<p>When I was in college, there was “senior week” after finals before graduation where we did fun stuff, but that was about it. Nothing to worry about…not like high school with Prom and all that.</p>
<p>The only thing I would worry about is senior year is when companies come to campus to interview. What are her plans for after college?</p>
<p>Like so many things the answer will be “it depends”, but it’s not like high school. The last few days leading up to graduation are generally the only festive part of the year. It’s true she might miss some on campus job fairs. My son’s college had one in October on campus, but then they also scheduled two during winter break - one in NYC and one in DC.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. She will be a theatre major and at this time, doesn’t plan on grad school. She would be looking into pounding the pavement for acting jobs right away.</p>
<p>In some career fields, students apply for jobs during their senior year in college, rather than after graduation. This may involve on-campus interviews, followed by interviews at the employer’s offices in various US cities. </p>
<p>Studying abroad during the senior year would interfere with this process.</p>
<p>However, it sounds as though your daughter is in a different situation. If people don’t apply for jobs in her field until after graduation, I see no downside in the study abroad program.</p>
<p>OP- if she’ll be missing a Director’s Showcase or other spring event where folks from “the business” come to campus to assess the talent, then that should be factored into your thinking. Even if she doesn’t get cast, or has an agent ask to represent her, or some other fabulous outcome, those events are prime networking opportunities which are difficult to replicate once you graduate. If the professors are known “gatekeepers” such that having them help your D navigate employment after graduation, I would think long and hard about having her miss senior year.</p>
<p>If none of this is relevant- attending senior week events or her department luncheon (if it’s only for students, not for folks “in the business”) shouldn’t keep her home.</p>
<p>My student who is a senior was just abroad for fall term in the UK. I am aware that other seniors from the U.S. were also there on this particular program, and to my knowledge all greatly appreciated their time abroad.
As a parent, I had wondered in advance if it was more common to go overseas as a senior (I always thought junior year was the time for that) and apparently some do this nowadays. It might be more challenging to be away the entire senior year, of course.
My student is now interested to work and/or do grad school in the UK as a result of spending the time over there. There is no question but that one benefits greatly from Study Abroad - cultural enrichment, a different university environment, knowledge of travel/cities/the region, and making friends from various countries - the country where one studies, fellow American students one would not have met otherwise, and even other Study Abroad students from diverse countries.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the replies. I hadn’t even thought about the agent showcase aspect. Will have to look a little further into that. As it stands, her specific concentration doesn’t participate in the showcase at the moment, and there may actually be more opportunity for exposure to places that do employ graduates with her specific major, in Europe. </p>