Multi-Country Study Abroad?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello-</p>

<p>I was wondering if I could get any advice about my study abroad options. </p>

<p>I'm looking to go abroad either next summer or fall '11. I found a program for the summer that I'd LOVE to do (The</a> Grand Tour: Art in Europe) because it goes to the three places I want to visit: Florence, Paris, and London. It also focuses on Art History, which, along with Arts Management, is my major. However, recently I've thought more about studying during the semester instead. The summer program is 10 weeks long and 15 credits, and therefore costs almost as much as a semester program. My parents were not expecting to have to pay for another semester of college, so I'm trying to find a comparable program during the fall because I have some flexibility in my schedule. I'd REALLY love a multi-country program. However, there aren't many semester programs that offer this. </p>

<p>If you know of any, please let me know.</p>

<p>If I decided to choose one place (I'd choose Florence) to study rather than multi-country, what should I look for in a program that would allow me to travel over weekends to other places? Would it be feasible to take side trips to London or Paris? </p>

<p>Thanks for any advice you could give me!!</p>

2

<p>Wouldn’t it be cheaper just to go on holiday in Europe? That is essentially what this is.</p>

3

<p>Well, no…I’d like to study there. I know I could take a much cheaper vacation, but since I’m an Art History major and I want to study abroad to mix it up a little bit, I figured I’d study in the place where so much of the art I’ll study actually is. Thanks for your “advice.”</p>

4

<p>I think the point is that this is a holiday, just one dressed up as ‘studying’.</p>

<p>Tell me, what do you get from this programme that you can’t get from an extended holiday?</p>

<p>I was looking at the website, the ‘courses’ must be laughably short. ‘European cities are your classroom’, indeed!</p>

<p>You’d get a better (and cheaper?) experience of flying to Europe, and booking an apartment in each of these places for a month or so, and reading a few books there.</p>

<p>Of course then you wouldn’t be able to say you ‘lived in Paris for awhile…’ (even though you won’t really have lived there after ‘studying’ abroad).</p>

<p>keepittoyourself</p>

5

<p>I totally understand your desire to see multiple places, but since multi-country programs are pretty rare (and at my school, not recommended) it may be best to look for a program where you study in one place, and have opportunities to travel during the semester.</p>

<p>Here are links to programs that I think would be worth checking out:</p>

<p>[SACI</a> - Studio Art Centers International Florence | HOME PAGE](<a href=“http://www.saci-florence.org/]SACI”>http://www.saci-florence.org/)</p>

<p>[Study</a> Abroad Florence Syracuse University of Florence<a href=“This%20is%20the%20link%20Syracuse%20U’s%20Florence%20Center,%20but%20they%20also%20offer%20Art%20History%20at%20their%20London%20location”>/url</a></p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“Studying Abroad”&gt;Studying Abroad]NYU</a> > Study Abroad](<a href=“http://www.syr.fi.it/]Study”>http://www.syr.fi.it/)
NYU, of course, has amazing study abroad programs with art history options.</p>

<p>[Semester</a> Study Abroad ? Study Abroad at DIS](<a href=“http://www.dis.dk/study-abroad/]Semester”>http://www.dis.dk/study-abroad/)
To broaden the options a bit, I have to plug Danish Institute for Study Abroad. You pick a core program which consists of 1 class (like Memory & Identity in the European Culture & History Program), and then you pick electives surrounding that. The core course builds in a 5 day study trip (EC&H offers Berlin, Prague, Paris for example), and during the semester you get a 2 week travel break, and students will spend that time taking the train through other countries or on optional study tours. For about 1k extra you can sign up for one of the optional study tours, like “Impressionism in Paris” which means that you take a class in that subject during the first half of the semester, and then you travel with your class for a week to explore the subject in the field.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/overview_czr.cfm[/url]”>http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/overview_czr.cfm&lt;/a&gt;
Also, this is another program with an example of excursions to other countries. Your main city would be Prague, but you would also be going to Slovakia, Poland and it looks like maybe Vienna or Berlin. It’s definitely a different set-up, but might be worth looking into. SIT has a really good reputation.</p>

<p>Good luck! Exploring study abroad options is a lot of fun and a great way to procrastinate!</p>

6

<p>@ keepittoyourself the point isn’t to be able to say I’ve “lived there for a while.” The point is to study in a place that I find interesting and particularly useful in furthering my education. And since I’m studying art history, with a focus on European art, why shouldn’t I be able to study there? Of course I could just take a vacation there. But for a few thousand more dollars, I can get credits towards requirements for my major as well as a community of other students in my same boat. There certainly ARE benefits to studying with a program. Sure, it’s a vacation in that I am getting away from the typical classroom studies at my home institution (college of charleston- go cougars) and studying in a gorgeous city (or cities), but there IS studying involved. The reason I chose that particular summer program was because it was longer than typical summer programs- 10 weeks. It’s just about equivalent to the Maymester courses offered at my college. Just jam-packed. Anyway, I don’t know why I should explain myself to you. </p>

<p>@ Eternal Icicle Thank you for your help!! I have been looking more into what you’ve said, and I agree that a semester option might be the way to go. I hadn’t seen many options that allowed me to travel to other countries- usually it’s within the same country. Thanks again!</p>

7

<p>I’m looking on the website, why is it I can’t find any information on the courses you’ll be ‘studying’? I doubt very much there will be any real work involved, and what little there is you could do at your home college. If you really wanted to study art in Europe you’d do a proper semester abroad at a European university taking classes with local students.</p>

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<p>@Dionysus58 Yes, I <em>really</em> want to study art in Europe, thank you very much. I just thought the multi-country program seemed interesting. They didn’t put the info about classes up yet (should be up soon), but I spoke to their advisors. I agree that an immersion program is probably the way to go, which is the direction I am leaning in now after hearing everyone’s opinions. I was just looking for advice, which I definitely got. I thought it would be cool to be able to study in three places instead of one, and receive credit and hopefully learn what I want to learn. But I definitely see more merit in a semester-long program. I’m just nervous about it working with the rest of my schedule for school. Thank you for your opinion, however rudely written, though.</p>