<p>I am currently a senior in high school, I am planning on studying abroad for my first and second year of college. However, I am not completely set on leaving the country for college... I am still keeping my option of staying here in the US.</p>
<p>I just was to know your thoughts/opinions on studying abroad right after high school. Do you think it is a good idea?</p>
<p>If you know you’re going to get homesick, then you’ll probably want to stay in the US for the first year. It’s better to get used to your university’s environment/culture as a freshman rather than a sophomore. Not to mention, you might miss out on a lot of important experiences during your freshman year. I don’t know you or your maturity level, but I know WAY too many students who say, “I’m going to study abroad because it’s going to look good on my resume, everyone says it’s fun, and yeah!!!” and a few weeks after they’re in the country, they get homesick and return home. </p>
<p>I felt that going to a university was the same “feel” as studying abroad. You’re in a new environment, you meet new people, what you do and want to do is up to you. People get homesick, people complain, and there are those who cannot adapt to new environments easily. Yes, you might face language and cultural barrier issues, but it’s up to you whether or not you want to face it. I thought the transition was simple, but that’s just me. </p>
<p>You can always study abroad over the summer to see how it’s like after your freshman year. Summer programs are usually 6-10 weeks. If you’ve studied abroad before college, going your freshman year would be fine. If not, sophomore year and junior year are good years to study abroad. </p>
<p>If you get the chance to study abroad, do it. Study abroad at least once while you’re in college. It’s well worth it. :)</p>
<p>your first and second year? Why not add a third and do your whole bachelors abroad. It would probably be cheaper and faster…</p>
<p>DD is doing exactly that with Florida State. She did one semester in China followed by First Year Abroad program. She is studying on their campus in Florence with other FSU freshman.
After 2 semester in Florence she will study in Spain for 2 consecutive summers sessions. As a reward for doing FYA program you get in state tuition for the rest of your college years.</p>
<p>Thoughts:</p>
<p>Bachelor’s degrees in Europe are generally three year programs, aren’t they? If you know what you want to major in, why not get your bachelor’s in Europe and come back to the U.S. for grad school?</p>
<p>Or, I like the idea of going abroad after high school, either as a gap year or - if it happens to work out, as with FSU First Year Abroad - as a start to college.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Spain, check out St. Louis University - Madrid. You could go there for two years and then spend your “junior year abroad” in the U.S. at SLU in SL - and then go back to Madrid for senior year.</p>
<p>Check out Freshman Year Abroad at U of Mississippi.</p>
<p>Add an extra year and just go for a degree outside of the US. Bachelors overseas are almost always three years. I’m a US senior. I’ve applied to London School of Economics, Durham, Edinburgh, and Queen Mary-University of London. I also applied to Maastricht and Erasmus in Rotterdam. I’ve already recieved an offer from Australian National University.</p>
<p>You can look up the benefits of a degree outside of the US. But IMO there are millions. If you know you want to go abroad for two years anyway, you might as well go for one more and go abroad for a degree.</p>
<p>Thanks for all you input!</p>
<p>I am applying to SLU-Madrid and Schiller International Univ. (also in Madrid)… although SLU is more ideal for me. I want to start at an American university because I do not want to be too lost with the language, because although I can speak spanish pretty well I don’t think it’s any where near to the point where I can write and speak like the local students.</p>
<p>@tobiz.int: yes! SLU is much cheaper than some of the school I’m considering here in US…</p>
<p>@adam, wow those are great schools! good luck!.. what made you want to study abroad? and what do YOU think are it’s benefits?</p>