My DD junior wants to make sure there is a good study abroad program. What does it really mean? I heard that some colleges will let you study abroad through any school but won’t necessary take the credits? So if that is true, it would be safest to go through your college’s study abroad program? Do these credits always count towards your degree?
Looking for any thoughts on how to evaluate the study abroad program as we embark on this college search journey.
Thank you!
Every school is different, and even within the same school, there may be differences depending on major.
When my D was in HS, we toured 15 schools. Every single one had study abroad. What we learned is that there was a lot more flexibility than there used to be. Study abroad could be as little as a week over spring break, to an entire year, to everything in between. It seemed that schools really encouraged study abroad.
The schools we looked at had approved list of study abroad programs that would count for credit and grades towards the college GPA (that is important to note too).
My D did a summer program in Italy after her freshman year because she knew she would be a co-op student and wouldn’t have time after that. She took two classes run by professors from her home university that led the trip that counted for honors distribution credits. It was a fabulous experience. Her school has 300 partner schools in 50 countries.
The things I would look for if study abroad is important to your student -
% of students who participate in study abroad
Flexibility in timing
Locations
Number of programs
Language requirements
Advisor support
Housing contracts if going for only one semester
I agree that “study abroad” has gotten much more flexible – which can mean the options are overwhelming!
Broadly, I think important things to consider are the difference between the school’s own programs vs. other schools’/third party programs – in terms of cost, transferability of merit and financial aid, credit approval, courses counting towards the major etc. Almost every school in top 100 has some sort of “study abroad” options. Some schools run their own programs – Notre Dame for instance – so course credit etc. is very straightforward, but admission to the most popular programs is a competitive application process. Other schools rely more on coordinating with outside providers where the standards for acceptance are typically a B average so getting accepted to a program is less of a bar, but there can be more complexity in getting credits transferred.
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These site lists colleges at which study abroad represents a common component of the four-year experience:
https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=most-popular-study-abroad-program
This list is highly sus.
My daughter goes to the University of Delaware, which has the original study abroad program. It’s huge there, extremely well run (from what I’ve read by many, unfortunately my daughter’s winter session to New Zealand was cancelled due to covid. Their winter session goes until February to accommodate study abroad, plus they have the world scholars program. World Scholars | University of Delaware
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If your student knows where they want to study abroad, they can look at the offerings at the school under consideration. My D’s flagship has a very impressive list of school sponsored options and is very flexible in letting students go through outside providers. My D did 2 school sponsored programs and 2 outside programs (1 through a college and the other through a study abroad company). She worked out the credits before leaving (needed pre-approval) - required if you go on outside programs. Most schools will have good study abroad programs and be flexible in choosing other options. Lots of schools allow students from other schools to use their programs. It is highly unlikely study abroad is will be a big differentiator.
Kalamazoo should be on any list of colleges with big study-abroad programs. According to Study Abroad | International Immersion | K-Plan | Kalamazoo College 70% of all students study abroad.
You’ll want to look for 2 things. First, getting credit. Using the schools own program is more likely to give credit for units earned abroad, but you still should check. Second is impact on progress towards the degree. Some majors are pretty flexible and spending a semester or year abroad won’t impact graduating in 4 years. For other majors there may be sequences of courses required (for example sciences, engineering, nursing, etc) and unless the classes abroad are coordinated with the home college it may end up taking an extra year to graduate.
Most larger schools and many smaller ones have good study abroad options. My daughter’s school had a few programs run by the college and a second list of approved programs. One way to compare is to look at the percentage of students who study abroad, especially at smaller schools. Once you’ve chosen a school, the important thing is to talk to the study abroad office as a first semester freshman and begin planning the best timing and looking at locations and programs. It’s true that some majors are more study-abroad friendly than others. More major requirements or lots of sequential coursework (like engineering) makes it harder but even then some schools have major-specific programs.
My daughter attended Southwestern University (LAC in Texas) and studied abroad twice—a summer program run by the university and then a semester-long program in Eastern Europe through API. API was fantastic. She got course credit for everything and even graduated early but it took some planning to make it happen. The abroad semesters were comparable in cost to what we spent for her on-campus semesters. She also got additional scholarships.
A friends daughter attended University of Wyoming which has a large and very well funded study abroad program. She spent at least a year abroad, maybe more. She’s finishing up grad school abroad now.
Best means different things to different people.
If you will have FA, you’ll want to see how that can be used for study abroad. What does it cover? Does it extend to programs not provided by your school?
What happens to credit earned abroad? Just credit? Credit and grades? (Often, the grades come onto your transcript only if your school was running the program. And maybe this doesn’t matter…)
Why do you want to study abroad and how do the options fit that? When I went to college, people studied abroad mostly to learn a foreign language. There are now many more programs that do not have language learning as a primary goal. What does the school – and your major department – allow?
What are the options? Short term classes (i.d. Jan Plan) are ideal for travel study – Russian architecture, reef ecology, etc. and these provide a unique way to learn.
When can you go abroad? Some students do 2, 3, or 4 trips. Having the flexibility to study abroad throughout the 4 years, and not just junior year, can be important, whether it allows participation in sports, research with faculty mentoring, or a few well placed intensive FL studies.
How does the school support study abroad? Do they help students identify good opportunities fhat will augment their study? Connect previous travelers with prospective ones? Assist with application strategies and paperwork? Many schools have an office that supports this and that sets out foreign study requirements.
It’s amazing what’s out there – including many excellent programs not run by American colleges, so I would look for schools that provide and support numerous options that align with your interests. Some even support internships abroad. You can ask on tours, but you can also find a lot of this on their websites. Great armchair travel!
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This is all incredibly helpful. As my D is still very undecided on EVERYTHING (college, major, etc) this will help us narrow things down as study abroad is very important to her. Unfortunately I do have a feeling that with most colleges having pretty robust study abroad program I have a feeling our list of colleges won’t shrink too much 
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Bates has excellent study abroad options with high participation. I think over 60% of students study abroad at some point. Dickinson College also has good study abroad programs, and I think they even require a semester abroad for most students. Or they did a few years ago.
Really, choosing a study abroad program should center on that program offering her major. Most students are juniors when they do study abroad, and by then, they need to take classes for their majors. But, there are plenty of options for working around that. If a student has already taken some classes in their major as an underclassman, there might be wiggle room for a semester in a cool location with non-major classes.
Many (most?) colleges offer study abroad in some form or other. At some colleges, the fees are just part of regular college fees. At others, it’s a separate thing. I think she can find the colleges she likes and then check out their study abroad programs. I don’t think she should focus too much on that however. She will almost certainly be able to study abroad if that’s what she wants to do.
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