<p>Just curious and wanted to get some opinions.<br>
Based on your experiences and whatnot, when is the best semester to study abroad?</p>
<p>Location wise I've narrowed it down to 5 countries - Germany, China, Australia, Italy, England.</p>
<p>Now it's just a matter of when.</p>
<p>There is no best and worst time so study abroad. If you dont like winter, go in summer.</p>
<p>Oh and i get touchy when Americans call the UK, England. If you’re gonna live here for a semester, at least call it by its proper name.</p>
<p>Well, I’ll try to give you some tips.</p>
<p>If you’re coming to Europe (where I now live doing grad school), and everything else equal, I’d go for the spring semester. I’d do it because:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>classes usualy start later in Europe than in US, and many universities in Italy, Netherlands etc. have exams after the winter break, until late January. Therefore, it could be tricky to match your schedule from your exchange and home university. If you come in Spring semester, there will be no such problem.</p></li>
<li><p>Western Europe is placed in more Northern average latitudes than US. This means if you come in Spring, you’ll get longer days at the end of your exchange program, and can travel during the summer after the program, in case you want/can afford. In deep winter, London has 2 hours less sunlight per day in relation to, say, Atlanta.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Australia is in the South, academic year starts in late February and lasts until November AFAIK.</p>
<p>I hava no info in China.</p>
<p>SamualUK. Weather – as in “liking” winter vs. summer – is certainly not the only factor, as you have assumed. </p>
<p>OP, my son decided that it would be better for him to go in the fall semester rather than the spring semester. Otherwise, he would be at a serious disadvantage for lining up an internship or summer job as he would be out of the country when most openings are posted and interviews are being held. Another factor he considered was class scheduling as one of the upper division classes he needed for his major is only offered in the spring and he did not want to wait until his last semester of college to take it. (By taking it in his junior year, he could qualify to take some electives in his senior year for which it was a prerequisite.)</p>
<p>At my school, Fall is the most popular time to study abroad, because we’re on a quarter system. Personally, I think that Summer will go by too fast.</p>
<p>For Australia the best time is semester 1 (March-June). The beginning of the term its still warm and many exchange students go to the beach alot 
Also its the start of the school year and you’re more likely to meet new people, because the orientation week is much better (the one for S2 is more like, non-existent).</p>
<p>If you are going to be in Western Europe, though, you need to take into consideration the weather. The heat can get pretty bad in certain parts of Europe, so you should look into that depending on where you want to go for sure. I studied abroad in the Spring, and I had the most amazing experience. However, it was VERY difficult to line up summer internships. The only way I got one was because of a connection at the last minute. Because of this, I would reccomend fall. Summer programs are good if you don’t have room in your schedule for a semester abroad, but they really aren’t long enough in my perspective. A semester abroad changes your perspective on different lifestyles and cultures, and I’m not sure if that is attainable in a summer. But, since I didn’t do a summer program, I can’t be sure.</p>