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Specialized Programs
Application Process & General Info
IMPORTANT:
The following
information is related
to Specialized Programs
including Executive
Intensive Programs,
ACTIVA, Language &
Dance, Language &
Culture and others. If
you wish to register for
other programs,
click
here.
Please
read all of the
following information
carefully so there are
no misunderstandings as
to what AmeriSpan will
be providing.
Registering
To insure a space at any
AmeriSpan Specialized program, it is
important to register as
far in advance from your
desired start date as
possible (especially for
summer programs).
Registration consists
of: 1. Submitting a
completed application
and a $100 registration
fee OR 2. Submitting a
completed application,
$100 registration fee
and full payment. The
total cost for the
program is due 4 weeks
prior to the start date.
Applications and full
payments received less
than four weeks prior to
the start date will be
subject to an additional
$35 late registration
fee. All payments may be
made with personal check
(preferred method!),
money order, VISA,
Mastercard, American
Express and Discover.
To Register:
-
Register
Online
- You'll need a
credit card for
this and must be
at least 18
years of
age. If
you prefer to
call in your
credit card info
- then simply
put "will
call" in
the credit card
number and
expiration
boxes.
Click
here to register
online
Mail
an application -
you may mail
your application
with a check or
credit card info
to AmeriSpan's
headquarters in
Philadelphia.
Fax
an application -
you may fax
your application
to AmeriSpan's
headquarters.
Make sure to
include credit
card
information.
Need
an application form,
contact
AmeriSpan or download the
following:
Application
(PDF version)
-
approx. 60 kb
Registration ProcessWithin 2-3 weeks of
receiving your
application, AmeriSpan
will mail you the “Need-To-Know”
country fact sheets and
a confirmation letter.
The “Need-To-Know”
fact sheets contain
important facts
including a list of
things to bring, travel
insurance/assistance
information,
instructions on using
the “In-Touch”
message service,
information about
climate, money, visas,
etc. The confirmation
letter will include
school particulars,
summary of charges,
homestay info (if
available) and any other
important information.
Your final confirmation is
only mail after
AmeriSpan receives your
full payment and all
other necessary
information (airline
arrival particulars,
etc.). Check these
confirmations carefully
to make sure that
everything is correct.
If there is an error,
call us immediately.
Refund Policies
The
one-time
registration fee ($100)
and all other monies
paid to AmeriSpan is
fully refundable for
any reason up to 2 weeks
prior to your scheduled
arrival date. If you cancel with
less than 2 weeks notice
you will receive a
refund (excluding
registration fee) less a
25% penalty. You will
be entitled to no refund
after the program
starts. If you
combine two or more
sites to create a
multi-country/city
program, no money will
be refunded once the
first program has begun.
If you cancel a program
due to a personal
emergency and you notify
AmeriSpan in writing, we
will review your claim
and may issue a partial
refund.
Making ChangesYou may change your
start date at anytime.
All changes within two
weeks of the scheduled
start date are subject
to an additional $50
fee. If you have begun a
multi-country/city
program, you may not
cancel or substitute
locations but you may be
able to change the start
dates for a $50 fee.
Arrival & Departure
For most programs, you
should plan to arrive to
your homestay on the day
before classes begin and
depart on the day after
classes are completed.
The exceptions and
possible exceptions to
this rule are listed
below:
• Oaxaca - Has
a placement exam on
Saturday morning, so you
should plan to arrive on
the Friday before
classes begin and to
depart on the Friday
classes are completed.
• Manuel Antonio
- You should plan to
arrive on the Sunday
prior to starting
classes but you will be
housed in a local hotel
the first night and
transferred to your
homestay on Monday (your
first day of
classes).
• Possible
Difficulties - On
international flights,
it is common that
flights arrive late
and/or baggage is
delayed. If you are
participating in a
program which requires a
long bus ride or a
particular connecting
flight, consider
traveling on Saturday.
This will insure that
you will arrive to your
final destination on
Sunday despite any
unforeseen problems. We
recommend that you
consider traveling on
Saturday for these
programs: Cuenca, Cusco,
Flamingo Beach, Merida
(Venezuela), Monteverde,
Puerto La
Cruz, Samara Beach,
Jaco Beach, Sucre, and
Tamarindo.
At most programs, you can
extend your homestay a
few days before or after
classes for an
additional fee. Check
with an AmeriSpan
language travel
specialist about the
price. For airport
pick-ups, AmeriSpan must
receive your airport
arrival information at
least 3 weeks prior to
your start date.
Satisfaction Guarantee
Your satisfaction is our
main concern. If you are not satisfied, we'll pay for a week of
group classes at the same program or another of your choice. To invoke
the Satisfaction Guarantee,
please submit a letter upon completion
of your program which describes why you
are dissatisfied with the language
component of your program. We use
this information to evaluate and improve
the program for future participants.
Within 3 weeks, we will issue you a
coupon for one week of group language classes
(does not include lodging) at the same
program or any of our other programs
teaching the same language. You
may use this free week of classes at any
time in the future.
Local Holidays
Classes canceled in
honor of local holidays
will not be made up and
are not subject to any
refund. Holidays
are listed with each
program
listings.
Reduction of Hours
At some group programs,
if there are no other
students at your Spanish
level, your hours may be
reduced. The same amount
of material will be
covered with private
instruction.
Class Hours & Schedules
Throughout this catalog,
we use the term
"class hours"
which should be
interpreted like
"university
hours". If a
program lists 20
hours/week, you will
receive 20
sessions/week. These
sessions vary from
school to school and
range from 45 minutes to
60 minutes.
Classes are scheduled either in
the morning, the
afternoon or the morning
and the afternoon.
AmeriSpan CANNOT
guarantee specific
scheduling requests.
Scheduling is set by
each individual partner
school and may be
affected by the program
that you select, your
Spanish level and/or the
time of year that you
are participating.
Organized Activities
Some schools offer
complimentary organized
activities such as
(dance classes, movies,
lectures, small trips,
etc.). If the activity
is a small trip outside
of the school, there
might be some minor
expenses involved (bus
fare, entrance fees,
etc.).
Sister Campuses
Several programs offer
the option of spending
one or more weeks at
another campus in the
jungle, at the beach or
in another city or
village. There may be
extra charges associated
with participating. Full
details are available
upon arrival at the main
campus. The special
campuses are mentioned
throughout this catalog
for informational
purposes only. AmeriSpan
cannot guarantee that
the special campus
program will be
operating or have space
during your trip. A few
allow you to register
prior to your trip and
prices are listed on our
price sheet.
Text Books & Materials
In most locations,
your first set (usually
first 3-4 weeks) of text
books has been paid for
by AmeriSpan except in
Santo Domingo (Dominican
Republic), Montevideo
(Uruguay) and San Juan
(Puerto Rico). You need
to buy books at these
schools or before
arrival (e.g. Santo
Domingo). Some schools
that don’t sell books
may require a modest
deposit that will be
refunded when the text
book is returned. In
some cases, participants
studying for a month or
longer may finish their
first book and need to
buy an additional book
on site. Please note
that schools change
policies and may charge
for books, if this is
the case please notify
AmeriSpan so we can
inform future students.
Multi-site Programs
When combining two or
more programs, you must
study a minimum of 2
weeks at each location.
Companions of ParticipantsIn most programs,
children, spouses and
friends may accompany
participants and live in
the same homestay (homestay
prices for companions
vary for each program).
Travel insurance is not
provided for companions
but is available at an
extra charge.
Behavioral ExpectationsAmeriSpan’s programs
are geared toward adults
(18 and up). Although
many programs have
options for students
under the age of 16, no
one under the age of 16
will be accepted into
the program unless
accompanied by an adult.
AmeriSpan cannot be
responsible for
providing supervision of
any kind either through
the schools or through
the homestay families.
Participants are expected to be
courteous and respectful
guests. Illegal drug use
or abusive behavior at
any age or alcoholic
consumption by minors
cannot be tolerated.
AmeriSpan reserves the
right to refuse to
serve, to cancel and/or
terminate participation
for any person who fails
to comply with the
policies of the program
provider (e.g. school,
tour operator, program
organizer), or for any
other reason deemed
necessary, in the sole
discretion of AmeriSpan.
AmeriSpan further
reserves the right,
without escort and
without refund to send
home any participant who
violates the rules
stated above. The return
trip will be at the
expense of the
participant or the
participant’s family.
How do I rate my language level?Most programs will
give you a written or an
oral language placement
exam when you start the
program but they request
that you estimate your
level when applying to
give them a rough idea
of your level.
Please got to Rating
Your Language Level
to help you with this.
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