<p>My son is a college freshman this year and is already planning to study abroad in Japan next year. He speaks some Japanese and went on a high school trip to the country last summer, so he is familiar with the country and its customs. He's insisting that 1 semester is not enough and wants to do an exchange for the entire school year. Does anyone have experience with study abroad programs and have any advise for me? I wish he would wait until his Junior year in college, but he says that it must be next year while he is still taking his liberal arts classes. Any advice or information on what to be aware of would be very appreciated!</p>
<p>It is imperative to look at the specific program, especially if it is not his university’s sponsored program, to determine which courses will be offered and if they transfer.</p>
<p>He needs to get to the studies abroad office at his school and have conversations with the liaison to the program he is interested in; and the same conversations with his current advisor and the chair of the department of his intended major.</p>
<p>Your son seem like a very focused kid and I commend him for his foresight so early in his college career.</p>
<p>he can do it for soph year. See the coordinator at the study abroad and his advisor as well. checking ahead of time what the classes will count for is useful. Japan has an exhange program with Michigan. All the michigan universities participate. Start applying for scholarships now.</p>
<p>If he’s comfortable with studying abroad sophomore year and can use those credits to count for his G.E. credits, then I think that’s a great idea. He saves his junior year for classes based at his home university which has strengths in those upper-division courses. OUr daughter did something similar her sophomore year, and it was a phenomenal experience for her in that she gained much needed independence as well as confidence in living on her own in a foreign country. Now as a junior she is much more proactive and ready to take on opportunities that she wasn’t ready for after her freshman year. She’s gotten a couple of internships as well as being a student ambassador for study abroad, things that would not have happened prior to her sophomore study abroad. Good luck!</p>
<p>It sounds like he’s prepared and he knows what he’s getting himself into, so why stand in his way?</p>
<p>I definitely do not want to stand in his way. I do wish that he only wanted to go for a semester v. the entire year, but I will not try to sway his plans in anyway because it has to be his decision and he has to be the one to live with it. I was more or less looking for advice from those who have had children study abroad and had feedback regarding those things that they wish they would have known before hand.</p>
<p>Your son is right, in that a full year overseas can solidify the language skills and his understanding of the culture. The above idea to have the last two years of college for the more interesting upper division classes is a great one. </p>
<p>But I also understand your feeling of wishing he’d go for a semester only, though perhaps for a different reason than yours. My son did two separate semesters abroad, one sophomore year, one junior. He very much appreciated both, and had great experiences. However, after he graduated, he said that he sort of wished he had not gone for two semesters-as that undergraduate college time is finite and precious. He realized that he could live overseas for as much of the future as he wanted or could support, but college time can’t be done over again. Though maybe in grad school, he’ll realize there are second chances. </p>
<p>My S worked in China for two years post graduation. Does your S see this college time as his only chance to really learn the language, as he plans to live in the US post graduation? Or might he look ahead to other opportunities to spend time or work in Japan in the future?</p>
<p>The great thing about the timing of study abroad soph. year rather than junior year is that it leaves the summer before senior year available for an internship. Perhaps you could visit your son in China some time during the year. If all the credits transfer o.k., why not send him for the year?</p>