My daughter just brought up possibly doing a study abroad to Australia of all places next Spring. She has never shown much interest in doing a Study Abroad. Deadline for interest (not sure it means sign up is March 8)
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Does anyone have kids that have done one in Australia?
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She also mentioned Singapore as a possibility, so if anyone has a kid that has done a program there.
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She needs a professor rec but said she doesn’t know if her professors really know her that well, especially this year. Are the Professor recs full on LORs like high school recs or are they more informal recs like what kind of grade this person received, did they attend class etc.? She is worried also that one Professor she may ask from last year may not remember her because she didn’t talk a lot in class, however, she did have one of the highest grades in the class and it was right before Covid put everything on hold, so it was his last “live” class. I would think he would especially because they engaged with one another beforehand. Thoughts?
Thanks
Ugh, my daughter and her boyfriend were supposed to go to New Zealand in January. At least they saved $13,000, right? Her university is very big on study abroad, first one to have a program, so many students participate. I’ve heard only amazing things about the experience. Getting a refund was quick and easy. I was surprised that some students aren’t accepted into the program, that the application, essays, interviews, recommendations really do count. Your daughter will be in the same boat as other students nit knowing their professors, have her reach out.
My daughter told me this program is like 23k! I need to see what exactly that means and includes. Her tuition is only about 7k a semester but she also would have an apartment to deal with and I wouldn’t be thrilled with her having to sublease it unless it was to someone she knew and her roommates were ok with it. So that could be another 5k added to the cost.
I would love to go to New Zealand!
I told her to go ahead and fill out the forms. It sounds like there’s a whole interview process anyway so we’ll see if she follows through. She’s already saying the usual “if I don’t know anyone else I’m not doing it”. With her, that doesn’t surprise me.
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Not sure if this helps… My daughter went to Indonesia then stayed and back packed through out South East Asia like Vietnam, Loas, Cambodia, Thailand. She actually transferred schools so this was actually a gap semester…
Lots of kids from Australia in Indonesia and lots from New Zealand. They were all like 19-23. All hiked and stayed in youth hostels. Paired up depending and where you were going to. Everyone looked out for each other. Social activities at most. Kept seeing same people over and over since they are all sorta following the same guide books… Lol.
The semester abroad was less then her normal tuition and wanted to find out how to continue doing that… Lol… The rest of the trip was on her own and very cheap but simply beautiful…
Not sure why it would cost that much and there are different companies that work with universities… I can ask which one she used but it was a known one…
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Think it was this company ADMISSIONS & AID - SIT Study Abroad
My son went to France for his and it was kinda cheap in the summer.
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I actually don’t feel so bad now as I finally looked at the link she sent me.
It’s through UT McCombs School of Business. The $23k cost includes her regular tuition of $6,630, it also includes the visa, airfare, passport fees (which she has), room and board, miscellaneous spending, and so on. So I guess technically that’s the cost all in and we wouldn’t have to pay more for airfare etc.
UT McCombs has some actual programs set up for study abroad so they’re some great opportunities if she wanted to do it and being empty nesters what a great place to visit although my husband has already been to Australia. My concern would be that Australia is one of the most restrictive covid countries so better she consider going elsewhere even if by then everyone should be vaccinated. My other worry is that she would be doing an internship the following fall which means she would be off campus for that semester too so what’s the point of having an apartment? That seems like a complete waste of money especially since she always said she didn’t want to do study abroad.
Both my kids had great study abroad experiences… My sons was with Michigan engineering and he took classes while there but plenty of free time. They went on some trips through out France like Normandy, Paris etc but went to Amsterdam, Brussels etc on the weekends. They had a blast!.. It’s good for them to be on their own and when we told him we wanted to visit he told us not to… Just saying. It’s their experience… But each their own. My wife did fly out to Hong Kong and met my daughter and did travel a bit with her through Thailand and Indonesia but this was after my daughter’s program was over with.
Sounds like you have a plan. Hope it all works out.
Oh so jealous he went to Normandy. We were supposed to go there in June but of course you know, this thing called covid decided to mess up those plans! 
We have not done anything in Australia. I know someone who has a serious long term boyfriend in Australia and it is very much closed off now for the pandemic. Assuming that you are talking about the spring of 2022 the pandemic should be over (I hope).
One daughter did a study abroad semester in high school, we also hosted two students. All of this was very positive. One daughter is doing a full four years “slightly abroad” in Canada and it is also going well. I very much liked Australia when I visited quite a few years ago. I think that spending some time abroad will help a person get a wider view of the world.
My daughter was doing it with her boyfriend, but she would’ve done it anyway. It was only 6 weeks over winter break, and she still would’ve had to pay $750 a month in rent gir her off campus apartment, but was actually home in January/February anyway so that payment stayed anyway. My oldest did a 3 week program in Greece over a break which was only around $4000 (food and nutrition class).
Mine now said maybe she would do it as a Maymester. Her sister is talking about Denmark or London but I don’t even know how she gets her CS specific requirements in, plus that one is going to Israel for an internship this summer so she doesn’t need to be a world traveler just yet. I’d rather just send them both on a trip or go on a family trip when they graduate wherever they want.
S did study abroad in Barcelona and loved it. Loved Spain but also travelled to many other locals. Monaco, Rome, Munich, Lisbon, Dublin, Amsterdam, Prague and some other spots. It was a great experience and one he’ll have forever. Wish I would have done something like that.
I went to Europe the summer after my sophomore year in college. It was amazing. Now with kids being so focused on internships, etc. it’s really difficult to just do a trip for fun! One of mine has a FinTech internship in Israel this summer - hoping it doesn’t get cancelled/end up remote. It’s a great opportunity and at 20 will already be her second time in Israel. She’ll also still be eligible for Birthright where she can go for free one more time before she is out of her 20’s. Amazing opportunities these kids have and I hope they appreciate them.