<p>I'm a college junior thinking of studying abroad during my senior year, possibly for the entire year. Does anyone have any experience with this? </p>
<p>Do you think it would be a problem for graduate school or employers? </p>
<p>Do you think it could be a problem emotionally for homesickness - was it hard to stay in another country for a semester and would two be pushing it?</p>
<p>My D spent her fall semester senior yr abroad. It was easy since she already had a job offer at the end of the summer (junior going into senior yr). </p>
<p>But I do not think spending the fall semester abroad in senior yr is a problem unless you miss some recruiting opportunities. If you are planning to go to graduate school, see your advisor.</p>
<p>Hi idwatkwia :),</p>
<p>There might be a problem applying to graduate schools while you’re abroad, but some may understand your situation. You really have to check first.</p>
<p>Homesickness depends solely on you and your experience with going abroad, understanding the language, etc. Some people have breakdowns even though they have studied the language for years. Others have never studied the language and adapt really easily to their host country. Again, it all really depends on you. The most important thing to remember is to always be positive, and if you really need help, talk to someone! By the way, Skype is ALWAYS being used by students who go abroad! It’s a good way to keep in touch with your family and friends.</p>
<p>Do you remember your freshman year of college? You’re in a sense being “immersed into a new culture” by learning new lingo, meeting new people, being away from your parents, etc. If you were fine with adapting to the campus, you’ll probably be fine with studying abroad for a semester or year. </p>
<p>Oh! I forgot to mention. There are study abroad opportunities after you graduate as well. Most of them are teaching English in a foreign country (There are really good programs for this) and others are for doing research on your own in a host country of choice (FulBright Grants/Scholarships); however, FulBright is extremely competitive.</p>
<p>If you really get the chance, go abroad even if it’s only for a few weeks during the summer. It’ll change your perspective a lot. 
Good luck!</p>
<p>One problem with studying abroad for the entire senior year – do you really want your time in college to fizzle out like that? Or would you like to celebrate with the people you started with? Also don’t forget that people sometimes have unforeseen problems with transferring credits from study abroad, and you don’t want to do anything that might endanger your graduation.</p>
<p>Applying to grad school from abroad needn’t be particularly troublesome – remember that loads of people go to foreign grad schools, and most of it is online now. Just make sure you make connections with your profs now (start attending office hours every week) so they can write you good letters.</p>
<p>Honestly, though, if studying abroad would cost you money here’s what I’d do. Save your money and take a big vacation the summer after you graduate. And if you can find a good program, go to grad school overseas (depends on your field, obviously). Actually moving overseas and directly enrolling in a foreign school is about a million times better than 90% of American ‘study’ abroad programs. Put it this way – wouldn’t it be better to find your own apartment and pay your own bills, and hang out with locals, than to pay a ton to live in an ‘international’ dorm and take classes put on specially for the Americans.</p>
<p>So the take home message of this presentation is: you could do it, probably, but there are probably better opportunities out there.</p>