<p>Excellent article on study abroad though NYU's part nearly made me sick. </p>
<p>When people say that study abroad was very challenging, sometimes I wonder what they mean. Oh sure it was difficult in the first few weeks because I had to navigate everything myself but c'mon, giving up the luxurious comforts? Also I think any program that offers "vacations" on their schedule is ridiculous- you can do whatever you want to do as you can plan for it. My program didn't always plan stuff that I wanted to do so I had to plan them myself! In fact, I didn't even know what they had planned before I came- including a ski trip up in Mt Hermon in Israel!</p>
<p>Anyway, I strongly advise people to choose non-western Europe and Australia programs and get into it. And try not to enroll in programs that's basically an American bubble. I hated my American bubble- I got out of it after a month because I was certainly NOT there to make more American friends. I eventually made a bunch of Israeli friends who I love dearly and they all wished me a happy birthday a couple days ago. However, I did use that month to make a couple of close American friends just to have people to travel and hang out with.</p>
<p>The only downside of that kind of immersed experience is that it's hard to relate to other students who also studied abroad because the vast majority of them never got to know the locals and adopted to the society. But they can't ever, ever take away what I had. :)</p>
<p>Heck, I've actually convinced my family to consider going to Peru over Northern Europe for a family vacation next summer!</p>
<p>I'm glad that you were happy with your study abroad program, but I know quite a few students who were quite satisfied with NYU's study abroad programs - including my own two who have/are studying/taught at four separate NYU programs - it's what each student gains from the study abroad experience, and everyone is different, so to each his/her own.</p>
<p>"Youre In. Can You Back Out?" on binding ED - caveats and the "how to" loopholes - is also worth the read.</p>
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with the recent elimination of early admissions at Harvard, Princeton and the University of Virginia, students may be tempted to apply early elsewhere and try to wriggle out if one of those three comes through later. Eric J. Kaplan, interim dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, warns: We still are going to have the expectation that if someone applies early and is admitted, they are committed to Penn. There is no leeway just because Harvard and Princeton have eliminated their early admissions programs....