How to study abroad by amzndncr

"Walking the streets of Florence wakes the senses to a world full of culture beyond the breach of imagination!"

How I did it: I knew I wanted to study abroad before I even knew which university I wanted to attend.  After I chose my major after my 2nd year, I decided it was time to be serious about study abroad.  I knew that I wanted to be in Europe but I wasn't sure if I wanted to be somewhere for 4 months.  If I didn't like it, I would be stuck!  For me the best option financially and academically was to take a couple of classes over the summer.  

I started researching and looked beyond what my university offered by looking at individual companies as well.  After choosing which company I trusted (It was reputable, had the best weekend trips included in the study abroad price and I was able to live in an apartment with other students.  I didn't want to live with a host family and be isolated from my peers.)  Ok, then I had to look at class offerings in London, Rome, and Florence.  (3 places I ALWAYS wanted to go to!)  I chose Florence because I was able to study Renaissance history where the Renaissance was born as well as Ballet which filled my requirements for my minor and an extracurricular.  A bonus was there was no language requirement.  

I was able to utilize funds leftover from my college fund so money wasn't a major factor however not as exorbitant as Semester at Sea

Lessons & tips: DO IT!  There is nothing as soul satisfying as being able to immerse yourself in another culture and see what you are really made of!  Push yourself out of your comfort zone and you will be amazed at what will happen.  I will always have those stories and memories of the summer I spent in Italy.  

One of the best things I did was keep a travel journal.  In the very back of it I kept a list of all the things I wanted to see and all the things I wanted to do.  It helped me manage my time and my money. (Some of the best things to do aren't in guidebooks)

Don't be afraid to go it alone.  Everyone in the program was really friendly and it is really easy to find people to tour with me on the weekends!  PREPAY for the additional stuff in advance.  For example my group stayed in Rome at an amazing hotel, they set up our housing in gorgeous apartments close to the action, sponsored mixers in palaces, and a bunch of other things that were surprises in the moment even though we already paid for them.  Let me put it this way.  If you were told hey there is a ballet on the grounds of a 15th century castle but you have to pay 40 Euros, most likely you won't want to fork over the cash.  However, being told "Meet at the Pitti Palace at 6PM for a cultural event you won't want to miss."  Easy choice.  

Another big thing to think about is free time.  Will you want every free second scheduled or every meal already paid for?  In addition to having cultural events and a couple of scheduled weekend trips, we had tons of free time to investigate restaurants and travel to Lucca, Pompeii and all that other fun stuff that can only happen when you have no plan. 

Resources: studyabroad.com 

Academic Programs International (API) 
Colorado State University 
Office of International Education 
CIA Worldfactbook
My intuition


 

Sep 09, 03:22PM PDT | 0 comments


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