<p>I am currently learning French (on and off for about 7 years) and Spanish (3 years) and am in love with the French language (I'm only learning Spanish because its more economical). I am currently a junior but starting fall 2012 i will have 2 years left because of the way my credits are, and when I graduate I'll be going straight to graduate school. </p>
<p>My last year I am planning to study abroad, and originally I was going to spend fall semester in a Spanish-speaking country (don't know which yet) and spring semester in France. But now I'm thinking of spending Spring semester in a Spanish-speaking country and the following year in France. Of course if I do that it will add on another year of college, and when I get back I will go directly into graduate school. Would it be a good idea to do that?</p>
<p>I don’t think anybody can answer this but you. Personally, I think 3 semesters abroad is a lot, for several reasons:</p>
<p>(Also, what kind of program sends you as an au pair? Are you expected to nanny for children in addition to doing all of your schoolwork? Will you have a chance to travel? Go out with friends?)</p>
<p>1) Credits - are you going to be earning credits that will help you in (or help you get into) grad school? Otherwise it’s sort of a black hole academically, something that is possibly excusable for one semester but probably not for three.<br>
2) I would have missed being away from my college for that long. The semester I was abroad was okay, because my best friends were all abroad as well, but I would have found it really difficult to be away that long, and I would have felt disconnected from my campus community when I returned
3) Living abroad is EXPENSIVE. I thought France was expensive, even compared to Manhattan, where I live. Plus, there’s the inevitable urge to travel, which is also expensive.
4) Does your school have any guidelines as to how long you can study abroad? I don’t know if mine did, because I never looked into it, but it’s something to research. Make sure they’d be willing to let you go abroad for that long.</p>
<p>Like I said, I think it’s too much. You need to consider WHY you want to go abroad - what are you going to gain from it? Language? Are you studying Spanish purely because it’s “economical”, whatever that means? Will you use either language in grad school and in your future profession?</p>
<p>It also depends on the school you attend in France and your housing. If you have to pay your home school’s tuition, is the quality of the school in France equally good? If not, it probably does not make sense to pay for a year. You could always be an au pair after you graduate.</p>