<p>What colleges have the best study abroad programs?</p>
<p>I know Middlebury has one of the best, but what other colleges have excellent programs where a lot of the students study abroad?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>I know NYU has study abroad but I don’t know how good it is though</p>
<p>Elon and St. Olaf have big study abroad programs with huge student participation.</p>
<p>Thanks for your suggestions.</p>
<p>Also, I’m looking for a school with 2,500-8,000 undergraduates in a suburban or urban location.</p>
<p>Boston College (with 9,000 undergraduates) is slightly larger than the size you gave, but it fits your other criteria well. It’s in a beautiful suburban location (Chestnut Hill) with easy access to a great city (Boston). It has many study abroad options (both BC-sponsored and external programs), and roughly 25-30% of each junior class studies abroad.</p>
<p>[Office</a> of International Programs - Boston College](<a href=“http://www.bc.edu/offices/international/]Office”>http://www.bc.edu/offices/international/)</p>
<p>“Elon is #1 in the country among master’s-level institutions for the number of students who study abroad – over 70 percent of Elon seniors study abroad at least once before graduation.” They have several funding and scholarship oppurtunities for student study abroad programs.</p>
<p>Elon has 5,000 undergrads in a suburban setting, next to several urban locations. PS: Great School too…</p>
<p>one of the schools that sends among the highest (if not the highest) percentage of students abroad is Kalamazoo in Michigan. If you’re looking for a LAC it’s worth considering.</p>
<p>a LOT of NYU students study abroad and their system is set up so that you study at one of twelve international campuses that are run directly by NYU. It’s very clean in terms of arrangements/credit-transfers/aid-transfers and all of that, because NYU runs the New York campus and the satellite campuses.</p>
<p>tufts seems to fit your needs. they have an awesome study abroad program. the campus has a very international feel.</p>
<p>Carleton has an amazing study abroad program.</p>
<p>Before I opened this thread, I knew people would recommend Middlebury and Tufts. These threads really are amusingly predictable. Nevertheless, your question, as it is current phrased, is relatively useless in a college search.</p>
<p>Percentage of students studying abroad can be influenced by factors other than a college’s encouragement of doing so. A preponderance of engineering students, for example, usually lowers the percentage of students studying abroad. Many colleges also use January or May terms to boost study abroad numbers, despite three weeks being very different from three months.</p>
<p>It would be similarly unwise to judge a college’s study abroad options merely by looking at the school-sponsored programs offered. Study abroad organizations like Arcadia-CEA and Butler-IFSA offer programs all over the world, and students from other universities may apply to these programs. These days it is relatively easy to study nearly anywhere from nearly any college.</p>
<p>Questions you need to consider for each college:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]1. Does financial aid apply to study abroad programs? What about summer programs?
[</em>]2. Is there a maximum amount of aid available?
[<em>]3. If study abroad is cheaper than the college’s COA, does financial aid cut grant money or loans?
[</em>]4. a) Are students allowed to participate in study abroad programs sponsored by other universities or organizations?
b) How difficult is it to petition such programs and get credit?
c) Does financial aid count toward such programs?
[<em>]5. Does the college limit how long/often students may study abroad? Is the number of transferable credits limited?
[</em>]6. Are the study abroad programs immersion (students are placed directly into the host culture) or sheltered (placed with other students from the college, often with an accompanying professor)?
[<em>]7. Do study abroad courses count toward GPA or class standing?
[</em>]8. Does the college offer courses or meetings that prepare students for study abroad?
[<em>]9. What are the admission criteria for school-sponsored programs? How competitive are the programs?
[</em>]10. Are students studying in non-English-speaking countries required or encouraged to take courses in that language?
[<em>]11. In the event an in progress program is canceled or students are forced to evacuate, does the college offer tuition refunds? If so, how does it handle them?
[</em>]12. Does the school solicit/keep feedback from returning students on the various programs they’ve attended regarding how well-managed the programs are?[/ul]</p>
<p>Your first point about engineering students effecting the number of study abroad students isn’t valid at all. I said students in general, not all students except for engineering, which would imply that I don’t want a school with a lot of engineering students.</p>
<p>And my question is very useful in a college search. I plan on majoring in IR or political science, and studying abroad is one of the most important components of my college education.</p>
<p>
Obviously. You need to be investigating things a bit more thoroughly, however, than asking “which schools send a lot of kids abroad.” </p>
<p>Duke, for example, has a superb study abroad system and even has programs for PP/IR majors, but it might not be on your radar with a 50% participation rate.</p>
<p>bump .</p>
<p>You need to think a little more about your question. For example, some might say that the school with the largest number of its own study abroad programs is the “best”. However, from a student’s standpoint, that may not be the case. That actually could provide far fewer options than a school that has a pre-approved list of the best programs from hundreds of colleges and universities. </p>
<p>For example, look at the lists of approaved programs at places like Swarthmore and Williams, both of which only offer a handful of their own programs:</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College Office for Foreign Study - Selecting a Program](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/selectingaprogram.html]Swarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/selectingaprogram.html)
[Swarthmore</a> College Office for Foreign Study - Programs in English-speaking countries](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/englishspeakingworld.html]Swarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/englishspeakingworld.html)
[Swarthmore</a> College Office for Foreign Study - Programs in non English-speaking countries](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/nonenglishspeaking.html]Swarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Admin/ofs/planning/nonenglishspeaking.html)</p>
<p>[Williams</a> College :: Office of the Dean - Williams College Guide to Study Abroad](<a href=“http://www.williams.edu/dean/saguide.php#Programs]Williams”>http://www.williams.edu/dean/saguide.php#Programs)</p>
<p>Read the first link above. It’s a terrific overview of the kinds of study abroad programs. For example, a program that simply transports a group of US students to a US student dorm at a foreign university is not considered in the same league as a program that is more challenging and immersive including homestays, etc.</p>
<p>You also need to consider paying for study abroad. There are several different approaches, with any one approach being “better” for one student, but perhaps not for another. Colleges may have you pay for your own study abroad, perhaps just charging you a transcript fee to award credit. They may or may not apply your financial aid to this cost. Or, colleges may charge you the normal tuiton and pay for the study abroad for you. These options will impact the price of the study abroad program you seek out.</p>
<p>The percentages of study abroad are very misleading. Some schools only count those students studying abroad for at least one full semester. Others include summer abroad or 3 week winter term programs, even when they aren’t much more than glorified vacations.</p>
<p>Finally, broaden your thinking to include programs from top independent providers like SIT and IHP:</p>
<p>[International</a> Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.ihp.edu/]International”>http://www.ihp.edu/)
[SIT</a> Study Abroad](<a href=“http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/]SIT”>http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/)</p>
<p>One of the first things I would check for any college is whether or not the programs from SIT and IHP are pre-approved and whether or not students routinely do them. These are incredible opportunities for anyone considering international relations or international business or international policy or international NGO work.</p>
<p>The college I end up going to will need to have financial aid available for study abroad.</p>
<p>Right. But, it’s not just that. Does your family have to shell out $20,000 for a semester abroad and wait to be reimbursed? Does your deal just continue at the college? That’s ideal for somebody receiving 100% aid. You can pick the most expensive study abroad program in the world and it doesn’t cost one red cent out of pocket.</p>
<p>My daughter’s study abroad program was MORE expensive than her college. The college paid for it and sent her a check for several hundred bucks walking around money. If airfare hadn’t been included, they would have sent her a check for that, too.</p>
<p>Conversely, if you are paying full price, then maybe you want a college that lets you buy your own study abroad. You can pick a less expensive program and save some money. There is no single “best” study abroad college.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind Michigan (which is quite a nice state, actually), you should try Michigan State (where my friend did study-abroad) and Kalamazoo.</p>
<p>I’m only applying to schools with very good financial aid, so I don’t think studying abroad will be a problem financially. I won’t be needing a full scholarship, anyway. Most of the schools I’ve looked at offer financial aid for SA.</p>
<p>OHKID, I only want a college in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic, or California. I looked at Kalamazoo and MSU (James Madison), and both looks great!</p>
<p>Several very good points have been made, and I’d like to reiterate them.</p>
<p>High student participation in study abroad at one school does not necessarily mean that the programs at that school are superior to others. On the other hand, low student participation in study abroad does not necessarily mean that the programs are poor.</p>
<p>I think that study abroad programs should be evaluated on the bases of duration, immersion, and course difficulty. Spending four weeks in an English-speaking dormitory with your fellow English-speaking classmates and taking a minimal courseload do not an enriching experience make. Spending a semester in an intensive language and area study program while living with a host family makes all the difference in the world.</p>