<p>Hello every one,
I will be a junior this fall 2013, and I am planing to study aboard (program for premeds only) in summer 2014. I am a little be worried that spending a summer out site of the states not doing internships will put at a disadvantage.
Any thoughts or suggestions. thanks</p>
<p>Depends on your field.</p>
<p>It is a pity that the question even needs to be posed. </p>
<p>Living abroad, particularly if you learn a language, is a gateway to perspectives that you couldn’t even begin to imagine unless you’ve done it. </p>
<p>I went abroad after college in 1978 and it changed my life and direction completely. I have lived in 4 foreign countries, revel in traveling for my work, and am consistently amazed at the opportunities I find outside the US. But what is most important is the perspective it can give you, i.e. what is good about the US and what is not.</p>
<p>Yeah, yeah we’ve all heard the cliches.</p>
<p>I’ve studied abroad in London and I’m currently studying abroad in Melbourne! While it IS expensive to study abroad, I think it is completely worth it. If you don’t believe me, give my website a look - [Traveling</a> Abroad: A College Student’s Perspective - Home](<a href=“http://www.stephanieborowiec.com%5DTraveling”>http://www.stephanieborowiec.com) . I’m also posting weekly on my experience at University of Melbourne on my blog at [Traveling</a> Abroad: A College Student’s Perspective - Blog](<a href=“http://www.stephanieborowiec.com/blog]Traveling”>STEPHANIE M. BOROWIEC - Blog) . </p>
<p>In short, while you are interrupting your “normal college experience” back home, it is what you make of it. You can choose to stay in touch with clubs/organizations you care about from abroad and stay connected with professors. I’m currently in my senior year and I faced a big decision when deciding to study abroad for the second time. I had to choose between a once in a lifetime opportunity to study at an Australian University for a semester or be President or Vice President of a club I was heavily involved with and loved. I asked my favorite professor what he would do in my situation, since I knew he did a lot of work/traveling abroad. And honestly, studying abroad is an opportunity that you can never have again in your life, unless you decide to get your masters abroad. Leadership opportunities and networking opportunities will be there throughout your entire life. </p>
<p>Maybe my opinion is biased since I’ve studied abroad twice and come from a really internationally focused school (New York University) but I would say go! There are tons of scholarships just aimed at studying abroad, too! I really hope this helps!</p>
<p>Study abroad was one of the best decisions of my life. Maybe could have graduated early and saved a lot of money but I would not take it back. Don’t think I will ever have an opportunity to be abroad for four and a half months again with such flexibility.</p>
<p>Heres a video that my friends and I made of our trip. Such a great time!</p>
<p>[Study</a> Abroad Video - Madrid 2013 - YouTube](<a href=“Study Abroad Video - Madrid 2013 - YouTube”>Study Abroad Video - Madrid 2013 - YouTube)</p>
<p>Yes… you learn so much from being in another country. It’s a great cultural experience.</p>
<p>I don’t have anything but praise for study abroad! </p>
<p>I lived abroad for half of high school, studied for a summer in London after sophomore year of college and went abroad for a semester to Denmark during junior year.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m biased, but I really think the worldly experience is worth it. You learn so much about your host country, yourself and it really is a life changing experience.</p>
<p>One year in Paris completely changed my life! If you can manage a study abroad experience you need to seize the opportunity. I strongly recommend at least a semester if not a full academic year to really benefit but even a short Summer program will be life changing.</p>
<p>I’m struggling with the same question, there’s a program in my school that will see me in China for the summer that I am quite intrigued by with the added bonus of it fulfilling my language requirement. However it is rather pricey and while I <em>think</em> I can absorb the financial cost as long as I don’t go full stupid with my finances, it’s not an amount I can just throw down lightly.</p>
<p>Hmm…Decisions decisions…</p>
<p>It will cam hanger your life and who you thought you were. I lived in Rome for a year and to this day it was the best decision I ever made. My suggestion is go for a full year and unplug from home or you won’t get the full experience. A semester is better than not going at all buy a year gives you time to adjust and absorb the culture. If all you care about is grades then again don’t bother. This is about much more than grades. It is about perspective, culture and being open to differences. You can’t teach that in a class.</p>
<p>Studying abroad gives you the opportunity to have an extended-stay in a distant country. You may not ever get the chance to do that again in your life. It’s like a semester-long vacation (ofc with studying). My cousin said it was the best decision she ever made, to go to Rome while in college. She said it really opened her eyes to the world, and she had a lot of fun, traveling all over Italy. I say it’s important, and I can’t wait to go abroad myself!</p>
<p>My daughter just returned from 17 weeks studying abroad, and as she posted on her social website, she never thought that in such a short time … ‘strangers become friends, a foreign country becomes a home, and an unknown language becomes familiar. I am so grateful for this experience and all that has come with it.’ She also had to learn to exist without having me so close by (we could only communicate through msg on FB due to our budgets) and how to live within her means while the Euro held strong against the U.S. dollar. The experience she gained: priceless.</p>
<p>Could she not have done the same over a summer of backpacking, possibly at lower cost?</p>
<p>The biggest mistake most students make with study abroad is paying way too much for them. Is it really worth it if you have to pay for that one $30,000 semester abroad later? I would say forget the semester abroad unless you can find a scholarship to cover most of the cost for you. I’ve known students with full scholarships splurge on full-price semester abroad programs and had to pay them off for years afterward. Ask yourself beforehand if it’s really worth it.</p>
<p>Bump! Bump!</p>
<p>More great insights please.</p>
<p>I agree with not paying too much for them (which is why we kiboshed the summer study abroad for $12000). However, my daughter is studying abroad this semester for the same tuition as at her Univ. - in fact we pay it to her university, and just room & board to the institution abroad, which is the same cost as here. No extra except plane fare.</p>
<p>This is a great question. I think the answer is it depends on the person and their major/career needs. I never understand when students study abroad when it doesn’t benefit their major. To me it would be better to travel during the summer than have to make up the time and money later for major course requirements because you didn’t take them abroad. I was a French major in college and I had to study abroad if I wanted to graduate on time as my college did not always offer advanced level French courses. I also wanted to live in France so it was a win-win for me. It ultimately was an experience that changed my life (in a good way) but there are so many things I would do different. It also helped my major drastically. My advice: don’t do it if it’s not going to benefit your career or make you stay in school longer.</p>
<p>keepittoyourself: I am not sure if the question was directed to me re: could my D just have gone to Europe for a summer of backpacking… she earned credits for one of her double majors as part of the educational program, and her university encourages students to study abroad. She gained a very different perspective through her research and experiences as they connected to her studies here. I took a gap year and studied abroad for 10 months back in the prehistoric era; in the end, two different universities/colleges gave me varying credits for the classes I took. I never got another chance to spend a large chunk of time abroad. Study abroad is not for everyone, though. And it doesn’t have to be through an educational program/for credits, that is true.</p>
<p>I studied abroad for my entire graduate degree in Madrid and it was the same cost or cheaper than doing it in the US. Going through companies is always more expensive. Some universities like the one I attended charge regular tuition - there is no study abroad extra cost and they accept financial aid for US degree seeking students. I am sure there are others who do it as well. Just have to do a little more research.</p>