<p>So, my son just called last night informing me that he wants to study abroad in France for the upcoming spring semester. He seems to think that it will cost less then staying on campus for a semester. I told him he is 21, and this is completely his decision, but he is completely on his own as far as financing it, as his father and I are completely tapped out as far as we can go with parent plus loans. I guess I am just wondering how expensive this is, also he says this runs from January till June, will this hurt his chances for an internship? What is more important? An internship or studying abroad, from a future employers perspective? Many more questions, but I will let it at this for now. He is a junior computer engineering major.</p>
<p>Most study abroad programs cost no more than the tuition at your own university. Housing would probably be similar and he may be right that it would be less since Pitt on-campus housing w/meal plan is expensive. Airfare would be additional though. Perhaps he is considering an engineering-specific program, in which case I think it’s a fantastic opportunity that could only help future prospects and possibly even open doors (if he wants to work for a French company for instance)
I’ve heard that Pitt is well known for their global focus in Engineering. Most Universities do not have a separate website for Engineering Study Abroad either:
[url=<a href=“http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/international/Opportunities/]Opportunities[/url”>http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/international/Opportunities/]Opportunities[/url</a>]
This is all just my opinion as I don’t have the facts from a prospective employers view; my hunch is how could it be a problem especially if you will be taking coursework similar to at Pitt?</p>
<p>The finances can be very close give or talk a thousand dollars to study abroad. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity as long as he is either earning credits or working an internship/coop. Ask him to send you a link so that you can take a look at the program he is interested in.
If he comes back and has a chance to coop once or twice before graduation he will get paid and can pay you back for part of his travel abroad semester.</p>
<p>One additional minor point. Often times tuition for studying abroad (at state funded/public schools) is billed out at in-state rates. This is not universally true, but if your son is an OOS student at Pitt, he needs to check on what the tuition rate for that overseas semester would be. He might be able to save some bucks on tuition.</p>
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<p>Pretty sure this is not true for Pitt. I spent a lot of time considering study abroad programs and these are the main types:</p>
<p>Pitt in [location]: The least immersive, you travel to a city with multiple other students AND Pitt professors who teach you in that location at a host site (sometimes not a college so much as a service). Your GPA <em>DOES</em> transfer back since it’s like a mobile Pitt location. You pay the same tuition to Pitt that you already did for any other semester (either IS or OOS, whichever you happen to be).</p>
<p>A Study Abroad Program through Pitt: More immersive. Pitt has worked out partnerships with many other companies and schools (like TEAN or Arcadia) with a more study abroad options. In these cases, there is a specific cost to the program through that company or school. They set their own tuition cost and room & board cost for each location. (You <em>might</em> be able to get an “IS” tuition here if the school or company in charge of the program is in your state, but I don’t think so). In this case, if you get a C or higher in the class, Pitt will accept the transfer credit but NOT the GPA.</p>
<p>Just go to another school for a semester: The most immersive you can get. You literally pick any school in the world. Make sure that Pitt would accept the transfer credit (THIS IS CRUCIAL). You pay tuition and room&board to the school however the school decides (generally you’re going as an international exchange student for the semester or year). This <em>can</em> be cheaper than paying tuition at Pitt, depending on what school you end up going go. As in the last case, you need to get a C or higher in your class to have the credit transfer. The GPA will not.</p>