2015 Summer Study Abroad

DS (freshman premed) is evaluating Vanderbilt’s study abroad options for this summer.
We have been looking at the Vandy’s Global Education Office website and saw some program offerings in various countries.

DS is open minded about the location or the class to take. Demark and Italy seem to have many class offerings on the website.
Unfortunately, all of the VISAGE program for service appeared to be not available this summer.

I read somewhere that says students usually do study aboard during sophomore or junior. DS had studied abroad during two summers in high school so I am not worried about his maturity, etc…
Being a premed, we thought he would not have any time to go during regular semester so maybe summer time is the best?

How is Vanderbilt’s study abroad programs? Are any countries’ program better ran than the others? Please offer any guidance or recommendations.

As an engineer I personally didn’t have the chance to study abroad but I would comment that studying abroad is extremely common at Vandy and usually done during Junior year. Most people, particularly pre-meds, reserve summers for internship opportunities.

D did study abroad during summer between sophomore/junior years. She went to Berlin and had a fabulous experience. I flew over with her 8 days early and we did Paris for a few days before going on to Salzburg & Munich and then taking the train to Berlin. While the program was well run by the Vanderbilt faculty member who takes charge every summer, the housing through FUBIS is abysmal. I would have thought D was exaggerating if I hadn’t seen it when she checked in upon arrival. It’s former US Army housing from just after WWII. Even with the terrible accommodations, I think D would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Our son did the Denmark program but it was not in the summer. He also lived in DC in the summer program which has some excellent and quite varied field placements and safe and really good housing in Arlington near the Metro station at Pentagon City. Vanderbilt University actually has an office in DC. After all it is the second biggest employer in the state of Tennessee. Vandy in DC in the summers will cost you, although our son had one of the few paid internships. Also, you should peruse Maymester options with your son although Maymesters will add to your annual expense. A semester abroad does not really have to cost you much of an upgrade in costs if done during a school semester which is a big consideration. Tuition in some cases is less but you have the flight expenses. Eldest son did the Duke/Davidson program in Berlin which is spectacularly well run as one of Duke’s signature programs. He was studying German and knocked off two levels of German in one semester.

Vandy son placed out of Spanish at Vandy (barely!!) and is not talented at foreign language although I suppose anyone in a true immersion program would find their Spanish quickly become much better. He decided to complete his requirement in language in Denmark where one of his courses was a pretty basic course in the Danish language and culture. Vandy son managed to travel a great deal in Europe while in Denmark including study trips to Kosovo and London. (Some school sponsored trips with content are usually offered on weekends at bargain prices with lectures and all inclusive expenses fyi)

Junior year is a great year to be gone before there is much anxiety about jobs and graduate school. I love it when a premed can figure out the logistics to pull this off.
The Denmark location is looser for good and for ill compared to Vandy’s signature residential programs. The Denmark program has a strong following among Vandy students however. I think Vandy son enjoyed a more anonymous semester. You make a decision early on to either live in the outskirts of Copenhagen in a higher education system that is very unique to Scandinavian culture as a right of passage for 18-22 year olds (can’t recall the name of this style…but it is more about exploration rather than rote learning and it has a living/learning aspect) or you may choose to live in general dorm style housing in the city itself. Both choices have merits. If you stay in the outskirts you are going to bond with other Danish students in the distant burbs but you have a big commute daily into the city to get to the university.

So Vandy son chose to live in dorms not that far from campus. This program is open to hundreds of colleges and lacks the cohesion of the programs that are Vandy’s signature programs. Son’s roommates were from Wake Forest, Carnegie Mellon, and random other schools I can’t recall. There was an RA in the building. A negative about Copenhagen was the cost of dining. Son was not exactly eating ramen noodles but his budget was very pinched and he ate ethnic food or picked up groceries and prepared his own food to save money. He attended college daily at the university and enjoyed his classes but I don’t think he ever got to know a professor. I believe that Vandy runs some programs (France/Italy…ya’ll chime in) where the professors and the students are much closer, but the Danish program is open to all colleges.

Denmark’s system of government and health care delivery system might hold some interest for a premed. The country has a lot to be very proud of in terms of the well being of its citizens. Our son seems to have hung around a lot with an architect student from Carnegie Mellon (the Danes are pretty iconic in Design) so another factor is not only is everyone from different colleges, they are also taking different courses rather than a shared curriculum. Courses were taught in English. (Duke son’s Berlin courses were heavily in German with some English.) I would highly recommend Berlin and Barcelona for cheap cost of living and great affordable food as well as a big youth culture in the cities.

Thank you all for your valuable input. Indeed, there are many considerations - country, language, strength of the program, classes, credit hours, and money.

It’s looking like more and more, DS won’t have time to apply for this summer. He hasn’t decided on his major. Study Abroad credits can’t be used for AXLE requirement. Perhaps DS should wait until he decides on his major then picks the study abroad program. Am I thinking correctly?

@Faline2, you mentioned Vandy’s 'signature programs. What are they? Do you mean the ones in DC?

No…the programs where Vanderbilt has a hand in the faculty selection for oversight plus perhaps a long term residential component be it rental or owned. (Wake Forest owns a building in Florence for example) Example for our family was that there was someone German hired by Duke in Berlin (very beloved by the students) who oversaw the program and handpicked the professors --who also taught Stanford students. Thanksgiving at his house, many dinners together, he comes to Duke/Davidson annually personally to consult with the German department and with the other departments that have coursework in German Universities. I believe Vanderbilt’s France program is such a program but I am out of date by three years since son was a junior. We have two premed friends at Davidson…one did Duke/Davidson in Berlin…the other did a program in France that had close ties to Davidson faculty. It makes a difference, although I will say Vandy son lived in a fish bowl small city all his life and he was AOK with classes with kids from around the USA in his classes in Copenhagen. Nevertheless, I believe Duke son had the superior all over experience with meaningful friendships and ties and he also got to travel about three times. I personally like a program where you stay put most of the time. The Duke Davidson in Berlin program does take apps from other students…I recall a UC Berkeley student with son. In that program…students were assigned to homes scattered in Berlin but hand chosen by the Duke employee who had been doing the same job for a decade. Son was in a wonderful home. He commuted to Berlin daily and spent much of his class day with the Duke Davidson students with fantastic professors in small classes. Every program is unique! Vandy Copenhagen son apparently was more into just being free and on his own and didn’t miss the intimacy that Duke Davidson in Berlin offered but I have my opinion after hearing from both sons. I only talk about these signature programs to increase the factors you evaluate for your own son’s preferences. The office of foreign study will meet with your son. And best bet is to hit up a senior with their opinions especially a senior who has managed to get the MCAT done and did a semester abroad. Spanish I have to say has some great applications to the practice of medicine.

Our France student from Davidson has sat in on the MCAT once and cancelled and just taken the MCAT senior year. She was abroad fall term BTW. She is a science major. It can be done if you are determined. You might have to sacrifice a summer to prepare for the MCAT at home. Best to chat up those who have gotten things done at Vandy. Many successful med students worked for a while and didn’t enroll in med school immediately. Your Vandy premed advisor may have preferred Foreign study programs regarding content but since premed majors can major in music, art and languages or Medicine and Society…I bet this has been done a hundred ways. Fluency in Spanish has a lot of merit for USA med practice. Study of health care delivery systems could be an interesting avenue. good luck!

Thanks for the further clarifications.