Originally Posted by McLovin
I live in Oklahoma and the shops here charge about $250us for the entire program


I would suspect that what Gaz said would apply here, in that the dives wouldn't be included in that cost. In Britain it's not uncommon for inland dive centers to quote seemingly low prices for their courses, but then say that "of course" the dives are extra. Either that, or the dives are held in a local lake with minimal costs.