<p>hey guys,</p>
<p>best colllege(s) with study abroad programs?</p>
<p>Middlebury!</p>
<p>Dartmouth! I don't know any more off the top of my head</p>
<p>In western Europe, the oldest and most established is Smith - in Florence, Paris, Hamburg, and Geneva. More than half the student body goes abroad. St. Olaf's has a great program. Kalamazoo requires study abroad for graduation. Earlham has some very special and unique programs - students go, with their faculty, to Japan, East Africa, Vienna, Mexico. Hamilton is well-known for its program in Paris. Williams, which is not known for its foreign languages or study abroad, has a long established program at Oxford University. Macalester is excellent.</p>
<p>If you are to receive financial aid, check to see that the financial aid will follow you to places you'd like to go. In many cases, it won't (and at some places, like Princeton, they charge you an extra "study abroad" fee about the usual costs of tuition, etc.)</p>
<p>You can arrange to study abroad at almost any college in the US but there are a wide range of differences between programs. In my opinion, the "best" schools for study abroad are schools which offer at least some of their own programs (such as the Smith and Earlham programs Mini mentioned), as well as opportunities to study abroad for varying lengths of time (i.e., during January semester, during a single semester.)</p>
<p>A good study abroad program is number one on my daughter's list of "college must haves" and she has come up with her own list of questions that she asks colleges to evaluate their programs - you might find these questions helpful as well:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How many students study abroad in a typical year (the more the better - greater numbers of students studying abroad means the school is typically more adept at easing students transition into and from the program) What study abroad options are offered every year? Which countries are the most popular? Are there opportunities to do internships while studying abroad? What are the language requirements for various programs? Is it possible for me to study abroad more than once (i.e., for a semester with one program then do a january study abroad on another occaison). Do I have to wait for Junior year to study abroad?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you have any programs sponsored specifically by the school? Who leads those programs (i.e., school teachers)? How often are they offered? Are they semester long, year long, or shorter period programs or a mix of all three? Does the same teacher teach the class each time the study abroad program is offered? Is there a mix of classes in various subjects offered during longer programs or do they tend to be concentrated in just one subject/major (i.e. the program in costa rica is mainly for bio majors, the program in London is mainly for business majors, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>What are the requirements for getting into a study abroad program? How many applicants do you usually have for each study abroad programs? How hard is it to get into your first choice program (at some schools she has found that it is VERY difficult to get accepted into a study abroad program, especially the most popular ones)</p></li>
<li><p>Can I use financial aid and MERIT awards for study abroad? How much more do most of the study abroad programs I may be interested in cost over and above the cost of staying on campus?</p></li>
<li><p>How will my housing placement be affected if I study abroad for a semester or a year? How will I register for classes for the following year if I am studying abroad for a semester or a year?</p></li>
<li><p>If you do not offer school sponsored study abroad programs, or I want to go on a trip that is not school sponsored, how will this affect my chances of graduating on time? Will I have to take a leave of absence to go? Will I be able to use my financial aid and/or merit award on a non-school sponsored program. What type of advising will I be able to get on course selection and graduation requirements while I am studying abroad? How difficult is it to transfer credits back to this school?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The schools that we have found with the most exciting programs include: St. Olaf College in Minn. (absolutely WONDERFUL program - some kids do 3-4 study abroad programs during the course of their education), Goucher College (lots of different choices, including some internship programs), Lawrence University, Skidmore (allows you to do your first semester freshman year in London!), Knox College, Dickinson College (excellent choices of school run programs), Earlham, Lewis & Clark, and Beloit.</p>
<p>I second Smith</p>