<p>My son just returned from the Math Semester in Budapest program. He had a great experience and managed to fit in trips within Hungary and to Prague, Vienna and Turkey during long weekends and after the program ended.</p>
<p>My daughter has studied abroad in London and Paris. I agree with those who said it can be a life changing experience for college age kids with travel throughout many cultures. One thing she will always remember is parasailing over the Mediterranean - I was glad I didn’t know she did it until after. DD felt the primary benefits with her study abroad experiences were the travel and cultural experiences more so than academically.</p>
<p>My D is interested in doing a term in Great Britain (flexible as to where exactly), but it’s difficult to figure out what her best options are. First she’s on the quarter system, and because she’s trying to accomplish a number of things before graduating (a major, a minor, a certificate program, and the honors college) it would be impossible for her to be away for more than one quarter and still get done all the coursework she needs. (She’s intent on graduating after 4 years, doesn’t want to add on a term.)</p>
<p>Also, I’ve looked at a study-abroad program that is offered by her school (this is really tailored to dovetail well with her other requirements, is on the right calendar, etc.) but it is very expensive and isn’t really like going to a British school exactly – it’s a program offered by her home college, similar to the Oberlin program jg0339 describes.</p>
<p>She isn’t adverse to something like that – it could be a good compromise – but the cost is very high. I’ve heard people post often here on CC that going abroad was actually a little cheaper than their home colleges, but this program’s cost for a quarter is almost the same as a whole year’s COA.</p>
<p>The other option is just to go travelling and skip the “study” part of study abroad. I mean, it’s really the travel and exposure she’s interested in. Study-abroad is just a means to an end, really. That’s what I did when I was young and for me it was much more what I was looking for than a study program. On the other hand, I was more willing to go forth into impulsive unstructured adventuring myself than I am to see my daughter follow suit. ;)</p>
<p>cool article, jessiehl!</p>
<p>rentof2 - How about a summer program? My S’s college has a month long program in London. Think you earn 6 credits. Don’t know the details, but I’m sure there are many summer programs.</p>
<p>What do you all think of the “Faculty-led study abroad programs” that schools offer in the summer? Do you think that they would be better for a kid who is more “shy”? That’s my gut feel. </p>
<p>It seems like those faculty-led programs are more organized and they are less decisions to make. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>D - semester in Ecuador including the Galapagos, Andes and Amazon; S - summer field program in Tibet (not Lhasa but the real Tibet beyond the Chinese controlled city) ; Life changing experience for both.</p>
<p>Rent…if your daughter does the fall term abroad, she will be back in plenty of time to do the two remaining terms…winter and spring.</p>
<p>Fall semester at the English universities unfortunately runs until late January. Winter quarter begins here the first Monday after New Years.</p>
<p>rent…check around. My son did the fall term at the Royal College of Music in London. His term ended the second week in December. We know a number of other students who studied in London. ALL of them had terms that ended before the Christmas holiday.</p>
<p>Thanks, Thumper. I’ll check around. The information I have is from her U’s study abroad website. It warns students that if they opt for a semester program abroad they should be aware it will likely eclipse two quarters at home. But I will look further, for sure!</p>
<p>My stepson studied at the University of Strasbourg and had a great experience–became friends with several Algerian students (they’re still friends 12 years later). D1 studied in Madrid–she went to Syracuse in Madrid. She also took a course at the Universidad Aut</p>
<p>DD did a month long term in London via her school so all units counted, earned 6 credits and had a ‘smashing’ time.</p>
<p>Another DD did a term in Canada and it was due to her good planning that all the units transferred AND applied. The school said all units will transfer, but there is no promise they count for any graduation requirements, so check that out before you go. DD’s UC told her they would let her know upon her return if things would count, but she contacted profs abroad and got syllabi and got everything approved ahead of time.</p>
<p>Another DD loved Scotland</p>
<p>My older son just returned this week from his term abroad in Strasbourg at a Kalamazoo College program. He loved it. Stayed with a French host, took his classes at the University in French, visited other northeastern French cities by rail on weekends, used his one week semester break to visit Paris for the week and then managed to visit Germany, Denmark, Hungary and Austria with other K College kids before he came home.</p>
<p>He’s happy to be home, but it was a wonderful experience for him, and everything he hoped it would be when he chose K College in significant part for its tremendous international study opportunities.</p>
<p>Two of my nieces really enjoyed their terms in London. One was attending UC Davis at the time & the other Notre Dame. They both really enjoyed the travel. For the UCD kid, she worked for a law firm and that cemented her desire to go to law school. She’s now a labor law attorney. I believe the other mainly took courses & did some traveling.</p>
<p>A friend’s HS D went to Italy for a year exchange in her junior year of HS. For the most part, she had a wonderful time but she did have some rough spots with one of the homestay moms who went through her trash and was MUCH stricter and wanted much closer superviison that the student was used to in HI. They were able to work things out, but it was a bit tense for a while. Another friend went to Japan as an exchange student her her junior year of HS. It was also life-changing for her & now 30+ years later, she & her host family are still great friends & have visited each other many times.</p>
<p>D1 studied at the University of Florence (via Stanford). Loved it! Not too rigorous and tons of time for travel.</p>
<p>D2 studied in New Zealand (via University of Washington). As a California girl she was sick of the Seattle rain so remedied that by studying in the winter in New Zealand (their summer). She had an amazing time and it was cheaper because we got to pay in state prices.</p>
<p>As a transfer student, my son wanted some time to get used to his university and had planned to go abroad the first quarter of senior year. We are running into the same problem as 'rentof2, because many of the programs (even the EAP ones through UC, where he goes to school) extend beyond the start of winter quarter. He has been researching other programs (API and ISA), but UCD has a requirement that the last 35 units taken MUST be at UCD, and not transfer credits. I guess that means he will have to take very full class loads when he returns-- I wish he had been aware of this sooner and had planned accordingly.</p>
<p>I urged both of our kids to study abroad but neither has taken us up on the offer. Oh well, we may tour as a family at some point, but it’s not the same.</p>
<p>My older DD studied in Florence (Italy) and is currently spending a month in Strasbourg, France. My DS just returned from a semester at University of Amsterdam. My younger DD is considering summer abroad at University of Saint Andrews (Scotland). All three would consider living/working abroad if opportunities exist.</p>
<p>I am studying in Costa Rica this summer for language immersion and eco-sustainability. (11 credits, 8 weeks). I’m so nervous >.<</p>