Globe Trottin’
“So, what did you do this summer?” This question is asked and answered many times by returning Utah State University students. For the most part, the response received is as equally generic as the question.
The most typical replies tend to be “Oh, not much,” or “I just worked all summer.”
Wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear someone say, “I chased squirrels in the Swiss Alps,” or maybe “I played Ngoo Kin Harng with some Buddhist monks in Thailand?”
Many students say they would love to spend some time in a foreign county.
The Study Abroad Program is hosting a fair to answer common questions and concerns that students often ask them. There will also be representatives from the more than 120 USU students who spent their summers abroad to share their own experiences.
For students who thought about studying abroad but hesitated, affordability was usually the main reason for their decision to not study abroad.
The cost of a semester abroad is nearly same as the cost of a semester on campus at USU. And depending on the students’ spending habits in America, it could be even cheaper. The International Student Exchange Program is a network of partner schools that allows for the convenient exchange of students to any one of 130 plus universities in more than 44 countries.
Tuition and room and board are based on USU costs, so students can have a pretty good idea about how much it will be. For grants, loans, scholarships and most other forms of financial aid, apply to Study Abroad exactly as if you were attending school here on campus.
The only other major expense for the experience is the airline ticket, which varies and can be kept to a minimum by buying well in advance and choosing a good time to fly.
Anne Tuttle recently returned from a semester of school in Amiens, France. She describes her time à l’étranger as “The best and most fulfilling experience of my life.”
According to Anne, her view is that money should never hold you back from a life-changing experience, especially when it “isn’t actually all that expensive.”
According to the Study Abroad organizers, aside from the financial constraints, potential students may also feel like they would be overwhelmed studying a subject in another language.
Students can study abroad in their native tongue. There are no less than 60 foreign universities offering coursework in English, including campuses in China, Ghana, Sweden and 15 other countries around the world.
According to some who have studied overseas, it is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should be taken advantage of while students still have relatively few responsibilities. The benefits of not just visiting a foreign county, but actually living there, are priceless they say.
Laura Barnes spent a semester in Germany and said “The experience traveling on my own in a foreign country was a real eye-opener. I feel like a learned more in just a few months about the world and myself than I could have in 10 years of traditional schooling.”
Anne summarized her experience best, saying, “I am a better citizen of the world. I have great respect for other cultures and I’ve always been proud to be an American – now I know why.”
Students interested in learning more about studying in another country are invited to attend the Study Abroad Fair on Tues., Sept. 13 in the TSC Sunburst Lounge.
There, students can learn about even more programs offered and talk to students who have lived the experience. They can also find out more through the study abroad Web site: www.usu.edu/stdyabrd or by e-mailing Kay Forsyth at kay.forsyth@usu.edu.
-bclarke@cc.usu.edu