Your spot is reserved for 30 days!
We have your seat reserved for you for 30 days.
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If you have further inquiries or need personalized assistance, feel free to email us or schedule a call. We’re here to support you every step of the way!
High School Spanish Immersion Student Travel Program FAQs
We have a maximum number of around 24 students at any one time on the summer immersion program with us. However, most programs average about 15 – 18 students.
Common Ground has 2-3 staff members who chaperone the high school groups at all times, and they are awesome! However, if our group size nears 20+ students, then we typically add a teacher from a school that has students traveling with us to help with the larger numbers. Usually there are more female than male chaperones.
Absolutely. We can discuss the details about the chaperoned flights and whether or not your miles will put your student on that flight.
Yes and no. Most High Schools are not offering actual high school credit for the time you spend in Costa Rica. However, some schools will allow you to take an exam after you return and potentially test out of a year’s worth of Spanish classes. This is particularly an option for those students on the 4-week summer immersion program. Additionally, you can apply the amount of time you spend in community service projects to your school and club requirements. Usually students earn between 20 and 60 community service hours for the 2 and 4-week programs respectively. Additionally, if you are an IB student, you may be able to earn up to 75 CAS hours toward your graduation requirements.
Regarding college credit, our trips are accredited for 200-level (2nd year) college credits as follows:
3 College Spanish credits for 2-week programs
4 College Spanish credits for 3-week programs
5 College Spanish credits for 4 week programs
Of course your length of stay can be adjusted. However, we would be happy to work out a custom itinerary with you for those additional weeks. So just give us a call! (888) 879-2575.
Not a problem at all. Usually it’s a good idea to plan a family vacation directly after your student finishes their immersion program so that they’re able to show you around a little. However, we prefer to know your plans as you’re submitting your student’s application, and we’ll make sure that appropriate arrangements are made. Additionally, we’re happy to help you with travel suggestions as well if you’d like some ideas about nice places to spend some time with you family in Costa Rica.
Of course! If you would like to look into scheduling a virtual classroom presentation at your school, just put us in contact with your Spanish teacher or your Foreign/World Languages department head in order to see if we can get something on the schedule. Contact us here.
We’ll have you complete a lengthy Spanish Immersion placement test that will give us a good idea of what class you should be in and who your classmates should be.
Classes average 4-6 people. They could be as large as 8 and as small as 1:1, but the average is in the 4-6 range.
Immersion is always the best way to learn Spanish in the shortest period of time regardless of your starting level. That said, the more you know before you travel, the faster you learn while you’re there. So, the short answer is that we will work with you at any level of Spanish. We also encourage you to do whatever you can to work on your Spanish before you travel and we know that you’ll be glad you did 🙂
Yes absolutely! Each program has the option of choosing a “Combo” trip. See the details on each immersion trip.
We’re more than happy to transfer 100% of your program registration to another trip if you can’t travel for any reason. Refunds are harder. In fact, all of your payments are non-refundable. If you feel you may need a refund, we recommend a cancel for any reason travel insurance policy.
The default is group format, usually with small groups. There’s also an option for you to have individual lessons for an extra charge.
If you have a US passport you don’t need a visa for either Costa Rica or Ecuador. If you have a passport issued by a different country you’ll need to check it directly.
Covid vaccinations are no longer required to enter Ecuador nor Costa Rica.
Costa Rica – highly recommends all regular vaccines to be up to date. If you do the combo program (Ecuador and then Costa Rica) you also need to have the yellow fever vaccination.
Ecuador – you don’t need the yellow fever to enter.
Both are known to be good places to learn the language, they have a very clear pronunciation.
Main difference is that in Costa Rica they use the “usted” form instead of the “tú” form exclusively.
Yes, you just have to let us know beforehand you want to be paired up.
Ecuador – yes, they actually use the US dollar as their currency.
Costa Rica – yes, they use Colones but there are several ATMs in town.
Yes, along with a pre-departure course.
Yes, we send the information about a week before your arrival.
Cuenca, Ecuador – CUE is the airport code, you may need to book to Quito – UIO and then book a separate domestic flight.
San Jose, Costa Rica – SJO is the airport code.
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