Study Abroad Alternatives

Parent Cafe
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<p>My daughter is interested in overseas experiences, but I think we need to go outside the box for her. She attends Miami U of Ohio pursuing a double degree in music and German. She will also begin Chinese next year. Because of the double degree, and the specifics of the music degree, it will be hard for her to go elsewhere during the school year.</p>

<p>MU has a six-week program in Germany that she was interested in. However, it is about $5k for instate students, and $10k for out of state - which we are. That seems a lot of money for six weeks, especially because she knows Germany pretty well already. She asked about scholarships, but there aren’t many available, and we are talking hundreds of dollars, not thousands.</p>

<p>So I told her I would ask my invisible friends for suggestions. (I did try to search for previous threads, but didn’t come up with anything easily. Feel free to post links if there are discussions that would be helpful.) Here are some things we would like, but we are just beginning our search, so we may not even know what questions to ask.</p>

<li><p>She is mostly interested in German-speaking countries, due to trying to get transferable credits! English or Chinese are also possibilities. </p></li>
<li><p>She would like an accredited program, that has a track record, where her college might be more willing to accept the credits. Her schedule is so tight, she would welcome the opportunity to get a few credits in the off season.</p></li>
<li><p>It needs to be between mid-May and mid-August.</p></li>
<li><p>It needs to be a better deal than 6 weeks for $10k. Otherwise, she can just do Miami’s.</p></li>
<li><p>She is open to any type of program, but ideally would like one where she gets to mingle / work with nationals, rather than just other American students. I know that her time-frame doesn’t match up with the traditional German university schedule.</p></li>
<li><p>She would also be open to an internship, although there aren’t many for music/German students!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Also, we could use some guidance as to how to figure out if the college will accept the credits from another program. We don’t even know who to ask. Is there generally one office that handles this, or is it handled by individual majors?</p>

<p>If anyone has had any great study abroad experiences that were done outside of the student’s own college, please share them, even if it doesn’t exactly fit my D’s parameters.</p>

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<p>Freie Universitaet Berlin has two summer terms for study abroad students.
They attract students from all over the world with classes held in both English and German.</p>

<p>Term II: May 31 - July 12
Term III: July 19th - August 16</p>

<p>Classes cover a broad variety of topics from German language, literature and culture to Islam and the West, Challenges facing the European Union etc. etc.
Class credits from this program are accepted by many top-tier U.S. colleges.
Fees are less than what you stated.</p>

<p>Berlin is fantastic in the summer and a great jumping off point to see the rest of Europe. (you probably are already aware of that.) Even with the horrendously low exchange rate, Berlin is relatively cheap for a big city. Food and drink are affordable, public transportation excellent. </p>

<p>[FUBIS:</a> About FUBiS](<a href=“http://www.fubis.org/en/ueber_fubis/index.html]FUBIS:”>http://www.fubis.org/en/ueber_fubis/index.html)</p>

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<p>Just wanted to add that this is the program the Penn offers its students for summer study abroad in Germany.</p>

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<p>My D was also taking a very tough schedule/load so she did a study-abroad in the summer. She went to Scotland through a UC program although a UC other than the one she attends. The credit transferred (but it was still in the UC system). The cost was quite a bit less than what you quoted but it was also shorter. Neverthelss, she really enjoyed it. One of the things she liked was that they moved around quite a bit and she was therefore able to see quite a bit. It wasn’t all done in one location like many of the programs. The study abroad program had many other destinations besides the Scotland one.</p>

<p>These study-abroad programs, including the UC ones, are open to students from other colleges. Although most were from UCs, some were from CalState and at least one was from a college in Italy. When I looked around I found similar programs through many other colleges that were open to students from different colleges.</p>

<p>For credit transfer, make sure she checks with the academic advisors at her school first. She may have to petition for the credit. She should do this before she goes. Worst case, she won’t get the credit but will still have the experience which is the main point of studying abroad.</p>

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<p>D did the FUBIS program last summer through Vanderbilt. She considered it to be a premier experience in terms of exposure to German culture and it certainly advanced her language skills. She took a German course and an art history course. The art history course gave her some exposure to some museum and gallery holdings that wouldn’t be available to the “average Joe.”</p>

<p>We traveled together for 9 or 10 days prior to her reporting in to Berlin, so I was there to drop her off at her temporary home in the area southwest of Berlin. I nearly died - the housing was awful! It had been quarters for US troops following WWII and looked like it had not had any maintenance since that time. No air conditioning, metal springs with thin matress, poor quality bathrooms. I cried when I left her because of these conditions. While she became cranky about them near the end of the 7 weeks (due to increasing temps and no air conditioning), it really didn’t bother her as much as it did me. I guess I thought that since her dad was paying what I considered big bucks, there would be much nicer facilities. However, evidently the $$$ paid were primarily taking care of Vandy summer tuition!</p>

<p>There are other housing options available for more $$$ and I thought the overall experience was above average. The Vanderbilt professor who supervised their group and taught a one week German culture course prior to start of FUBIS classes has become a mentor and friend to D. </p>

<p>binx, I remember reading some of your posts last summer prior to our trip and they were very helpful in planning our joint travels through Munich, etc. prior to D’s arrival in Berlin. Since you have extensive experience in living in Europe, I’m not sure FUBIS would meet her criteria. Good luck to her!</p>

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<p>^
NOBODY has air conditioning in Berlin.</p>

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<p>Thanks for these. I’ve looked at the FUBIS link, and it definitely has potential. </p>

<p>The Fubis site also had a link to this one:
<a href=“http://www.european-study.de/default.asp[/url]”>http://www.european-study.de/default.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I hope more folks will respond with more ideas. And if anyone has any experience with the California programs as a non-CA student, I’d like to hear how that works, too. D would love a program that included travel!</p>

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<p>binx:</p>

<p>My D used the study abroad program at UCI (although she goes to a different UC).</p>

<p>[Travel-Study[/url</a>]</p>

<p>I can see they have a Switzerland option that’s about 4 weeks and about $5870 for a visiting student. I was hoping it’d be in the German part of Switzerland for your D but it’s in the French part. It looks like they do some interesting excursions to Italy and France. They also go to Chateau Chillon castle which is a nice one (I’ve been there a couple of times). It’s taught in English so your D wouldn’t get any language immersion in this program if that’s what she’s interested in. </p>

<p>I’m sure you can find many similar programs at other universities.</p>

<p>Another UC link - </p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://programsabroad.ucsd.edu/pao/SummerSessions.html]UC”>http://programsabroad.ucsd.edu/pao/SummerSessions.html]UC</a> Summer Programs Abroad](<a href=“http://summer.uci.edu/travelstudy/]Travel-Study[/url”>http://summer.uci.edu/travelstudy/)</p>

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<p>Here’s another program from UCLA - </p>

<p>

The program is around 4 weeks and the fee is around $5K for a visiting student.</p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.summer.ucla.edu/Travel/German-Europe/overview.htm]overview[/url”>http://www.summer.ucla.edu/Travel/German-Europe/overview.htm]overview[/url</a>]</p>

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<p>Brandeis University - The summer timing is right, and they seem to have a strong program contact in Germany. Sorry, I didn’t check costs. </p>

<p>[Study</a> Abroad | Brandeis University](<a href=“http://www.brandeis.edu/abroad/summer.html]Study”>http://www.brandeis.edu/abroad/summer.html)</p>

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<p>These are great. I’m sending lots of links to my D. The first UCLA link has a program in Cambridge that sounds like something my D would enjoy. (The second link seems specific to CA students.) The third CA link also has a lot of different program offerings.</p>

<p>From the Brandeis link page, I found an IES program in Vienna for music majors! Too late for this summer, but seems to have a lot of potential for the future! </p>

<p>A lot of these (most) have study in English - which is fine; she speaks English. :slight_smile: But being in the foreign country would give her plenty of opportunity to speak the language.</p>

<p>Interestingly, all of these are cheaper than Miami’s! The IES pages list Miami U as an associate member, so I assume the credits would be acceptable.</p>

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<p>binx,</p>

<p>By seeking credit, your daughter will be limited to formal programs endorsed by her university. You can bet that the only programs that the U endorses will be expensive, because most of these programs kick back funds to the home U. </p>

<p>There has been quite a bit written about this aspect of study abroad programs recently, especially how the cost far exceeds the quality of either the ed experience or the accomodations and infrastructure. In other words, they can be a bad value, as you are observing. </p>

<p>Interestingly, my sense is that kids who pursue programs on their own, while they forgo credits, have a more meaningful experience. For example, all to many of the credit granting programs have decent class experiences, but the “peer” group is largely fellow yank students. So much for informal cultural experiences. </p>

<p>One young woman I know flew to Bolivia on her own last summer to perfect her spanish and learn more about S. American culture. Here’s a sample entry from her blog:

</p>

<p>How likely are you to have such an experience on a “packaged” program?</p>

<p>DIY is not for every student, of course, but it does have huge benefits, IMHO, for the right kid, one who is self confident, has good judgement and is curious.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Newmassdad. I’m glad you posted, because I do think DIY programs have great value for the right kid. D lived in Germany for 3 years, and attended a German high school, so she has had the integration experience already. She has no fear, in terms of meeting new people. Even in a traditional program, I feel certain she will go out of her way to interact with “the natives.” In her case, her very tight school schedule (she probably will be taking 19 or 20 credits per semester every semester) makes getting credits desirable – if she can get credits that meet her major, then she can have more time available for experimentation. Her degrees will probably be in German and music performance, but she also loves literature, art, writing, and other languages. A chance to take courses in any of those, either abroad or at home would be welcome.</p>

<p>Last summer she used her graduation money to take herself to Germany for 2 weeks, visiting friends. She pretty much stayed in the small town she is familiar with, so would like to go elsewhere. I’d be more in favor of a DIY if she had a friend she was travelling with. She is small, non-street smart, and a bit ADD. A second opinion on things would be advantageous in her case.</p>

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<p>My niece had a great solo DIY experience all over Europe last summer, and she is small, looks 16, and had never spent as much as a week more than 50 miles from home without her parents or other relatives. I wouldn’t even have described her as self-confident, at least not until she had been doing it for a few weeks. There was just huge personal growth.</p>

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<p>Binx, My D is also at MU. Coincidently, her minor is music (at least for now). I know that in Honors summer is free after certain number of credit hours. This is applicable to study abroad. We did not check any details, since my D. has no desire to go abroad or taking summer classes currently. Just FYI to consider.</p>

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<p>One thing mentioned at D’s school is the possibility of doing overseas study through your own state U, where you’d pay in-state tuition. I don’t know if this would work, or if she’d get credit for it, but you can check. Most of the universities that D applied to all had study abroad programs, but they also said that if you could document what you were doing and arranged your own study abroad, that they frequently give credit for “other” university’s programs. It’s probably worth a sit-down between your D and the study-abroad office to see what her options are…as long as she’s ready to be creative (and her previous Germany experience helps tremendously), I’m sure she can get something for much less than what MU is offering.</p>

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<p>Binx, I’m not sure how strict the music department is, but JYM satisfies all of your requirements except for the time frame. One of my friends here is a music major, and he’s taking 2 music classes at the LMU, and I think he’s taking lessons and playing in the orchestra as well. He said that he’ll be able to graduate in 4 years, so maybe the music department would be willing to work with you. Also, all of the classes should count towards related hours for the German major, and the LMU offers an incredible number of languages. Most Miami scholarships can be applied towards JYM (not including the Ohio resident scholarships), and I also got about $2,000 through International Education scholarships.</p>

<p>Some offices to contact: Office of International Education and Office of Continuing Education (summer programs). Your D could also talk to the German adviser for other ideas; she’s very approachable.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Aussie! I didn’t know you were doing JYM - My S1 did that! He only went for one semester, though. I guess we would have a better idea by junior year how she was doing as far as meeting requiements. </p>

<p>About half of D’s scholarship is from the music dept. I’m not sure what would happen to it if she went overseas. Thanks for the pointers to the right advisors. She did email one German teacher (who leads the Heidelberg program), but he was somewhat unhelpful - basically said it was the same credit cost she was paying now as an out of state student. Yes, but it would be in ADDITION to her annual costs, so it is not what we are prepared to pay. Since her scholarships are not “percentages” but flat dollar amounts, any additional study in the summer is additional cost to us.</p>

<p>MiamiDAP mentioned the free summers for honors students, which I didn’t know about, but D is not in Honors, only Scholars. They don’t get many benefits.</p>

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<p>By the way, Aussie - my H is in Germany at the moment (for 2 weeks) - 2 hours north of Munich.</p>

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<p>Concordia College or Moorhead Minnesota has five weeks in Germany for $7000 including airfare to and from Berlin, May 26-July 1. You earn 4 credits.
[Summer</a> Program in Wittenberg, Concordia College, Moorhead Minnesota](<a href=“http://www4.cord.edu/german/home/wittenberg.htm]Summer”>http://www4.cord.edu/german/home/wittenberg.htm)
This sounds like a trip for someone who wants to work on their German, though.</p>

<p>The Concordia web site is a good one to check for ideas. To quote the site:

</p>