Maybe you should try a travel agent. Much against popular belief we don’t tack on money.

We also work with Air Consolidators on International flights that can definitely be a lot better than online. This requires advance purchase, which as of now you have. It is based on certain classes of service available at the time of your reservation along with what type of pre-contracted rates are available for your destination.

So please don’t believe the "online is always cheaper" hype. In fact for years online undercut agents to make several THINK that online was always "cheaper" so therefore there are many paying more and don’t even know it.

I can’t guarentee you will get the price you are hoping for, but advance IS the key to a reasonable fare. Summer in China is also High season, this is when all the tours for here run so $1,500 as high as it sounds and trust me I do know it is a lot of money. That is just what it runs.

Have a Great Time in China, Fabulous Country!

try student universe. they have great prices and you can search airfare, rail, and places to stay.

Well … from my personal experience, I would say 1500$ is actually a fair price for China is summer. I’m a collage student too and I am going to Iran for Christmas for vacation and I paid 1300$!
As far as collage student discount goes, unfortunately there is none. You have to pay the adult fair.
My one suggestion though is to keep searching online(i.e Yahoo Travel has a very good service) and try different cities in China or airports near you. Try different dates and airlines.
Good Luck Hunting