Why Study Abroad? –

Who is this for?

By: Jade Harding

Studying abroad lets you grow as a person by allowing you to experience living independently in a new culture, and is highly dependent on both program and location. Today, you can study abroad anywhere on the globe, and all programs are different in terms of factors like length, rigor and cost. I’m hoping to give some specific information on the kind of program I attended, along with my thoughts on why studying abroad is good. If you are curious about what kinds of options are out there, looking into something similar, or just want to hear someone’s experience, I hope I can answer some questions!

Here, I’ll be covering why I think studying abroad is good and introducing how exchange programs work.

Hello World!

Should I go Abroad?

A lot of students worry whether they can or should study abroad, so I think that’s a good place to start. I’d recommend it, and there are many reasons to do so. You may have heard some of them from your local study abroad department or other students already. The reasons I’ve heard are:

I’ll be breaking them down below.

By studying abroad, you can learn and gain new skills. A lot of this comes from immersion in a new culture, but a lot comes from the classes you’ll be spending most of your time on while there. If you have a destination or destinations in mind, it’s important to research what you will actually be doing. What courses can you take? Are there any courses you would take at your home university that you won’t be able to by studying abroad, or any that you could only take abroad? Always keep in mind that studying abroad is education, not a vacation.

The most common subject to learn abroad is language. If you are interested in traveling to an area that speaks a language you don’t, be aware that many universities have courses for exchange students that are taught in English. In my experience, these are generally language courses or about the host country’s culture. These classes are a great option if you want to learn a language by going abroad, but need some structured learning to supplement the pure immersion. If you do speak the language and aren’t interested in strengthening it in class, taking courses that apply to your major or minor may make a study abroad program easier to fit into your college path.

You can also apply study abroad experience to your career. This is true even if none of your classes are directly applicable to your major—as was my case. Studying abroad can give you more diverse skills outside of your major, like language ability. Some use their time abroad to do internships and gain work experience, although that is highly dependent on the intensity of the main abroad program and the destination. More generally, cultural understanding, communication, and the ability to adjust to new circumstances are all valued soft skills that I learned abroad!

How Does an Exchange Work?

I studied abroad on an exchange program in Japan for six months. I’ll be speaking more about life there later, but to describe the program type in more detail, an exchange program means that two students, one from each university, study abroad for a semester or full year, generally each paying the others’ tuition for that period. Therefore, the tuition for an exchange program is equal to the tuition of your home university, unlike short-term or independent programs which often require the student to pay tuition while abroad in order to hold their place as a student. Because the cost of tuition is the same, it is actually possible to save money by going abroad instead of studying at your home university. 

An exchange program is longer term, so they offer a lot of opportunity for taking a variety of classes and experiencing a high level of immersion in a new culture. Because I went to a country where I speak the language, I was able to take courses aimed at local students, as well as the language courses set aside for exchange students. This, combined with living in a dorm whose residents included local Japanese students, allowed for consistent contact with locals. This interaction, as well as a focus on exploration and trying new things, helped me change a lot as a person over the course of my program, becoming more outgoing and able to handle myself in unknown situations. And of course learn some Japanese too!