<p>With DS considering a semester abroad next year, I'm wondering if experienced CC parents can clarify the "academic" side of this equation. All I ever hear about is the fun and side trips.</p>
<p>We do want our kids to have an international perspective, but they spent 2 1/2 years with us in Central America, and they've visited Dad's family in India on three occasions.</p>
<p>I guess you don't hear much about the academic part because in most cases it is not the deciding factor in their decision to study abroad. For some, however this is an excellent opportunity to improve their foreign language skills. The rest depends on where they will be studying.</p>
<p>I studied pretty hard when I was in Japan, but I don't think that was the point. Ultimately, what I think helped me the most as a human being was the daily activities and learning how to deal with the differences in lifestyle.</p>
<p>I have heard that some study abroad programs hand out easy 'As', but my D is currently studying abroad, and while she is having many adventures, she is very definitely studying, getting homework, and being tested regularly. The professors seem to be very hands on, accessible and knowledgeable. She loves mingling with the local people, immersing herself in culture and language, and I cannot think of one negative aspect. (except that she has been tooooo long)</p>
<p>You can "study" anywhere, but being "abroad" is not as common or accessible. There may be some good professors but ultimately the advantages from studying abroad are not academic.</p>
<p>Our S's study abroad was a pass/fail 6 credit hour language immersion summer program. It was not as difficult academically as his engineering courses, but he did end the summer able to converse comfortably in the language. The student-teacher ratio was 3-1, the instruction reportedly lively and fun, and the family he lived with could not speak any English, as advertised. We were thrilled with the outcome from both an academic and cross cultural perspective.</p>
<p>It was a long time ago, but I studied hard as well, and at a university that didn't have the most prestigious reputation in the country where I was. In particular, I wrote a LOT more papers than I was used to.</p>
<p>It is going to differ radically from program to program. For me, academically, the main thing I learned was the language, the program I was in had a very rigorous language curriculum. But there is so much more. I gained lifelong friends. I just took my kids back to my foreign "home town" and they played with the kids of my friends from back then...</p>
<p>Actually, students taking a foreign language at the very advanced level (meaning that all courses and not just the language courses, are given in that language) in a study abroad program should be getting something academically out of it.</p>
<p>D studied plenty in her math abroad program. Gradewise, it was the roughest semester so far, though not bad. But she put in long hours, dropping one class where the homework for that class alone was 20-30 hours per week. </p>
<p>The language part of her program wasn't as intense as many because it's a difficult language and the classes were taught in English. But the experience was terrific.</p>
<p>you need to look elsewhere. Son's study abroad program at a foreign Uni included classes five days a week, from 9 am-1pm or 9-2:30 pm each day.</p>
<p>SuNa,</p>
<p>It depends on the school you child is at, and on the specific program in question.</p>
<p>Both of our kids (one attended Stanford, the other one is a senior at Swarthmore) did not study abroad (although both had been exposed to foreign cultures in other ways).</p>
<p>For both it would have been academically much less beneficial, than staying put at their respective institutions, and we felt that it wasn't justified to pay close to 30K for them to "have fun experience" abroad. We felt that they could do it after graduation for a fraction of the cost, and benefit from what their colleges have to offer during their undergrad years instead.</p>
<p>However, depending on the major, and the institution in question, there are programs that could be great both culturally and academically. And of course any language study can greatly benefit from the immersion experience.</p>
<p>My daughter's major requires becoming fluent in a difficult foreign language, and she is working plenty hard in her classes at her program. Additionally, it is a total immersion program and no English speaking is allowed, so even while she is having fun, she is learning speaking her language. Students in her program are also required to do an independent study project involving interviewing local people and gathering information on a topic of interest, and writing it up and presenting it. Besides working hard, it sounds like my daughter is also having a lot of fun. She is so busy between work and fun that it is difficult to fit in everything she wants to do. Her solution is to reduce her sleeping hours :)</p>
<p>All the programs at d's school require the student to take 4 classes, just like at her home campus, or to do research worth the equivalent number of credits as determined by her home campus. Some classes or credits can be used to satisfy major or minor requirements, or distribution requirements. And some of the study done is specific to the country you're going to. For example, the study abroad in Italy programs all have courses in Art History - what better place is there to study it than in Rome or Florence? Students who elect to go to London and study theater also study the history of English theater, including of course, Shakespeare. Being in Italy or England gives those classes, with a curriculum similar to that which the student would follow at home, adds a different dimension to the lessons. </p>
<p>Others perform research at various foreign universities as part of the study abroad.</p>
<p>So part of the "cultural experience" can also be part of the "study."</p>
<p>D is just completing her semester abroad (more like five months). Her travel experiences around the country provided much "insider" information about the country - its customs, culture, history, etc. And living with her host family gave her an immersion experience she would not have had otherwise.</p>
<p>In addition, she's doing volunteer work with a local social justice agency. And she's found her studies to be much more difficult than at her school, since she has to think and converse in a foreign language. I think that's where she's found herself benefiting the most - becoming more facile in a second language. On a side note, her grandfather (a retired educator) did comment that her blog focused more on the "fun" thing rather than her studies. We quickly pointed out that folks would prefer to read about her outside activities more than the daily grind. :)</p>
<p>I think it is a fair question and it is true that some study semesters abroad are not taxing academically. There are some locations where language and culture barriers are tall orders and some where there is basically zero stress on an English speaker. I am sure you can study your brains out in Oxford, but there is also such a benefit to language aquisition.
This is not a war crime--to simply hang with your own buddies and sightsee-- but it might be a poor use of precious time and resources. My son is in a major city speaking another language this semester enrolled in a foreign university with ten kids from his college. They each are housed in different sectors of the city living with all different native residents, and therefore cannot rely on each other. They are forced to speak the language, although they certainly spend a lot of time with each other when downtown and on campus. He has also been paired with students in the University who want to speak English with him and vise versa. My son commented on the city college group he visited where the students were housed together, only spent time with each other, and seemed to spend most weeks planning excursions. He said they seemed to use their location as the starting point every week for a trip, and they had not bothered to integrate into that city. They seemed to hang out in locations where many Americans hang out, too. I guess I personally feel that sounds like fun..but why pay tuition for that experience..just get a backpack and the hostel list and go on your own if you have no intention of investing in the language and you are only going to hang out with your own friends?
He commented that in this other program people were simply hopping trains every week and traveling and that their classes were pretty vague, and they reported they didn't have to study. This location was in a city where adopting the language was not part of the challenge.<br>
I am sure there are a thousand ways to study abroad.<br>
Here are the reasons we parents now think our son was brilliant to do it his way, and we might have felt some trepidation before that we were just giving him a big fat vacation:
a. it is a little bit cheaper than his very steep private tuition stateside!<br>
b. he got completely out of his comfort zone and has become fluent when we were under the impression before that he was just kidding/naive about speaking this language
c. everyone in his program chose the harder path, therefore the ten of them are quite similar in terms of determination, willingness to take risks for the goal of living with natives and adopting their lifestyles. He has a new tight circle of friends to hang with..stateside when they return.<br>
d. rather than bother us for money so he could travel all the time, he stayed put and did a few less expensive trips to see classmates in other cities. He is immersed in his current city, and tells us that if he was there a full year, he would still never have time to see all the sectors of the city and to fully grasp it...
e. all of his teachers are natives of this country. They make him speak their language and open their own lives up to the students daily. He respects and adores them, each and every one.<br>
f. re course difficulty...his language is the real point. He goes to classes six hours a day, four days a week. There are other required meetings and outings with lectures. If he studies hard at night during the week and treats his courses like a real 9-5 job, he can take every Sunday off to do whatever...and sometimes can have the three day weekend for explorations.</p>
<p>I am converted, actually. I also had a study abroad but I was stuck on a bus with 30 students and professors and we were together too much (granted in the Middle East) with serious language barriers. I could have taken that trip at age 60 and heard the same lectures and still only have my relationships with the bus drivers and guides to size up the countries I saw by. If your child's curriculum allows them to take a year or a semester abroad, I would get 100% behind it but I would try to influence them to live with a native family..not housed with peers. Lots of programs have a good balance there..as my son can have dinner with his peers many days of the week to compare notes. So seldom in life can you afford 100 days without a J-O-B. Encourage your sons and daughters to go on a real academically challenging adventure is my advice. priceless.</p>
<p>My daughter's abroad program is no walk in the park. They are required to sign a contract stating they will not speak in English while in Spain. They take 4 classes and are expected to attend all the time. </p>
<p>We just received the parent package and there was a comment about if the student think this semester is all about traveling then they should drop out of the program now!! The students do have chaperoned trips with the faculty and will have some weekend to travel on their own, but the main focus is the academics. I as also surprised that the program wants the student familiar with the history of Spain and has ask them to read a book before they come.</p>
<p>Most (all?) of these postings seems to be focused on spending a semester or year abroad with one of the major emphases as learning a foreign language (the language spoken in the visited country). While this is a great learning experience, it is not the only option. My daughter is majoring in biomedical engineering, does not fluently speak a foreign language (only had two semesters of Spanish), but would like to study abroad for a year, so English-speaking countries are her only realistic option. The fact that she is an engineering major dictates that she has few electives and if she wants to still graduate in four years needs to take courses that are transferable. She has identified some universities in England where she can take courses and have most or all of the credits transfer back to her US institution (Case Western). They have few engineering students studying abroad, and my daughter will not get the same international experience she could obtain by being forced to learn and speak in another language, but she will still get to experience a slightly different culture and meet more European and other international students. Even though she has excellent grades (4.0 GPA), due to degree requirements, she has had to forego applying to some universities (such as Oxford) that have different course and credit structures, but she is still looking forward to next year. We have decided that we will visit her as a family (with two kids still in high school). If you want to take academic courses at a foreign university you can definitely do it, but depending on your major this may limit some other options, and you should get the courses pre-approved from the major department of your US college .</p>
<p>There are many different types of study abroad programs. </p>
<p>Most Americans go on programs created for foreigners (and often specifically for Americans) with a large language component. The disadvantage of these is that the students tend to hang out with other Americans. </p>
<p>There are also programs -- mostly in English-speaking countries -- where the student is enrolled in the regular university alongside native students.
Finally -- and rather rarely -- American students with good language skills (alas, there are few of them) brave regular enrollment in regular programs in foreign countries. </p>
<p>Study abroad -- like the entire American college experience -- is largely a matter of deciding what kind of experience (and how challenging) you want to make it.</p>
<p>My D attends a top US private and is using her term abroad to return to an English-speaking country where she once lived. She is having a chance to pay her home school prices for tuition with no international upcharge, and though the weak dollar is affecting the price of room and board, it is still about the same as her usual.</p>
<p>D is reconnecting with all sorts of old friends, playing for the school's team in her sport, and taking a full load of classes, all of which are transferable to her major back home.</p>
<p>The courses are every bit as difficult as her top university, in part, perhaps because she does not have the resources she has at home with friends who've taken the courses and who can recommend profs and study techniques, etc. The grading is very difficult and she hopes she will not negatively impact her GPA. There is no skating, definitely not a play term. Despite not learning a new language, there is still the cultural difference to notice- just seeing our country through the eyes of foreigners is an education in itself.</p>