I would like to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country at some point in my college career, but I'm concerned about cost. Namely, I have no idea what different programs actually
do cost, because I'm having trouble finding out what costs are included in the listed "cost" at different places. I'd also like to know if it would be a good idea to do one of the Spain or Mexico programs provided by my college, or if it would be cheaper/better to go on one that's not provided by my college.
For example, the programs to Mexico and Spain provided by my college are both more than I'm currently paying for a semester domestically. However, programs on websites like these:
http://www.studyabroad.com/
http://www.centerforstudyabroad.com/about-us/overview/
...appear to be a lot cheaper, but I have no idea if they actually are. Or if they are cheaper, if they're worse, less safe, more difficult to register for, or otherwise just a lower-quality product. For example, signing up for a program over a website instead of with people I can talk to in person on a regular basis sounds much more difficult, and more likely that something will go wrong. Whereas with my college's program, I'd be in frequent contact with people who knew the program intimately and would make sure I had all my ducks in a row months before I left.
On the other hand, I've heard complaints both from students at my college and elsewhere that university programs have a bunch of price-gouging for stuff you don't really need, and it's better to take a third-party option.
I know that no one can give me a good answer without being more familiar with my situation, but do any of you have experience with different types of study abroad programs?