Study Abroad

[Lily]

Hey!
Well I was wondering if any of you know anything about studying abroad. I mean there are so many of you from places...I can only dream about seeing someday. If then. I know this all sounds like a bit of a long shot but I thought I would see what I could find out. I mean with those of you around the US whom are in college what are your colleges rules or prerequsites for doing something like this? I heard at one time that you have to have something like a 4.0 to study abroad and if so its a bit out of the picture for me. Does it matter what your major is? Does it matter what year you are? What about say you take a year to two years of school at a community college and then transfer to a bigger school that has an abroad program?

Hmm. I suppose I might be getting a bit ahead of my self in my thinking process but it is always good to ask right? Just can't get my heart set on it.

Let me know,
Lily

[biisme]

I think it would depend on what college you go to, because different colleges offer different programs. it would be best to ask the school, their policy.

[Stargate]

I've had the pleasure of going on two exhanges overseas and found them to be some of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I think Americans tend to forget that theres actually a world beyond the Rio Grande and 48th Parralel.

Most colleges have some kind of exchanges to foriegn colleges, hell our Community College does. For most they require that you be passing in your particular department to go. 4.0 is a bit unrealistic to require, usally its 2.0, so that us mortals can go. I know that the California Colleges have programs that you only have to pay your normal tuition and they'll take over the rest, you just have to pay for the usual, transport and room and board. Also you'll have to adhear to the college of your choices rules and criteria for passing. So think carefully before going to a college thats taught in another language. If your good at English and you still want to go to a country where its a language you dont understand look into the American Univeristy system(such as the American Univeristy in Paris) You get the foriegn country experience yet all the classes are in english.

Hope this helps and that I wasnt to long winded. But I really have to encourage everyone to do a study abroad or an exhange. And even if you cant go yourself, as they tend to be expensive, try hosting someone. It'll really change your persepective.

[davo-man]

I'm going on an overseas exchange next year to Canada (from Adelaide in Australia). Cos I'm from a different country to you (or at least I think I am, you don't specifically say what country you're from), I think the system may be different. What happens here is I have to be passing my courses and apply to go on exchange. If my university accepts the application, they send it to the host university, who then needs to accept it. After that, I basically organise flights, accomodation etc myself, except that I can also apply for a $5000 scholarship depending on my academic merit and stuff. I pay my university what I would pay here for my courses and they cover any additional fees.

Anyway, just check with your individual college as to what their way of handling exchanges is. I'm sure they will be more than happy to help

[byeee]

Well, for most universities you don't need a 4.0 (or whatever the grading scale in your country is), but you need to show that you could get involved in things as well (extracurricular activities) and that you could bring something new to the university environment, not just be a regular nutjob .

My university (actually abbreviated ***, lol) doesn't care that much about grades, but also puts a big emphasis on the essays (don't forget about SATs and the likes of that).
So if you ever want to go to an American university in Europe, let me know You can still apply until the 1st of July for fall semester

[Lily]

This information gives me high hopes! Really! Since my grades are well they have never been a 4.0 and it would be miracle for me to get something like that. What I'm thinking about doing is going somewhere (say England or possibly Austraila-I'm not sure what the main language is there) where the main Language is English. I'm thinking Europe because that way I can go to one of the countries...yet on vacations and weekends...if I have the money I can go other places and stay in hostels that way I can have a hell of an experience...sorry for language...I'm still trying to cut back on that! The school I'm headed to this fall doesn't offer a program so I shall have to wait. But its definetly something i want to do! Also I will keep that in mind Terrorblade!

[sdc91]

I'm actually leaving the US in 13 days to do a foreign exchange to Berlin! My location right now is where I'm going to be (I'm actually still in the US, I just wanted to change it before I forgot). Every college and college system has a different set of rules for study abroad, in terms of requirements, credits, opportunities, etc. Just look at the study abroad website or international center of the school you're interested in.

Originally Posted by terrorblade

My university (actually abbreviated ***, lol)

Are you at Jacobs University, Bremen? I was thinking about conducting some research there this summer (but I'm not).

studying abroad is reeeally expensive. (like 10,000 a year instead of 3000)i really want to study in the US so im applying for courses that have a year abroad - becuase its an exchange system the prices arent more expensive.

i think its best to pick courses first, then pick universitys that allow you to stdy the way you would like.

[VomAnderenUfer]

I mean with those of you around the US whom are in college what are your colleges rules or prerequsites for doing something like this? I heard at one time that you have to have something like a 4.0 to study abroad and if so its a bit out of the picture for me. Does it matter what your major is? Does it matter what year you are? What about say you take a year to two years of school at a community college and then transfer to a bigger school that has an abroad program?

I'm finishing up a year abroad in Germany. The academic prerequisites are not at all stringent; I think the GPA requirement for most study abroad programs at my university is a 2.5 and certainly not above a 3.0. I don't think there is <i>any</i> study abroad program with a perfect GPA requirement. Even if you were applying for a competitive scholarship program that takes you abroad (e.g. Fulbright, Marshall), a non-perfect GPA will not be an issue. College is not high school; if you managed a perfect GPA in college chances are you did not go far from your comfort zone or your dorm room, or both.

Depending upon the program, you need zero to two years of college level foreign language courses or the equivalent proficiency. My program is a full immersion experience in which participants enroll as a regular student at a German university, so it required two years or the equivalent. However, the majority of programs are not full immersion, but rather students have the option of taking most or all courses in English and/or completing language courses. Many programs, particularly for difficult and less-taught languages such as Mandarin or Arabic, have no prior language requirement.

It does matter what your major is; you have to align it with the right program. Most students who study abroad are double majoring in a language and another often unrelated field. Social science majors are common, particularly political science, but there are plenty of hard science majors. It comes down to the specific program.

Most students who study abroad are juniors, but you can often go in your sophomore year as well. Freshmen and seniors are a lot less common, but still doable depending upon the individual.

I haven't heard a lot about community college transfers studying abroad. I think this is mostly because community college transfer students often think they don't have the money, however. Theoretically, why not?

I'm doing one in the fall. At my college most programs require a 3.0, but a few like the Greek and UK programs its a 2.5-2.75. Believe it or not the most competitive is South Africa with a 3.4.

Some programs can be expensive especially if going through a third party instead of the actual schools. I recommend looking into a country prior to going there anyone. I as a bisexual might be hanged in some very backwards nations, but mostly study abroad programs are in liberal enough countries in Europe and South America/ Canada/ Australia.