressed with books like Genki and Yookoso.)


Even after you learn to speak Japanese competently, you'll still be more inclined to speak in English to the people whom you've been speaking English to all that time.

I think the converse is more true and more nefareous. The Japanese friends you make before you can be Japanese have a hard time processing that you've now learned Japanese!

The only point I wanted to make is that there's never going to be a substitute for being here.

[Bissrok]

Unfortunatly I was completely failed by the American way of teaching. Back when I was taking Japanese we didn't even learn our first kanji until the second semester. I shit you not.

I'm in an American university and we don't learn kanji until the second year, here. It's the second semester and we've just finished with hiragana.

Writing aside, it's mainly been things like... how to tell your boss that you will buy coffee, and then come back. Or, how to comment on Mr. Tanaka's new German sportscar.

I would hope a Japanese university could do better.

[seiji]

I learned about 400 kanji in two years of study at my American university, beginning immediately after a couple weeks of very sketchy introduction of the two kana systems. I was really glad I taught myself kana in high school, because I'm sure I would have gone crazy trying to learn it in college along with kanji (though of course we started with kanji for "fire" and "day" and "hour", most of which I had also already taught myself). We used a set of books written by the professors themselves and printed in the basement of a local bookstore. I didn't get a properly bound textbook till I came to Japan. I still suck at kanji, since my brain tends to remember either meaning or pronunciation, and never stroke order.

Anyway, I think everyone can agree that it would be counterproductive to come to Japan without being able to read both sets of kana and at least the most essential kanji--those relating to time, money, and local train stations especially.

[acw2097]

well i'll be studying the japanese language in both nations, so im hoping to get the best of both worlds.

[mikem]

I learned about 400 kanji in two years of study at my American university, beginning immediately after a couple weeks of very sketchy introduction of the two kana systems.

I speak for no other school, but at Sophia you learn that much in a single semester in the intensive programs. So while Daddalama happened to go to a very good program in America ... On average it's very slow paced there. Futhermore most schools here are very fast past and you get the benefit of being surrounded by the language and culture.

The more you learn before you come the better off you'll be, but from a time perspective you're still better off coming here knowing nothing as opposed to delaying your arrival. (From a money perspective it's probably the exact opposite! :eyepop:)

[acw2097]

what do yinz all think about how i should deal with money over there? exchange it here? there? make a account over there? or what? i have talked to several ppl who have all stated different ideas on how to should handle this. the only common idea taht they had was that i should not use any sort of travelers checks

[stsparky]

Stick with a VISA or MasterCard branded check/debit card. You'll get the best daily rate of exhange. Japanese banks don't give out much interest. - Sparks

[mikem]

Stick with a VISA or MasterCard branded check/debit card. You'll get the best daily rate of exhange. Japanese banks don't give out much interest.

This only works for the few places that accept credit cards. (All of the bigger stores.) It doesn't really work out for everyday life.

Since you'll be in Tokyo you could open an account with Citibank in the US. There are a few locations around Tokyo where you can get free withdrawls. You'll have to get used to carrying a lot of cash anyway, so I tend to refill whenever I'm around there. (There's a really convenient one in Shinjuku for example.)

There's only a couple of places you can get money with an American ATM card. One is at any Citibank ATM. (Check www.citibank.co.jp for locations. They have one in both Narita terminals too.) The other place is at the post office. (Postal banking is normal here. You can do a ton of banking from the post office and their hours are more convenient.)

I do not recommend a Japanese bank account at all. They can be a huge time sink and aren't very valuable at all. Unless you're dying to pay bills via bank transfer or you get a job that can't pay you in cash it isn't very useful. Also you won't be able to get one without an Foriegner's Registration card anyway.

I have a pretty complicated series of bank accounts setup to allow me to transfer money back and forth, so if you want a lot more detail I'll be happy to go into the options in a PM. :)

[stsparky]

This only works for the few places that accept credit cards. (All of the bigger stores.) It doesn't really work out for everyday life. Since you'll be in Tokyo you could open an account with Citibank in the US. ...
Was not the case in my experience. It worked fine for me in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo - all the Post Office ATMs work with one. And I shopped everywhere with mine, I'll warn you that in the States Citibank has the worse rep for customer service. Oddly enough - Check Cards suck only in regards to renting a car in Hawaii. We discovered this when we got married in 2003.

- Sparky

[grace_enyi]

I've seen people study abroad for a semester or a year, while I only did a summer of study and then a summer internship. Are they all that much more proficient than I am? I don't really think so. Even at Waseda & Doshisha, some students can spend a lot of time just playing and speaking English. I think in the end, what counts most is your personal motivation.

Also, my Japanese professors advised me not to study abroad after only taking intro Japanese because I wouldn't be able to get the most out of Japan not knowing that much. I know people who went on a complete immersion program for a year after only 1.5 yrs of study, and they learned a fair amount, but they were miserable. I'm probably studying for a year in Japan starting this fall, and I'm glad that I can already consider taking JLPT 1, since all I really need now is to get practice for everything to fall into place once I get there.

Just my two cents...

[seiji]

Even at Waseda & Doshisha, some students can spend a lot of time just playing and speaking English. I think in the end, what counts most is your personal motivation.

True, but motivation is only one aspect of your personality. It's hard to strike up conversations with strangers in a language you don't feel comfortable speaking if you're the least bit shy to begin with. I'm not a very outgoing person in English, let alone Japanese, and so I think if I had come to Japan with any less home instruction than I had, I would have spent all my time here seeking other English-speakers rather than risk embarrassment in Japanese.
One way to lessen the (perceived) humiliation of speaking a foreign language is to practice your speaking on fellow students; find non-English-speaking foreigners and practice your Japanese on each other, and find native Japanese who are studying other languages so they'll understand your mistakes. Obviously the fellow gaijin won't be as proficient as native speakers, but they can also be much better about pointing out your mistakes since they probably made the same ones themselves.
Just my two cents.

Also, VISA seems to be the most widely accepted foreign credit card around here, followed distantly by Mastercard and Discover/Novus. Any check/debit/ATM card on any of these networks will let you make international withdrawals at any post office in Japan, and I can guarantee there is a post office within fifteen minutes' walk of your house (at least, that's the case here in Kyoto). Take out a few weeks' worth of cash at a time and any associated fees shouldn't be too bad. It's not worth bothering with Japanese banks unless you're here long enough to be required to register with National Health Insurance (a royal pain in the ass), which issues refunds only to certain banks.
If you're asking about how much cash you should bring with you, the number I always heard was about $1000 (exchanged into yen in America) in cash to live off of until you get settled and find the nearest post office. Since you said your program is homestay, you won't have to buy towels and plates and a television like I did, so you could probably do with half or even a quarter of this amount. Just don't lose it on your way home from the airport. Don't lose your passport either, and if you do, make sure it's separate from your driver's license. Free advice.

[acw2097]

thanks for the advice all

[Daddaluma]

I forgot I posted in this thread. Anyway, time to address a few things.

Daddalama likes to pretend that his amazing American university was somehow superior to learning Japanese in Japan though. He's mentioned this so many times its sickening.

First, I'd like to point out my name is Daddaluma.

Second, I'm not pretending anything. The Japanese program I did in America simply IS better than learning in Japan.

Unfortunately I was completely failed by the American way of teaching. Back when I was taking Japanese we didn't even learn our first kanji until the second semester. I shit you not. Two years of Japanese back then has been almost completely useless to me.
I speak for no other school, but at Sophia you learn that much in a single semester in the intensive programs. So while Daddalama happened to go to a very good program in America ... On average it's very slow paced there. Futhermore most schools here are very fast past and you get the benefit of being surrounded by the language and culture.

Coupla things to point out here. The initial point was that there's no faster or better way to learn Japanese than going to Japan. To refute this claim all I have to do is provide ONE instance of a better and faster way to learn Japanese, which I beleive I've done.

I completely agree that the majority of Japanese programs in the states are total crap.

One thing I have to harp on is this thing about "pace". There's an intensive program at Middlebury college uses the same books and a similar methodology to the FALCON program at Cornell (the one I did). However, the Middlebury summer program covers over twice the amount of material that my program does in the same amount of time. Does that make the middlebury program twice as good as FALCON?

I'm gonna go with "No". THe middlebury kids are taking in too much to remember it all well enough to use it in normal conversation on command. The idea is to expose them to a ton of Japanese and they'll remember some of it and sort of vaguely understand a lot more. The problem is that they don't have a really good understanding of all that much of it, and they surely can't use even half of what they've learned.

Those "fast paced" programs in Tokyo operate under a similar, but even worse, philosophy. I've done one myself and have friends that did both the falcon program and programs in Yokohama and the school you have experience with, Sophia (I think . . . it might have been soka, I can't remember now).

The program I did was pure shit. They throw 20 or more new Kanji a day, resulting in a near 0 percent level retention rate and they don't have the first clue how to properly teach grammar or speaking. The end result is a bunch of students with a super half assed understanding of the language. They can sort of figure out the meaning of difficult reading passages, but they can't really "read" per se. They can glean meaning out of conversations, but they can't reply with any semblance of speed or correct grammar.

My two friends who have done both Falcon and programs in Japan shared my exact same sentiments. People who come to try FALCON who have experience with Japanese programs at other universities or even in Japan all express the same shock and marvel at how excellent FALCON is and how utter shit the programs they were doing are in comparison.

I'm not simply trying to toot my own horn or talk up the program I did simply because it's the one I did and I turned out OK. FALCON genuinely is different and better than other programs, and it's far far better than any program I've ever heard about in Japan. I'm sorry it makes you sick to hear that there are good programs in the states . . .


The only point I wanted to make is that there's never going to be a substitute for being here.

And the only point I wanted to make is that that's flat out wrong.

[mikem]

Was not the case in my experience.

Resturaunts, convience stores, train tickets, etc ... All things you need every single day that you cannot get via credit cards.

[mikem]

I'm sorry it makes you sick to hear that there are good programs in the states . . .


Actually, the thing that makes me sick is the terrible excuses for language courses that most schools offer!

And the only point I wanted to make is that that's flat out wrong.

The thing you'll learn once you actually come here and attempt to use what you've learned is that you aren't speaking Japanese until you talk the same way they do. I think PLF already summed this in another thread.

[Daddaluma]

The thing you'll learn once you actually come here and attempt to use what you've learned is that you aren't speaking Japanese until you talk the same way they do. I think PLF already summed this in another thread.

I've been in Japan for a year and a half now on JET. I was also here for 6 months studying abroad a few years before this. What's it gonna take to prove to you that I'm not completely full of shit?

I spoke way WAY better than people who learned in Japan when I first got here and the gap only gets wider the longer I stay. My one intensive year at Cornell gave me an extremely solid grammatical base, something that people who learn by immersion simply do not have. This solid foundation I have allows me to pick up the language far faster than people who don't have it.

Let me state my point very clearly and see if we can't come to an agreement.

Learning by immersion is a good way to learn the language. Gaining a base through study at a language program first is better. Gaining a base through study at a language program while in Japan is better yet. Gaining a base at the best Japanese program in the world that I'm aware of, which happens to be in Ithaca, NY, is even better than that.

If said program or something comparable existed in Japan, that would be the ideal. As far as I know, it doesn't exist anywhere except upstate New York, so as for actually existing options, FALCON is the best.

[mikem]

I think your second to last paragraph pretty much sums up what I thought I was saying all along!

I think we've probably been in agreement all along actually. I certainly dislike every program I've been to in the states. I also do actually believe that your FALCON program is better than everything.

The big part I seemed to misunderstand based on past posts was the fact that you have moved on. You went to Japan, and in fact are still here, and were able to continue to improve. For some reason it always sounded like you opted for FALCON *instead* of study abroad. :duh: My mistake!

(Oh, and sorry for not looking up your name before. I wasn't trying to change it to be a dick.)

[Quatrina]

I wanted to do the FALCON program, but the fact of the matter is that Cornell isn't cheap, especially if you're an out-of-state student. So, people can only do the next best thing and try total immersion coupled with language classes.

So, from a financial perspective, studying abroad might be the best option for a lot of people. I know some places offer scholarships to help ease the cost of studying abroad.

But, yes, as far as learning the language goes without having to worry about finances, FALCON wins.

[Daddaluma]

I wanted to do the FALCON program, but the fact of the matter is that Cornell isn't cheap, especially if you're an out-of-state student. So, people can only do the next best thing and try total immersion coupled with language classes.

So, from a financial perspective, studying abroad might be the best option for a lot of people. I know some places offer scholarships to help ease the cost of studying abroad.

But, yes, as far as learning the language goes without having to worry about finances, FALCON wins.

Cornell is part private part public, so most of the major fields aren't cheap for in state people either. FALCON falls under that "not cheap for anyone" category as well.

I was an out of state student at cornell in the first place, so I was already paying the standard 30,000 a year. There are some semester scholarships available to undergrads who do falcon and I managed to get one. So, interestingly enough, I actually saved 15,000 dollars by doing falcon.