How To Choose A Study Abroad Program

How to Choose a Study Abroad Program It i s i m p o r t a n t t h a t s t u d e n t s c h o o s e a n a p p r o p r i a t e progra m to ge t the most out of an in tern ational experience . Becau se the re are a va riety of prog ram types, stru ctu res, location s, and require men ts… it is worth the time and effort it takes to find a prog ra m th at meets your ind ividua l acade mic and persona l needs. Programs have distin ctive cha racteristics, like students, and thu s it is important to find t he righ t “mat ch ” between the st udent and t he prog ram. Your friend, o r sister, or teache r may h ave participa ted in a progra m tha t was “absolute ly great” for them, but may not be a good fit for you. Thus, a glowing re commendation from someone wh o wen t on a progra m is not necessarily the mo st appropriate approach to ch oosing a prog ra m. Understand yo ur need s and chara cte ristics befo re cho osing a progra m Explore seve ral optio ns a nd co mpare p rogram chara cterist ics Choo se a progra m tha t fits y our need s and characteristics

Your N eeds and Charac teristic s Ask yourself the se que stions, and get a friend or family member to confer wit h you o n the se topics. 1) What type of c our se s do you need t o take ( ma jo r requi remen ts , ma jo r elec tives , general edu cat ion req uire men ts o r lo wer-d ivisio n cou rse s, ele ctive s) ? 2) What ac ademi c t opic s do yo u need (and want ) to study (o nly you r ma jo r, o r a m ix of acade mic d isciplines)? 3) Doe s you r ho me in sti tuti on appr ove experien tia l cou rse s (ie, inte rns hips , field study, independent study, independen t rese arch, service-lea rning, to uring)? 4) Can you t ake co urses in ano ther language / a re you sufficien tly flue nt? 5) Do yo u have beginn ing o r inte rmed iate fo reign l anguage ski ll s? 6) Doe s you r ho me in sti tuti on have requi remen ts a bout the n umbe r of week s and/ or cont act hou rs t he co urses must fulfill to tran sfer credit ? 7) Would you fee l co mfo rtable living in a fast-pace d, urban city w here it is difficu lt to make friend s and intera ct with locals living in a city? 8) Do yo u feel c omfo rtab le us ing publi c tr ansp ort at ion (bu ses , taxi s, t rain s) ? 9) Would you p refer t o live in a co mmunity where y ou ca n easily naviga te your way, and meet loca l people ? 10)

Doe s the weathe r both er you ? Have you exper ie nced the type of cli mate co mmo n to t he ho st coun try you are con sidering ?

11)

Are you a se lf-starte r, o utgo ing, and self- mo tiva ted, experien ced in exploring new/differe nt situa tions?

12)

Do yo u prefer fun ct ion ing in a gr oup w ith le ader s and/o r guide s mak ing decision s for y ou and being surrou nded by othe rs mu ch like yourself?

13)

Do yo u have any die tary, medi cal o r men tal he al th needs ?

14)

Do yo u wan t to be co me a “ speci ali st” in one lo ca tion ( langu age and cu ltu re and hist ory and current even ts) or do y ou wa nt a co mpara tive perspect ive of several diffe rent place s and perspect ives?

15)

Have your friends or fa mily ever called y ou “h ig h main tenan ce”? Do you h ave a high level of a tten tio n to conven ience s, pe rso nal appearance, the ne west fads or spe cific activit ies?

16)

Do yo u enjoy ca mping , hiki ng, backpa cking , “r ou ghing it ”?

17)

Do yo u have a go od sen se of ho w (and if) you wi ll use a lc oho l in a matu re setting? Have you eve r been disrupt ive of ot hers or pu t your well-being at risk with a lcohol?

18)

Have you ever traveled before ?

19)

How long have you eve r been away f rom “home ” before, away from family and friends?

20)

What type of le isu re ac tivit ies d o you en joy? time ”?

O u t s i d e t h e U . S . ? If y e s , h o w l o n g a n d w h e r e ?

W hat do you d o with you r “free -

Program Types Dire ct en ro llment Explore colleges and u niversities in ot her coun tries, and d irectly en roll in a progra m that allo ws “tra nsie nt” or “inte rnat ion al” stude nt s. Exch ange Utilize an established re lation ship t hro ugh you r sch ool that ex change s student s with anothe r desig nated college or u niversity. Pro g ram p ro vide r Participa te in a progra m administe red by an organi za tio n offeri ng st udy abroad suppo rt services. Fa cu lt y-l ed Participa te in a progra m administe red by a U.S. college or u niversity a nd taugh t by a U.S. professor.

L o c atio n Country Lo cati on, ge ography, language , popul ati on, e con omi c/i ndus tri al develop ment , c ost of living, fo od, hea lth a nd safety cond itions, clima t e, ease of t ran sportation, e tc. Langu age Do yo u have beginn er, i nter media te, o r advanc e d language ski ll s in t he ho st c oun try prima ry langu age? Wha t is the English langu age fluency of t he lo cal pop ulat ion ? Commun it y / C it y size Cosmop olitan city, Urban city , indu strial city, su burban city, t own , ru ral co mmu nity Host institution Enro llm ent s ize , per centage of lo cal s tudent s and inte rnat iona l st udent s, u rban campu s or enclosed campu s, fa cilitie s available, te ach ing style, language of instru ction, grading/a sse ssmen t sty le, a cademic op tio ns, academic rigo r, distan ce fro m ho using, Livin g cond it ions Home stay, residence h all, apart men t, ho use, hotel, with all A merica ns, with all locals, dista nce t o sh opping, e ntertain ment , scho ol, tran sportation, sha red or n ot, co st of living, where will y ou eat meals?

T ype Di rect Enrollment

Exchange

Program Provide r

Faculty-led

Country

Langu age

Commu nity / City

Host Institution

Living Conditions

P ro s

Cons

- Authen tic a cade mic experien ce w/ lo cals. - Imme rsion with local studen ts. - Likely t o be les s expens ive. - Tui tio n c ost wil l be the sa me a s you pay on you r ho me campu s. - Yo ur ca mpu s ha s an es tabli shed cont act pe rson at h ost in stitution. - Support services e stab lished for the needs of U.S. stude nts. - Yo u get wha t you pay fo r.

- Unfa miliar ad min ist rat ive bureau cra cy, tea ching style , support se rvice s. - Unexpected co st s. - Unfa miliar ad min ist rat ive bureau cra cy, tea ching style , support se rvice s. - Unexpected co st s. - Yo u pay extra fo r supp ort services. - Sometime s iso lated/ marg inal ized f rom ho st coun try people and cu ltu re. - Take c las ses that a re fam ili ar and simila r to wha t you w ould take on you r ho me ca mpu s. - A group of U.S. student s, mo st often fro m you r ho me sch ool. - Facu lty n ot necessarily tra ined to provide fu ll-serv ice support and study ab road best pra ctices and sta ndards. - Not w hat you expe cted. - Do not l ike the we athe r, o r food, o r living co ndition s. - Not comf ortable with unde rdeveloped sta tus, OR strategy for polit ica l or e con omic developmen t. - Lang uage wa s a bigger ob sta cle than expected. - I did not have the level of language sk ills I th ought I had. - To o big or too sm all fo r my enjoy ment . - It wa s hard to mee t lo cals, o r make friend s w ith loca ls. - Tra nsp orta tio n wa s no t adequate. - City w as ug ly, dirty, no isy, boring … - Hate th at it was mu ch bigger or sma ller than my ho me ca mpu s. - Not condu cive t o meet ing lo cals or mak ing frie nds. - Lo cal pr ofes so rs did n ot like or know h ow to deal with foreign studen ts. - Cou rse s too easy or too ha rd.

- Most of the t ime , acco mpanied by a professor yo u kno w and trust. - Take c las ses that a re fam ili ar and simila r to wha t you w ould take on you r ho me ca mpu s. - A group of U.S. student s, mo st often fro m you r ho me sch ool. - Someplace t hat excite s you. - A pleasan t break from yo ur “home”.

- Lang uage wa s les s of an obsta cle t han expected. - I would like to learn a new language now. - Love t he differen t sh ops, resta ura nts, activit ies. - Just the r ight s ize . - Experien ced new a ctiv itie s tha t I neve r knew I would like. - Tra nsp orta tion wa s easy . - Scenic and/ or co mfort able. - Love t hat i t wa s mu ch bigge r or sma ller than my ho me ca mpu s. - Condu cive t o mee ting loca l studen ts and making f riend s - Lo cal p rofes so r and s tudent s were frie ndly, he lpful and welcoming of foreign student s. - Cou rse s were mean ingful a nd challenging a nd mo tivated me to learn more . - Love my hou sing . - Lived c lo se to camp us. - Cost of living le ss than th e U.S. - Condu cive t o mee ting loca ls a nd making friends. - I felt so co mfo rtable be cau se it was simila r to what I a m u sed to , OR beca use it wa s new a nd so mething I liked. - Made it ea sy to fo cu s on academics.

- Hate my h ou sing. - Lived t oo far f rom ca mpus . - Cost of living much more tha n the U.S . - Not condu cive t o meet ing lo cals and making f riend s. - I felt so Un co mfortable be cau se it wa s something I cou ld not adapt to. - A huge dist ractio n fro m my academics.

© 2 0 0 8 , A l l R i g h t s R e s e r v e d , B y D r . S a n d i M . S m i t h , D i r e c t o r o f In s t i t u t i o n a l R e l a t i o n s , Global Lear ning Se meste rs . Con tac t the a utho r for perm is si on to dup li cate th is d ocu ment in any form.