A Student and Parent Guide: A Relevant Study

Abroad Program
© Sa ndi M. Smit h, Ed.D., Dire cto r o f Ins tit utio nal Re latio ns , G lo bal L e ar nin g
Se me ste r s

De spite the po or per ce ptio ns o f the U. S. by o the r co untr ie s in the las t

de cade , U.S. co lle ge stu de nts have co nti nue d to se e the value in
par ti cipa ting in an acade mic inte r natio na l e xpe r ie nce w hile in co lle ge . I t is
no t mer e ly t he re aliz atio n that the co mpe ti tive jo b mar ke t awar ds tho se w it h
r e le van t an d me anin gful inte r natio na l e xpe r ie nce , I be lie ve this ge ne ratio n of
“ mille n nial” stude nts are re achin g o ut to br idge the misun de r standi ngs
be tw e e n Ame r icans and the incr e asingly glo bal ize d w or ld .

T hus, it appe ar s to be mo r e impo r tan t to t his de cade ’s co lle ge stu de nts to

cho o se a r ele van t and me aning ful inte r natio nal e xper ie nce tha t w ill no t only
e nhance the ir re sume ’ and jo b pro spe cts , b ut w ill also gi ve the stu de nt a
br o ad pe r spe cti ve o f the w or ld and o ppo r tunity to bui ld re latio nsh ips w ith
cit ize ns o f the wo r ld.

It is im po r tant tha t stu de nts choo se an appr o pr iate pr o gram to ge t t he mo st

o ut o f an in ter na tio nal expe r ie nce . B e cause the re ar e a var ie ty o f pr o gram
type s, str uct ure s, lo catio ns , and r e quire me nts… it is w or th the t ime and
e ffo r t it take s to find a pr o gram t hat mee ts yo ur indiv idual acade mic and
pe r so nal ne e ds.

T he “B ig 3 ” re aso ns fo r cho o sing a stud y abr o ad pro gram tha t is a go o d fit :

1. A c a d em ic : The pr o gram sho uld be fir st and fo re mo st re le vant to

the stude n t’s acade mic and car ee r go als. It is o fte n that stu de nts
cho o se a stu dy abr o ad pro gra m acco r ding to a de st inat io n tha t t he y
want to se e . Ah , t he co untle ss time s I have he ar d… “ I have
dr e ame d o f se e ing Par is since I was a little gir l. I have to stu dy
abr o ad in Par is.” And ye t , t his stude nt did no t take any Fre nch
lan guage classe s in e ithe r Hig h Sc hoo l or C o lle ge be fo r e re que sti ng
a se me ste r abr o ad in Par is. Just be cause a st ude nts wants to see o r
live in a par t icular lo cat io n, doe s no t e stablis h a co mpe lli ng
acade mic jus tifica tio n fo r st udy abro ad . Stud y abr o ad sho uld be
cho se n to enha nce acade mic go als. As an e xample … It is no t o fte n
th at a busine ss majo r can sho w a co mpe lling r easo n to stud y abr o ad
in Flo re nce , Italy. Al tho ug h the r e co uld be so me r e le va nce in
st udyin g t he busine ss o f the ar t indus tr y and ar t to ur ism , ho w e ver,
mo st o f the st udy abro ad pr o grams in Flo r e nce are r e ally o nly
r e le van t fo r ar t, histo r y, and hu mani tie s majo r s. A ge ne ral busine ss
co ur se taug ht in En glish by an Italia n ar t insti tute is no t a
co mpe llin g r e aso n for a busine ss majo r to st udy abr o ad in Flo re nce .
T hus, if a stude n t “ jus t wan ts to expe r ie nce Flo re nce , Italy”, he /she
sho ul d go t her e o n vaca tio n, but sho uld no t cho o se this as a
de sti natio n to spe nd a summe r o r se me ste r st udyin g abr o ad . T her e
ar e do ze ns o f much mor e r e le van t de sti natio ns and pro gra ms fo r a
bus ine ss ma jor.

2. Fina nc ia l : A re le vant inte r nat io nal aca de mic e xpe r ie nce is a

val uable inve stme nt in a stude nt ’s e ducatio n and car ee r. How e ver,
 the same care an d at te ntio n that go e s into choo sin g a co lle ge ,
sho ul d go in to cho o sing a re le vant inte r nat io nal e xpe r ie nce . St udy
Abr o ad sho uld no t be ap pro ache d as “ a se me ste r away fro m co lle ge ”
o r “ a chance to se e the wo r ld”. The re ar e le ss e xpe nsive ways to
trave l and take ti me o ff fr o m co lle ge than payi ng for a se me ste r o f
st udy abro ad . Be side s… a st ude nt no t r e ally in ter e ste d in maki ng a
se r io us acade mic e ffo r t w hile o n stud y abr o ad is a safe ty an d
acade mic haz ar d to o the r stu de nts o n the pr o gram. Any stu dy
abr o ad pro gram sho uld be pr e -appr ove d by the stude nt ’s acade mic
adv isor fo r tran sfer of cr e dit into the stu de nt ’s grad uatio n
r e quir e me n ts.

3. St ud ent Cha ra c t er ist ic s: As a thir d co nside ratio n in cho o sing a

st udy abro ad pr o gram (a nd it sho ul d be in the abo ve or de r o f
pr io r itie s) , r e ally un der sta ndin g t he stude n t charac ter is tics is
cr ucial in findin g t he mo st r e le van t and me anin gful pr o gram. T he r e
is NO o ne pe r fe ct stu dy abro ad pr o gram. T he r e ar e dif fer e nt
pr o grams de signe d fo r dif fer e nt stude n t e xpe r ie nce s and di ffer e nt
st ude nt o utco me s. Thus , it is w o r th t he time an d e ffo r t pu t in to
fig ur ing o ut in divid ual stude nt characte r ist ics be fo re hastily
cho o sing a par tic ular st udy abro ad pr o gram.

Pr o grams have dis tinc tive charac te r istics , like st ude nts , an d th us i t is
im por ta nt to find the r igh t “ ma tch” be tw e e n the stude n t and the pr o gram .
Your fr ie nd, or sis ter, or te ache r may have par ticip ate d in a pr o gram that was
“ abso lu te ly gr e at ” fo r the m , bu t may no t be a go o d fi t fo r yo u. T hus, a
glo w in g r e co mme nda tio n fr o m so me o ne w ho we nt o n a pr o gram is no t
ne ce ssar ily t he mo st ap pro pr ia te appr o ach to choo sin g a pro gram .

© 2 00 8 , G lo bal Le ar nin g Se me ste r s, Inc .