
American Culture Consultants’ Summer University Tour
American
Culture Consultants is offering a summer university tour July 16-23, 2017 for Chinese students and
their families who are interested in visiting select
U.S. college campuses. American Culture Consultants will personally accompany all participants on the tour, while at
the
same time providing exclusive educational, cultural and
etiquette training in order to help
students more easily connect, advance and succeed in America.
8-Day Itinerary
Day 1, July 16: Students and
families meet at hotel in Boston for an introduction
and overview of the tour.
Day 2, July 17: Harvard University tour.
American
Culture Consultants will
start their training
on college applications. Topic: The Process
and Procedures
for a Successful College Application.
Day 3, July 18: Fly to
San Antonio, Texas.
Evening meeting at hotel
with overview on Trinity University and continued training on
college applications. Topic: Selecting the Right
School.
Day 4, July 19: Visit
Trinity University.
After Trinity University tour, we will drive to Austin, Texas.
American
Culture Consultants training. Topic: The Differences between U.S. State
Schools and Private
Schools.
Day 5, July 20: Visit
St.
Edwards University and The University of Texas
at Austin. After both tours, we will drive to
Houston, Texas.
American
Culture Consultants training. Topic: Student Life in
America.
Day 6, July 21: Visit
the
Village School – an exclusive college preparatory private
school and boarding school for high school students.
American
Culture Consultants will
answer any additional questions and discuss topics
of further interest.
Day 7, July 22: Fly to Orange County, California. Visit
The
University of California
at
Irvine. Evening dinner
and farewell.
American
Culture Consultants Training: Dining etiquette and culture in
the
United
States.
Day 8, July 23: Tour ends.
Tour Details
Cost: Discounted cost of
$6,000.00 (US)/per person for parties
of Two (2) or more.
Cost includes a double occupancy room, airfare, ground transportation
and personalized training. $7,000.00 for individuals traveling to accommodate single room hotel arrangements.
A $2,000.00 non-refundable deposit
submitted with
the
Tour Contract is
necessary to secure a
tour reservation. The deposit
pays
for
non-refundable travel
arrangements, including hotel
and air accommodations,
secured upon
receipt of the deposit. The non-refundable deposit
is due Seventy-Five (75) days
prior to the start
of the tour, on
May
1, 2017. The balance is due Sixty (60) days prior to the start
of the tour, on May 15, 2017. For
more details, please refer to the Tour Contract.
We understand
that getting a visa to the United States takes
time. If you do
not already possess a visa, we can prepare a
letter to help you obtain
a visa. We require
a $500.00 deposit
to prepare the letter. Once you’ve secured your visa, this money can be applied to your $2,000.00 deposit or
the total tour cost. Please
Note: The
$500.00 deposit for the letter does not secure your tour reservation, only the $2,000.00 deposit,
paid
in full, secures
your
reservation. If a visa is
denied or not processed in
time for the trip, American Culture Consultants will refund your $500.00 visa letter
deposit in its
entirety.
We advise those needing a visa
to take immediate steps to obtain a visa to secure
your travel
itinerary.
Included: All U.S. transportation (both
air and ground)
and hotel accommodations during
the tour, plus
personalized training.
Visitors
are
required to arrange their own transportation to Boston and from
Orange County, after the tour is
over. As per the contract, clients are responsible for all travel arrangements that are outside of the scope of this itinerary. However, for
an additional fee, American Culture Consultants
may also be able to
arrange either additional stateside and/or international travel needs (for example: from
China to Boston, and from
Orange County back to China). Please
contact us directly
if these services are desired. We
will make arrangements on a case-by-case
basis, based on individual needs.
All hotels are rated 3-4 stars. Breakfasts are included in the hotel packages.
All ground transportation will
be
provided by licensed tour bus operators.
Not included: Lunch and dinner
expenses are not included. See Tour Contract
for further details.
The tour will make daily stops for lunch.
Some
dinners will be organized at the
hotel or nearby restaurants
for
those interested.
However, all tour participants
are responsible for their own
lunch and dinner expenses, with the exception
of the final dinner, which will
be
hosted by American
Culture Consultants.
American Culture Consultants will
also provide a
list of restaurants, shops
and other places of interest
in each city, so visitors can sight-see or enjoy their own time in the
evening.
Please
Note: Availability is
limited and the tour is expected to
fill up quickly. Participation
is secured with a non-refundable deposit
of $2,000.00 (US)
and after a signed contract is received.
The non-refundable deposit
is due no later than
Seventy-Five (75) days prior to the tour, on May 1, 2017. The deposit
pays
for
non- refundable hotel
and transportation costs, which secures
your reservation. Payments
can be made via
direct wire to
American Culture Consultants.
Wires in RMB
accepted, with
a 10%
surcharge; exchange rate calculated on day of transfer.
About Us
American
Culture Consultants offers personalized, one-on-one consulting services
to ease
the transition for new residents, students or
foreign visitors, allowing you to
Connect, Advance
and Succeed in the United
States. We help you better understand,
navigate and acclimate to
an American lifestyle. Our guidance and networking
connections enable you to more quickly integrate
into a new city, university or
business, always
with the intent to preserve and respect the
richness of your own culture as
an enhancement to American society. Our bespoke services are tailored
for each
client’s specific needs.
We understand
the challenges that
many of our foreign
clients face in adjusting
to a new culture, which
is very different from
their own, and it
is therefore our goal
to help bridge these gaps in the most productive, friendly and efficient manner possible.
Education
Getting
into American universities
is increasingly challenging. Even if
you have the
grades
and test scores, American
schools are looking for students who offer
something unique to their academic
culture. American
Culture Consultants can assist you with the university application
process, and is especially
adept at helping you express your uniqueness, setting you apart
from your peers
and giving you an
edge in the American university system. We are committed
to your education
and believe that we don’t
succeed until you succeed.
In addition
to our university tours, American Culture Consultants offer a range of
educations services including:
• Junior/Senior Guidance – The junior and senior years (or
last two years of high school, before college), are an important time for the university
applicant with numerous deadlines and preparatory tasks. American Culture
Consultants helps to ease this pressure with
time management and organizational
tools, including:
• A tailored weekly and monthly calendar and checklists for each individual
student
• Weekly and monthly calls
to discuss progress
• Goal
setting guidance and counseling
• Training on American university culture
• College Matching
– Assessing your needs
and desires to find you the right
college or university, based on:
• Geographic
interest
• Specialized focus
(schools that excel in a certain
area of study or athletic
interest)
• Environment
(Public, Private, Religious/Conservative, Liberal, Small vs
Large, City vs Suburbs
vs Rural, etc)
• University Entrance Application
Review and Guidance, including:
• Essay writing
assistance/editing
(for admissions and/or for regular
college or high school coursework)
• We have a
network of partners
who can also assist with standardized
testing and specialized needs (SAT/ACT, accent tutoring, etc)
Disclaimer
American
Culture Consultants is not liable for any damages or
loss of personal property, any personal
injury or harm while on the tour, or any travel
interruptions due to causes
outside of the company’s control.
Children
under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Further liabilities
and expectations are laid out in the Tour Contract, which
needs to be read, signed and submitted with a non-refundable deposit to secure a reservation
on the tour.
Tour Contract
Client name(s):

Date:
1. Disclaimer
American
Culture Consultants (herein after referred to as ACC) is not liable for any
damages or
loss if any of the following reasons apply:
a. Natural disaster, war, civil
unrest
and alteration or cancellation
of tour itinerary
due to such causes.
b. Accidents
during transportation
or accommodations, including but
not limited to fire.
c. Cessation of services related
to transportation or accommodation facilities,
and tour itinerary alteration
or cancellation due to
such causes.
d. Orders
of
either American
or foreign governments, immigration regulations, isolation due to
infectious disease,
and tour itinerary alteration or
cancellation due to such causes.
e. Accidents
or bodily harm
occurring during the tour or the visitor’s free activities.
f. Food poisoning.
g. Theft
or damage of property.
h. Delays, stoppages, changes
of schedule and route in relation
to transportation facilities, and tour itinerary alterations and/or shortened
stays at destinations owing to such causes.
2. Contract
ACC will
secure a reservation
for
a client(s) once a signed contract and
the non- refundable deposit
has been received.
Children
under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Only one contract
is needed per family.
Contracts
can be received via
email or post.
Deposits
can be made via
direct
wire to ACC’s
bank
account (RMB wires
entail an extra 10% surcharge) or credit card.
Tour reservation will
be
secured upon
receipt of deposit.
ACC requests
that applicants fill out
and return a Questionnaire with the contract
so that ACC can arrange the tour to satisfy the general objectives of
the group.
3. Costs
A. Tour Fare
1. The discounted cost per person
for
double occupancy accommodations
is
$6,000.00, and $7,000.00 for individuals. This covers
all air and ground
transportation during
the tour, and includes ACC training
on college
admissions. This
does not include transportation to Boston or from Orange
County.
Visitors
are
required to arrange their own transportation to Boston and from
Orange County, after the tour is
over. As per the contract, clients are
responsible for all
travel
arrangements that are outside of the scope of this
itinerary. However, for an additional
fee, American Culture Consultants
may also be able to arrange either additional
stateside and/or international travel needs (for example: from
China to Boston, and from
Orange County back to
China).
Please contact
us directly if these services
are
desired. We will make
arrangements on a case-by-case basis,
based on individual
needs.
2. Payment can be made via wire transfer or credit
card, upon receiving an
ACC
invoice. We accept RMB
with an additional 10% surcharge (an
additional $600.00 for double occupancy rates or $700.00 for single
travelers). The exchange rate will
be
calculated on the day of the transaction.
4. Spots
are
limited and secured by a $2,000.00 non-refundable deposit, which
covers travel
and accommodations secured upon deposit. If the tour is
full, interested clients will
be
informed of alternative tours
and any money received will be returned. The non-refundable deposit
must be received Seventy-Five (75)
days before the start
of the tour, on
May
1, 2017.
We understand
that getting a visa to the United States takes
time. If you do
not already possess a visa, we can prepare a
letter to help you obtain a visa. We
require a
$500.00 deposit to prepare the letter. Once you’ve secured your
visa, this money can be applied to your $2,000.00 deposit
or the total tour cost.
Please Note: The $500.00 deposit for the letter does not
secure your tour reservation,
only the $2,000.00
deposit,
paid
in full, secures your reservation. If
a visa is denied or not processed in time for the trip,
American Culture Consultants will refund your $500.00
visa letter deposit in its entirety.
We advise those needing a
visa to take immediate steps
to obtain a visa to secure your travel itinerary.
5. The balance of the costs
must be received Sixty (60) days
prior to the tour,
on May 15, 2017, or the contract
will be voided.
B. Costs Not-Included
1. Breakfasts
are
included in the hotel
packages, however lunches
and dinners are at the client’s
expense.
ACC will
stop for lunches,
or offer free
time during lunch, but
are
not responsible for any food or drink expenses.
2. ACC will, at times, organize group dinners for interested
participants, but
are
not responsible for any food or drink expenses, with the exception of the
farewell dinner hosted
by ACC. The itinerary may change to
reflect
optional dinners provided and paid for by university hosts.
3. ACC is
not responsible for any additional expenses, including but
not limited to: use of hotel
laundry services, telephone, mini-bar or room
service charges, and other expenses.
Hotel rooms are pre-paid. Any additional expenses incurred
during the tour will be payable directly to the hotel or relevant establishment.
4. ACC is
not responsible for any additional baggage charges, including
overweight or excess
baggage. Additional baggage charges
will be payable
directly to the airline.
5. ACC is
not responsible for any travel
or accommodation costs between
arrival/departure cities
and the start and
end points of the itinerary.
6. ACC is
not responsible for any expenses
incurred during client’s
free time, including taxi or transportation fares, or other expenditures.
4. Itinerary
ACC may revise its
services after the Tour Contract
is received for any of the following reasons:
natural calamity or disaster, weather conditions,
civil unrest, suspension
of services rendered by transport/accommodation facilities, provision or
transportation not based on
the
original operational plan, governmental orders, or
other circumstances beyond
ACC’s control. ACC reserves the right
to take necessary and appropriate measures
in altering or cancelling the itinerary whenever safe, smooth
tour operation is not deemed possible. In
such cases, ACC must explain in a timely manner to all clients.
The selected itinerary is
intended to give clients
a good general overview of various options
within the American university system. This includes: an Ivy League
institution; renowned small,
private liberal arts universities; top-ranked public
universities;
and boarding school(s). In addition, ACC will provide exclusive and personalized training on the American educational
system, etiquette and culture, giving our clients an edge in their educational endeavors.
5. Special Conditions






Please note that
ACC
offers optional travel
insurance that helps to cover medical
expenses
and trip interruptions. See section 6
for more information
on optional
travel
insurance.
5. Cancellation
Clients can cancel their contract at any time, until
Sixty (60)
days prior to
the
tour, on May 15, 2017. Clients
will not receive their $2,000.00 deposit. If the tour has been paid in full, the balance (tour cost minus
deposit)
will be repaid. No
reimbursements for cancellation will be made after May 15, 2017.
For clients
who need to apply for a
United States visa, the $500.00 deposit
will be returned if they are unable to secure a visa
prior to the trip (see Section 3.A.4 for
more details on the visa deposit). Please note that
once the $2,000.00 deposit is
paid, this
amount
is non-refundable.
If the client
has not paid the tour cost
in full, Sixty (60) days prior to
the
tour start date, on
May
15, 2017, ACC can
give away the client’s
reservation. Deposits will
not be refunded.
If ACC cancels
the
tour for any reason, all monies will be returned to
the
client less any non-refundable transportation or accommodation costs, within
thirty (30) days.
Travel
insurance may cover money
lost due to client’s unexpected travel
interruptions, in addition
to medical expenses. Please
review the optional
travel
insurance for more information.
6. Travel Insurance
During travel, injuries
may incur large sums
of treatment or
transportation costs, and unexpected schedule changes
may cause travel
interruptions that result in loss of tour costs. We recommend our clients
look into travel
insurance.
Optional travel and
medical insurance for foreigners
traveling to the United
States is provided by World Nomads: https://www.worldnomads.com/
Please
also explore other insurance options
from Chinese carriers
for
travel outside of
China.
We do
not endorse any policy
specifically. Clients are welcome to secure travel
insurance through any
agency they choose.
7. Conduct
ACC may refuse client participation if the client threatens
to embarrass, inconvenience or interfere with the collective activities
of the tour participants.
8. Independent Activities
ACC will
offer a city
guide to suggested restaurants, shopping centers and other
places of interest in each
city. ACC offers
this for your convenience
and is not responsible for referrals
or any incidents during independent
activities and free time.
ACC will not arrange independent
activities; rather, ACC encourages clients
to explore each city
when time permits
and is available to
discuss independent activities.


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