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Planning Your Study Abroad Adventure

Should I move to Sevilla, the bull-fighting capital of Spain, or Paris, the city of love and light? Maybe I’ll go to Australia, where American girls swoon over Aussie boys’ accents, or China, where I would be completely lost but would probably leave feeling that I could fit in anywhere. These are the questions I’m asking myself now that I’m planning to study abroad next spring.

Some colleges are starting to require their students to study abroad, and I completely support their decision. Everyone should be exposed to a different culture at least once in their life. As a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, my school does not require it, but almost every student I know has or is planning to study outside the U.S. in their time at school.

I’ve found myself browsing through tons of study abroad programs on my school’s website, and it’s hard to narrow down the choices.

Here are some things I’ve looked for when considering a program:

Price- With the poor exchange rate of the American dollar, it is hard to travel abroad and not completely blow up your college savings. I’ve found that bigger, more expensive cities in Europe have higher tuition and housing fees than less popular destinations like India. Though the countries in Europe are places everyone should see before they die, the rest of the world will be just as eye-opening. It also helps to know how long you want to go abroad. Year-long programs will obviously cost more than semester programs or five-week summer programs.

Be sure to check if your school offers study abroad scholarships (most do), because every little bit will help. Sometimes you will find special programs through the scholarship office. For instance, my school has a two-month summer program for freshman to study in Southeast Asia after their first year, all paid for by donors.

Imagine—a free summer in Singapore and Thailand!