<p>How easy is it to find a good program? How many people find that it's a good use of time? When (year in school) do people go abroad on average? Do they take off a semester or year? Does Columbia have university owned facilities anywhere outside the US?</p>
<p>An additional question: How hard is it to procure funding for study abroad programs. And what about the exchange programs with Sciences Po and Cambridge, are they covered by financial aid?</p>
<p>Hi guys!</p>
<p>Study abroad at Columbia is really an amazing opportunity. About 25% of students go abroad, depending on the year. Most go in their junior year, usually spring. Some go for the whole year, but they are definitely not the majority. It is very easy to find a program you fit in with- Columbia has over 100 approved programs. Check out the website at ogp.columbia.edu . Columbia owns a few programs around the world- in Berlin, Paris, Kyoto, Beijing, Tuscany, etc. I went to a program in Buenos Aires run through Butler University. Transferring credits was a piece of cake; I had no problems. The experience added a lot to my education and I would strongly recommend it. No one that I know who studied abroad had a bad experience. Everyone was really happy they went and found it tough to leave wherever they were studying.</p>
<p>As for financial aid, your normal aid package is applied to study abroad, provided you go during the school year. You pay your normal contribution to Columbia and they pay the tuition to the program, so no worries there. The aid doesn’t vary based on the different programs.</p>
<p>Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions.</p>