<p>Can those who have studied abroad at ND let me know about how much more than the regular tuition, room and board, and other ND fees it was necessary to budget for that semester? Also,I'm very interested to hear the experiences of anyone who has done the Bologna program. Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>I'm going to Dublin next semester. Actually, 2 weeks from today. Wow.</p>
<p>Anyway, tuition, room and board are ND tuition. The only extra is the travel cost, which you could safely budget at around $2000. Other than that, it's a simple matter of deciding on spending money, factoring in Euro (or whatever local currency) conversion.</p>
<p>kevdude or others can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the international round-trip flight from US to the abroad location is also covered out of your regular tuition, room and board fees. The student/family cover any additional traveling to and from the abroad location (during weekends or breaks). The student is also responsible for getting to and from the US departure city(s) since they try to get group rates for the international flights to keep the costs down. (There can be more than one departure city.)</p>
<p>Right, but the fully covered options are fairly limited - for me, it was one flight out of JFK on one specific day, but I decided to leave a week earlier so I could travel. Also, I was lucky because JFK was the airport I would have flown out of anyway, but most of the country would need extra travel plans just to get there. </p>
<p>You will only have to pay the difference, though. If their flight costs $1000, and the total cost of your plans ends up being $1500, you still only have to pay $500, if that makes any sense.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info kevdude and Greta. Have a glorious time in Ireland!</p>
<p>My daughter is currently in Australia, and I just sent in the tuition payment last week, so I can speak to this issue. :)</p>
<p>The tuition was the same, and the Room and board was also the same, although on the bill it was renamed "International Program Fee". There is an additional $600 "Program Administrative Fee". </p>
<p>We had to pay for airfare from Atlanta to LAX. Airfare from LAX to Fremantle was included. </p>
<p>In Fremantle they have no dining hall, so they receive a weekly food stipend ($95 a week, I think). Also, two dinners a week are provided. Beyond that, they are on their own to buy groceries, and have formed "food groups" to pool resources and prepare meals. </p>
<p>One of her classes has a 4 day "field trip" to Singapore, in fact she is in Singapore at this moment. Some field trip, huh? It was an additional $1,300.</p>
<p>As has already been mentioned, additional independent travel is at their own expense, but DD indicated they receive a favorable price per deviation from their flight home. In my daughter's case, she intends to stay over in Sydney on the way home, then go to New Zealand, before returning home. </p>
<p>These are the specifics for Fremantle. Cetainly other destinations may have different specifics regarding food or other items.</p>
<p>I'd be glad to try to answer any other specific questions about study abroad.</p>
<p>Dear HoundDad,</p>
<p>Thank you for your information. It's good to know about the administrative fee and your daughter's experience with "field trips." My son is a rising sophomore and has yet to declare his major. He hopes to have that figured out by second semester. At that point he'll know what requirements he needs to fulfill and how a semester abroad will work. Assuming a semester abroad works out academically, I'm encouraging him to go to Bologna since he's studying Italian and Bologna is an amazing city. I imagine that different majors work better with particular destinations abroad. What is your daughter majoring in and did that affect her choice of destination?</p>
<p>Hi 4Mom4, </p>
<p>Bologna sounds like it would be a good choice for your son, especially if he declares Italian.</p>
<p>I do think certain destinations are for certain majors. I think the architects study in Rome, for example. </p>
<p>In Australia, there are two groups. The business majors are in Fremantle, and the engineers are in Perth.</p>
<p>My daughter is double majoring in Marketing and Arabic. She applied to Shanghai (as she was considering studying Mandarin at one point), Cairo, and Fremantle.</p>
<p>She ultimately decided to put Fremantle as her first choice and got it. Interestingly enough, on her field trip to Singapore, her hotel is right next to the Arab district, so she will get to practice a little Arabic, at least for a couple days. That's a neat little bonus.</p>
<p>When do most people apply for their semesters abroad, assuming that they do them junior year?</p>
<p>The application date, regardless of which semester you intend to study in, is December 1st of your sophomore year. The only exception is summer study abroad, which usually has rolling admission, although it varies depending on site</p>
<p>Thank you Kevdude. My son will have to figure things out sooner than I had thought.</p>
<p>BIG MISTAKE SORRY. Application deadline is November 15th. I got it confused with a lot of college application due dates. So yea, sorry.</p>
<p>Tell him to get his act together. It's much like college applications, with letters of recommendation and essays. I know some people who had it finished and submitted before Fall break, although I also know some people (one of whom may or may not be me) that waited until the absolute last minute and submitted after 11:30 pm on November 14th. And I can tell you (from what I've heard, of course) that it can be very stressful. </p>
<p>He'll find out around April 1st, if I remember correctly (which, based on precedent, doesn't seem to trustworthy).</p>
<p>Okay, this is getting harder by the minute. My son's still trying to decide what he's going to major in. It seems to be between Political Science, History, and Philosophy. He's very good with languages, I would even say gifted, but he decided to switch languages in college and will only be in his second year of Italian this year. How do students just beginning their sophomore year figure things out so quickly? And if you apply, are accepted and then decide that it's not going to work, can you back out of going abroad? Thanks again for your help.</p>
<p>4mom4, </p>
<p>Gosh, I would forward your questions on to my daughter, but she has limited internet access until she gets back into Australia from Singapore on Saturday. I'll try to give a little more detail from memory, which is a risky thing for me. Hopefully someone will correct any misstatements I make.</p>
<p>The process is somewhat like the process of applying to colleges. That is, it is competitive, and you can apply to more than one location, and you specify your 1st choice, etc. Then you wait to hear one of 3 things: accepted, waitlisted, or declined. I believe you are only accepted to one, and could be waitlisted for others. I think DD was accepted to her first choice and waitlisted to the other 2 she applied for. I don't know how hard it is to get off the waitlist. I suppose it depends on the popularity of the location. </p>
<p>Then there is a period of time to decide if you will accept, decline or pursue a waitlisted location. </p>
<p>We went to a presentation on foreign study during Frosh-O and received a list of locations and prerequisites, if any (e.g. x semesters of language). I tried to find it; I can't believe I didn't save it (says HoundDad, King of Packrats).</p>
<p>Another consideration for some is whether to travel during Fall semester, and forego a season of Football, or travel during Spring semester, and forego a season of beautiful South Bend Winter weather.</p>
<p>I wanted to thank everyone one last time for their help. It was certainly a heads up and my son is much better prepared for figuring things out. At the moment he seems pretty excited by the possibilities of the Bologna program but we'll see if he ends up applying and if it works out with whatever he decides to major in. Best wishes to your daughter in Australia, HoundDad, and for a wonderful trip to the Emerald Isle Kevdude.</p>
<p>The November 15th deadline may seem like it's very little time to get yourself organized for study abroad, but trust me, the school does an excellent job in helping you decide which program suits you best and getting you organized. That is why we have a highly regarded intl studies prgm. </p>
<p>Information sessions begin as early as mid September. Flyers and bulletins are posted all around school with locations, times, and contacts for various sites. Even now, you can just as easily go right now to the OIS website and see for yourself.</p>
<p>Office</a> of International Studies - University of Notre Dame</p>
<p>Once you have attended a session OR find a program that seems like it would be good for you, then you should individually go and meet with the main person in charge of the program. You can then ask specific questions about whether classes offered in that respective program would fulfill major/university requirements. </p>
<p>It is also recommended to get an assessment of your chances of being accepted into that program. It is not that all study abroad programs are exceptionally competitive, but there are some (like Oxford or Trinity College in Dublin, both year long) that tend to focus more on GPA's. There are also programs that tend to be smaller than others (therefore less seats available) and others that tend to be more popular based in seasonality (i.e. you might have a better chance of getting into a fall program vs. a spring because of sacrificing a football season). A lot of people who were waitlisted said how they wished they had done this so that they could have kept their options open and not just put all their eggs into one basket. Not that I am trying to scare you all or anything but this is a reality. </p>
<p>Sometimes, personal things like reslifes or low grades can also have an impact; now, a minor incident from freshman year or a slightly-off semester won't kill your chances but they have prevented people from going. The best thing to do in that case is work extra hard on your essays, don't procrastinate, and make sure you get strong recommendations. Some people have also written personal explanations (optional) about why these things have happened. I know one girl who was waitlisted for Fall London who wrote about how she was engineering at the time she applied and her grades reflected that, but after switching majors she was showing major improvement. She was accepted off the list and will be attending this fall. </p>
<p>I know that the college of business is particularly organized in that they require students to submit a plan of study form before the deadline. They basically have to fill in the rest of the courses they have to take in order to graduate in a big spreadsheet and have it checked off by the counselor. Study abroad classes are included. It's a great source to keep a checklist on what you have to take and I am sure other colleges require it as well.</p>
<p>Be proactive and you'll be fine. This isn't something to stress majorly over but don't take it too lightly. PM me if you have any more questions.</p>
<p>Also, if I'm not mistaken, engineering does offer study abroad; they encourage that it be done during the summer, if possible. The letter son received last summer indicated such because of the rigid schedule/workload associated with engineering.</p>