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General Information and Conditions of Participation

Note: If you are interested in registering for a UNIVERSITY SEMESTER PROGRAM please click here.

If you are interested in a Standard Spanish Immersion Program, please continue on this page.

Enrollment in the Program of Your Choice

Spanish Abroad, Inc. recommends that you register as early as possible for any program you are interested in. During certain times of the year, summer for example, classes fill up quickly. By registering in advance, you can insure yourself a spot in one of the programs Spanish Abroad, Inc. is offering.

To register for any program through Spanish Abroad, Inc., you must do the following:

1. Complete an enrollment application. Enrollment applications can be found on our website or with our printed brochures.
2. With your completed application include a $90 non-refundable registration fee. The registration fee is NOT included in the program cost and is an additional expense. Registering less than 4 weeks prior to a start date incurs an additional $35 late fee.
3. After you have submitted the registration fee, you will still need to pay the balance of the program cost. You have two choices regarding this payment:

   1. Submit the full payment with your completed application form.
   2. Send in full payment for your program no later than 4 weeks prior to your start date. Payments sent in less than 4 weeks prior to a start date are subject to a $35 late fee.
4. Make out all payments by check, credit card, or money order to Spanish Abroad, Inc. Payment can be mailed in, faxed in, submitted by phone, or submitted using email.If you have any questions regarding registration or payment please do not hesitate to contact our office.

The Application and Confirmation Process

1. In most cases you will receive a confirmation email or phone call from our office within 24-48 hours (except for over the weekend when our office is closed).

2. Within 1-2 weeks you will receive an orientation package in the regular mail . This will contain information about the country you will be traveling to, an invoice, information about the best way to arrive at your location, and school specific information.. Note: Do not purchase an airline ticket until you have received a confirmation from Spanish Abroad, Inc..

3. In most cases you will receive the information about your specific accommodation about 1-2 weeks PRIOR to your START DATE. This information will be sent to you via email (if you do not have email other arrangements can be made).

4. As soon as you know the details of your arrival (specific flight information, etc.) please contact our office. We need to have this information in order to prepare your accommodations and arrange for airport pickup service if it is available and you have paid for this service.

The confirmation packet contains your enrollment confirmation, provides you with a listing of the charges, provides accommodation information (if available at that time), and includes any other relevant information about the school.

Your information packet will contain the information you need to prepare yourself for your trip. Your packet will also include a country orientation guide, travel insurance options, a list of important items to bring, climate information, and emergency phone numbers.

** When receiving any correspondence from Spanish Abroad, Inc. please carefully review all information (start date, # of weeks, etc.) to make sure that everything is correct! If you find an error, you must contact our office immediately!

Refunds

The $90 registration fee paid to Spanish Abroad, Inc. is non-refundable. If Spanish Abroad, Inc. cannot enroll you in the program of your choice, you will be issued a full refund of your registration fee. All other payments made to Spanish Abroad, Inc. are fully refundable if you send us a written cancellation notice more than 21 days prior to your start date. Note: Your program start date is the day your accommodation or classes start (whichever comes first). Notices received less then 21 days away from your start date will incur a 25% penalty (You will receive your tuition/homestay payment minus a 25% penalty). In the case of personal emergencies, notify Spanish Abroad, Inc. in writing, and upon review of the particular circumstances, we may issue a partial refund. If you cancel 4 days (or less) prior your start date you are entitled to no refund. Example: Your accommodations start on Sunday. If you cancel on the Wednesday before that Sunday you will receive NO REFUND. Related to this, any cancellations made on the start date or later also means that you are entitled to no refund from Spanish Abroad, Inc. When you combine 2 or more locations and/or programs, you are entitled to no refund on any program once the first program has begun.

Arrival and Departure Dates

Generally speaking, you should arrive 1 day before classes begin and depart either on the last day of classes, or the day after (we recommend the latter). For those of you that would like to arrive earlier or stay later, normally it will not be a problem to stay with your host family (or at any other type of accommodations you may have chosen). There will be of course a fee charged for any extra days you require.

**Check with us for full details if you plan on staying longer then the duration of your immersion program.

Certain locations are more difficult than others to get to and therefore you should plan accordingly.

Guatemala: Quetzaltenango location. You will need to fly into Guatemala City. From Guatemala City there is a 5 hour bus ride to Quetzaltenango. Due to road conditions we do not like our clients to take a late afternoon/night bus. You should therefore plan to arrive in Guatemala City before 1pm on Sunday to be able to take a bus to Quetzaltenango. If this is not possible, fly in on Saturday, someone will pick you up, take you to a hotel, and then on Sunday morning take you to the appropriate bus station so you can go to Quetzaltenango.

Costa Rica: Manuel Antonio location. You will fly into San Jose. It is possible to take a small commuter plane to Manuel Antonio. Book this flight prior to arrival in Costa Rica. Most people will however take a bus to Manuel Antonio. If arriving on a Sunday, plan on arriving no later than 2-3pm in the afternoon. If you arrive much later, you will be stuck taking a bus the following morning to Manuel Antonio. This will of course mean you will miss the first day of class. Note: Our school in Manuel Antonio does not assign host families until the first day of class. This means you will need to stay in a hotel in Quepos/Manuel Antonia on Sunday night. If you need help booking a hotel please contact our office.

Costa Rica: Monteverde location. You will fly into San Jose. If you are staying with a host family in Monteverde, a representative from the school will be there to meet you if you have provided us with your flight information. If you arrive on Sunday before 11:00AM you will be able to use the school’s transportation to Monteverde (additional expense about US$20 per person). If you cannot arrive before 11:00AM on Sunday it is recommended to arrive on Saturday. We can help arrange for a night in a B&B in the San Jose area for about US$16 per person, per night.. It will take about 4 hours to get to Monteverde.

Costa Rica: Playa Samara location.You will fly into San Jose. If you are attending classes on an official beach week the school will provide transportation(additional charge) from the Intercultura Heredia campus leaving at 10:00AM. If you are arriving on an unofficial week you can take the public bus or flight. The last bus leaves from San Jose at about 12:00noon and the last flight at about 8:30AM. If you cannot arrive before this time, it is recommend to arrive in San Jose on Saturday so you can make your way to Samara on Sunday.

*If you are not taking classes at Intercultura Heredia prior to your classes in Playa Samara, you will be required to take a placement test prior to your arrival. The test can be completed via telephone or in person. If you prefer to take the test in person you will be required to arrive in Heredia by the Wednesday prior to your class start date. We can help arrange accommodations during this period in Heredia if you need help.

Costa Rica: Playa Tamarindo location. You will fly into San Jose. Tamarindo is about 6-7 hours by car from San Jose or 1 hour by plane. The last private bus leaves San Jose at approximately 2:00PM near the San Jose airport. The last public bus leaves San Jose for Tamarindo at approximately 3:30PM from central San Jose. The last flight leaves San Jose for Tamarindo at approximately 3:50PM. If you cannot arrive before these times it is recommend to arrive in San Jose on Saturday and travel to Tamarindo on Sunday. More details will be provided in your orientation package.

Peru: Cusco location. All flights to Peru typically go through Lima. Most international flights tend to arrive in the afternoon/evening. All flights from Lima to Cusco leave in the morning. If you arrive in Lima in the afternoon or later, you will need to spend the night in Lima. As such, plan on arriving in Lima on Saturday so that you can take a Sunday morning flight to Cusco. It is possible to have a driver pick you up in Lima, take you to a hotel, and then take you back to the Lima airport in the morning. The cost for this service is $20 each way. Airport pickup in Cusco is free.

Mexico: Playa del Carmen location. When booking flights, plan on arriving into either Cancun or Cozumel. Both of these locations are less than 40 minutes away from Playa del Carmen. Airport pickup is possible.

Policies Regarding the Changing of Programs

You have the flexibility to change your program one time after you register (subject to availability). Any additional changes will incur a $40 fee. Changes made anytime within two weeks of your original start date will also incur an additional fee of $40. Important Note: If you have already started one of our programs that includes different schools, locations, and/or countries you may not cancel or substitute locations. It may be possible however to still change some of the dates.

Local Holidays

Certain times of the year, classes will be canceled due to local holidays. In these instances, classes will not be made up, and there will be no refund. Local Holidays are subject to change without notice.

Modification of Your Program Hours

Certain instances may arise where even though you have signed up for group classes, there are no other students at your level of Spanish proficiency. The school will then place you in a private class. In these instances, you may find that your classroom hours will be reduced. If this is the case, you will still cover as much material as would be covered with group instruction.

Cultural Activities & Organized Activities

The large majority of the schools will offer students a variety of complimentary activities. Activities include dance classes, trips to local museums, lectures, etc. For those activities taking place outside the school there may be minor fees the student needs to pay. These extra fees typically cover expenses such as transportation and entrance fees. If a school offers weekend activities such as day trips or full weekend excursions, the student will be responsible for paying the full cost of this excursion.

Text Books & Study Materials

The cost of books and/or study materials are included in your program price. The exception to this rule are the following programs CEPE (Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara), IDEAL (Cuernavaca, Mexico), and Becari (Oaxaca, Mexico) . Books at these locations will cost approximately $50-60. You should also note that some schools will "lend" books/study materials. In these cases the schools will ask for a deposit that will be refunded to the student upon the return of the books/study materials at the completion of the program. Note: At our Linguatec schools we have paid for your first series of books. While you are at the school, you will be required to pay for any new books required as a result of you moving to a more advanced level of Spanish.

Schools that Have More than One Location

If you have enrolled in a multi-city program with the same school, you should be aware of the following. You are responsible for the cost of getting from one location to the next location. If you are at a school that offers multiple locations and decide to change locations, the school may charge you a small change of location fee.

Class Hours

Spanish Abroad, Inc. uses hours per day, lessons per day, sessions per day, and classes per day when describing program options. Under either of these descriptions actual time spent in class will vary from 45-55 minutes per hour (depending on the school). How a school arranges the class break times is up to their discretion. At our ILISA program for instance (under the Group 4 format), students are in class from 8am to 10am. There is a break from 10am to 10:20am. Classes will then run till 12pm.

Discounts

Spanish Abroad, Inc. offers repeat customers a discount on any program we offer (all Guatemala programs are excluded). If the student is returning for classes during the same calendar year the registration fee will be waived. When a student returns for classes in the next calendar year they will be required to pay the registration fee but will receive a 10% discount on the price of the language program. Discounts are based on the price of the language program itself. Any excursions, extra nights of accommodation, transportation costs, cultural activities cost, and registration fees are not eligible for a discount. Any executive, specialized program, or 1 week program is also excluded from this discount. Total discount may not exceed $175 per person.

Behavior Expectations

Any participant of a Spanish language immersion program is expected to be courteous and respectful guests. Under no circumstances will illegal drug use be tolerated. Consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors will not be tolerated. Abusive behavior by a participant will not be tolerated. If the language school you are attending is made aware of such a situation, the school reserves the right to refuse to serve and/or terminate the program of any person not abiding by these regulations. In addition if the Spanish language school is notified of a situation where a participant is not complying with the policies of their particular program providers (school, tour operator, program organizer, etc.), or for any other reason deemed necessary, the Spanish language school you are attending reserves the right to terminate your program immediately. It is further noted that the Spanish language school you are attending reserves the right to send home (without an escort or any type of refund) any person who violates the above mentioned rules. Any expenses incurred as the result of any Spanish language school terminating a program will be the responsibility of the participant.

Disclaimer of Liability

Spanish Abroad, Inc. is an independent agent and is not liable for any risks you may encounter during travel to, from, and within the country in which your program is located, at the chosen school or your chosen accommodations, or at any other time or location during your trip. These risks may include, but are not limited to: personal injury, property damage, sickness, accidents, terrorism, and war. By signing the registration form (or by submitting a form online or over the telephone), you are assuming all risks and agreeing to indemnify and hold Spanish Abroad, Inc. and its employees harmless of any and all liability that may arise in any Spanish Abroad, Inc. programs inside and outside of the United States. If you have any question, please feel free to call us.

Privacy Policy

Any customer information that Spanish Abroad, Inc. receives is strictly for our records. Our company does not and will not share this information with any other organization.

Registration

You have the following choices:

1. Fill out the on-line registration form and submit it. This form resides on a secure server. As such ANY information you place on it will be ENCRYPTED and placed in a secure directory. This is the accepted standard model used to transmit information SECURELY over the internet. When you click on the online registration form link at the bottom of this page you will be redirected to a secure page. Note the bottom of your screen after entering the page and you will see the "lock" symbol which shows that you are viewing a secure page.
2. Request a registration form using our automated email responder. To receive a registration form by email use: form@spanishabroad.com (please put "registration" in the subject line). For any other type of information request, please use: info@spanishabroad.com
3. Call us to request a registration form (Toll Free: 1-888-722-7623, World Wide 1-602-778-6791, FAX: 1-602-840-1545) Download a copy of the registration form. It is an Adobe .pdf file.

Click Here To Fill out our SECURE Online Registration Form

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