Study Abroad
 

I am currently a college soph. and wondered if anyone had any advice on where to go study abroad. I am looking to go somewhere that isn't too expensive and is relatively safe. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I went to St.Olaf college in Mn, currently the top liberal arts school for abroad programs. In 99 I did 6 months in Asia.. Term In Asia, where we went to indonesia, hong kong, malaysia, china, thailand; and i did a side trip to india afterwards. best time of my life! Then the next year i did a month in Italy. Go somewhere foreign and wonderful because this is one of the only chances youll get to do so! I know of non-Olaf students that jumped on board with their programs. Check out: http://www.stolaf.edu/services/iso/programs/index.html

Hi Sara,
I was professor at Schiller international University in London for a few years recently - we had a lot of US students and with Campuses in Florida, London, Madrid, Paris etc it was good for students to chage from place to place to get variety of expereince (all courses taught in English). Not that cheap, but check out website for scholarships etc - also you can work for up to 20 hours a week as student in London to pay for accom, fees etc.

Consider thescholarhip.org edu or com
They are actually an org that provided unpresedented education opportunities to Master Level students. In case you don't do study abroad now, look for it later. Check the website!

My son spent a semester in Serville, Spain through an arrangement with the Univ of Wisconsin -- Madison. My daughter spent a semester at Harlexton College north of London through an arrangement with the Univ of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. I believe that Eue Claire had some sort of arrangement with the Univ of Iowa which I believe actually owns the Harlexton campus (a real castle). My son's experience overseas was limited to Spain and Portugal at the time, although since graduation he's spent a couple of years in Peru, Chile and Mexico teaching English and just recently completed his Master's in Spanish studies at the Univ of Virginia. My daughter, on the other hand, managed to travel to quite a few European countries before returning to the US. I guess that's who gave me the travel bug -- I've been to Europe five times in the last few years and can't get enough.

You didn't indicate where you're going to school, but I'm sure if you check with your counselor, you'll find many resources for studying abroad.

Seville, not Serville.

Hello,

I totally agree with Mike regarding Seville as a perfect city to finish your studies. My cousin just came back from Spain and I'm proud to tall you that he came with a lot of useful educational knowledge from there, not to mention the fact that he learned also the spanish language very well. If you decide for Spain and for Seville, check also http://www.nidolanguagetravel.com/sc...house/sevilla/ . It is the schools where my cousin studied. Very well organised and profesionls. Take care!

The most important thing when selecting a study abroad program is finding one that is accepted by your university and has courses that actually can help you graduate on time-ie. part of your major.I would suggest looking on the internet for study abroad courses that would correspond to your major. Then have them email you the course syllabus and books that are used to see if your university would accept the course(s).
I would stay away from the UK,Scandinavia and other higher priced countries.
Both of my kids went outside of their universities and really enjoyed the places that they went to-Torino,Italy,Prague and Ortigia,Sicily.

i would say it depends on what you want to study and what you want from your ear abroad, learn a language partying, culture, experience, etc.

the big cities are great London Amsterdam berlin, paris. BUT expensive!

i just returned from london and had a great time, but thought it was too similar to home (but moe expensive) so maybe i should have gone a place different and learn a new language.

the following sites:

www.internationalstudent.com

www.studentjetpacks.com

www.studyabroad.co

www.iiepassport.org/

Want to learn English in Scotland? I've found also a nice resourse in this direction http://www.nidoviajesdeidiomas.com/escocia/edimburgo/ , it's an agency who offers Emglish learning courses in Edimburg, at two well known schools, Regent School and Basil Paterson. Consider also this in your final decision.

The first place you need to look is your own college's study abroad program. You don't want to choose a place, then battle with your college to accept the credits. You want not only the credits, but the GPA from it, ideally. Because you'll probably get all As!

So, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Your school's study abroad office should have a list of programs they accept and recommend. Get your starting list from the accepted programs list. You will find plenty of options there, I'll bet.

If not, Google around and find programs to ask your school about. There were some programs that our university would not accept, period.

Then, decide WHAT you want to study. Almost concurrently, decide WHERE you want to study.

Find out about expenses in different countries. We thought Italy was a tad expensive, but that's because she traveled every single weekend. Which you might want to do, too. Find out what expenses you must pay out-of-pocket. For instance, daily transportation to and from your classes and your lodging-- is it provided, do you walk, do you bus, . . . Because transportation can add a lot to your expenses over the semester.

Also, is internet connectivity provided, or do you pay for that, too. We ran up quite a tab during the semester, at cyber cafes in Italy. The school's villa had two only computers on-line available for the students to use, That wasn't nearly enough access.

Definitely go abroad. It's the chance of a lifetime. If you do it right, it probably won't be much more expensive than your semester at home would be.
:)>-

I want to have chance to go aboard, but...

Hey,
I was nearly a year in Mexcio to learn spanish. I booked by a Language Travel Agancy in Switzerland called Boa Lingua Sprachreisen Weltweit (www.boalingua.ch). I got a warranty there, which is really important.

#1 - do you want to learn a new language? If so, which one? That should narrow down your prospects quite a bit.

Also, what are your plans for that language - political science interests, for example - Arabic would be a good choice. Economics - maybe Chinese. I am making some generalizations here, but you see my point. My junior year abroad was in France, and i ended up staying there for years. I am now fluent in French, but it isn't that useful. However, I don't regret that time at all - I was the boules champion in my village for a while, although I think they let me win ;)

If you travel your junior year, you're eligible for more grants, etc, through your school. Again, see what they offer, even if it's outside of your field of study, so you can get credit and the cost is rolled into your entire FA package.

Loori

Just out of curiousity what is a warrant and why is it important?

It seems to me that where you studied would be more relevant than how you booked it.