<p>It’s so weird to be back on CC, but here I am! Last night I decided to stop talking myself out of doing Study Abroad and just go for it! The problem is, even after going to the study abroad website, I have no idea where I should go! I will talk to my adviser, scholarships, financial aid, and the study abroad office when I return in the fall, but until then, I would like your help, please. My main concerns are:</p>
<p>-safety
-graduating on time
-affordability (I have the NM scholarship. It’s just the extra fees I have to look out for.)
-immersion in the culture
-not going to a place that is basically another USA</p>
<p>I should also mention that my major is Collaborative Special Education, and I am fluent in English and am comfortable with Spanish, although I am nowhere near fluent.</p>
<p>grammargirl, I think your plan of action will help get your answers. I don’t know really anything about your major. We noticed that some majors seem better supported for study abroad. But some study abroad experiences are good for core requirements. However, we found planning ahead to be helpful so D could take classes that would count towards her degree plan.</p>
<p>I’m looking for a study abroad experience for core requirements. The only study abroad experience that I know of that fits my major specifically is COST, and I’m not interested in that at the moment.</p>
<p>My D is currently at UA in Oxford which is good for honors, literature, and history. It worked for her because she needed a lit core attribute and she is/was majoring in history (I think it is about to dropped to a minor). But it is a summer program. We haven’t looked at semester programs due to the added complexity of working around CBH (not impossible but just decided to go with summers). She is in the International Honors Program so will need two summer experiences. I think she will do France next summer where she will take French classes towards a French minor.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the info. There is a GPA requirement but I don’t remember what it is. However, it caused her to initially be waitlisted until after fall semester grades came out because she did not yet have a college gpa last fall when she applied. It’s mostly led by UA professors using Oxford as a venue. One of her classes was taught by an Oxford person though.
[Programs</a> > Brochure > Capstone International Programs](<a href=“Education Abroad – International | The University of Alabama”>Education Abroad – International | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>OK, Ms. Lattelady, you have not only increased my excitement for Alabama in general, but also encouraged me to do a study abroad program. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>My daughter is also looking at study abroad for Spring 2014. She’s a biology major/music minor/psychology minor hoping to go to Australia in Queensland ot Cairns or Townsville (wherever James Cook Univ. campuses are) so she can hopefully do research and scuba at the Great Barrier Reef.</p>
<p>My D is strongly considering one offered by the Honors College – a medical interpreting trip to Nicaragua. It is not for an entire semester but I think for a 3 week period in May. It requires a seminar course in the spring. Her parameters are a bit different than yours as she is trying to get a lot of medical language experience so that her Spanish skills really set her apart when she applies to physical therapy school in July. Looking at your major, part of me thinks it would be quite interesting if your international experience allowed you to learn about education in other countries (I’m saying that as a teacher). However, there is that piece of me that thinks you should travel for the joy of it and not so much for what it buys you in your future career. And the Oxford program does sound extremely cool in that regard!</p>