Hi everyone, hoping to get a little bit of perspective.
I was recently accepted to study abroad in Spain in Fall 2019. I had always intended to do Spring 2020, but after finding out that studying abroad is cheaper and academically feasible for me decided to move it up and go somewhere else in the Spring. Now, at my school, they freeze your GPA while abroad so I’ll be going into Senior year with the GPA I end up with this semester. The thing is I dropped from a 3.4 to a 3.1 last semester due to a very difficult set of classes and I’m worried about the impact that is going to have recruiting wise. Should I only do one semester abroad in the Spring to get more of a chance to boost up my GPA or ignore the marginal .10-.15 boost and do a year? I always thought I would do marketing, but have recently become interested in consulting (which usually requires a higher GPA). I have a considerable amount of work experience and also got into SEO and MLT which should help me on the job search front. Would love to hear what you think!
So you’re a sophomore planning to study abroad junior year? I wouldn’t recommend giving up a study abroad experience for a chance to improve GPA. You also have very little chance at consulting with your GPA, even with marginal improvement.
Go and become fluent + work on cultural differences& perspectives + make sure you master statistics and data analysis (because that’s what marketing has become).
You can always take a summer course this summer and when returning take another summer course. It wouldn’t boost your GPA by much but might move the needle by +.1 if that’s what worries you.
Consulting should be off the table for now - it might be possible if you work for a few years and get an MBA later on but not right now. So don’t sacrifice anything because of it.
Where would you be going in Spain? And in the spring?
Madrid in the Fall and hopefully somewhere in Asia in the Spring. Babsically debating if I should do one year vs one semester in the Spring to improve my gpa for recruiting
Don’t give up on study abroad.
If you’re really worried about your GPA, take summer classes this summer be next summer.
But the difference you describe is negligible.
Your ability to speak key languages and (most crucially) understand and function in their culture can be used for your professional goals, too.
I think that is better for you to stay at school and boost your GPA there will be some other time wherein you can study abroad. Remember that you would want to have an OJT with a reputable company.
^ You think that because you’re not decades out of college. Ask those who are middle-aged or older and they will tell you that the college years are the best (and sometimes only) time to study abroad.
After graduation, most will get a job. Also develop a serious relationship with someone (or several). Then have kids. Also progress deeper in to a chosen career.
None of that makes studying abroad easier to pull off.
At most staying will boost your GPA by 0.1 and this literally makes NO difference to any employers or grad schools. Your experience in Spain and China may help you stand out more, especially since there’ll be many applicants for jobs that have higher GPAs than you can get with the tiny boost by staying one semester on campus but few will have your linguistic skill in two critical languages nor your experience.
Usually studying abroad your gpa will go up considering that the classes tend to be easier… we’ll as long as you don’t get hit with the culture shock of another country and really work hard while there