Anyone care to share the plusses and minuses of what kind of opportunities to go abroad there are at U of A?
I don’t know details of U of A offerings, but at any university, you should consider the following things before going on a study abroad program:
- will your financial aid and/or scholarships apply toward the cost? if so, to tuition only or also housing?
- will the credits you receive apply toward your major, so you continue progress in completing your major, or will it count only as electives, or not at all?
- will the duration of the program allow you to accomplish some other goals you might have (e.g., with a semester or longer program you can learn a foreign language if you go to a program in a non-English speaking country, but with a three-week program during a break or a semester in the U.K. you can’t easily do that)
- will the housing on the program help you achieve some goals (ditto 3 only consider how the housing can help you, e.g. with a homestay you learn can learn a lot of culture and language that you wouldn’t learn staying in housing with other U.S. exchange students)
- what do you hope to accomplish – academic study, field study in a particular location, language/culture study, work experience, connecting with locals…? (based on goals, you may decide that a full exchange program where you are immersed with students in that country taking classes with them is better than taking a class abroad with a professor and students from your university who are traveling with you, or vice versa)
- what are other costs involved, such as transportation and food and spending money, and possibly clothes for another climate?
- what are other risks to consider and preparations? (immunizations needed, security in country and political stability, etc.)
very helpful advice mommyrocks. a lot to think about.