Study Abroad: Tips and Suggestions to Make the Most of Your Experience

Want to study abroad during your undergraduate studies?

Here are some things you should consider before hopping on that plane.

Studying abroad is a popular way of experiencing different cultures and environments during your undergraduate studies. It’s the best of both worlds as you can complete your educational requirements while being able to explore and enjoy foreign countries. However, sometimes studying abroad isn’t as easy as picking out a location and just going there. Therefore, we at Heritage Leaders have compiled these 5 tips to help those seeking to study abroad during their undergraduate studies.

Tip 1: Research what your college has to offer for students interested in studying abroad. Oftentimes you can find a lot of study abroad information online through your university’s website, or if not, you can ask your academic advisor the old fashioned way. Another great resource is the university’s language departments, as they often have study abroad programs.

Tip 2: Some universities have requirements for studying abroad, make sure you discuss them with your academic advisor. Some universities still have a language requirement in order to graduate, and studying abroad allows you to fully immerse yourself in the culture and language, forcing you to utilize your second (or third) language more. Additionally, some universities may have specific semesters during which you can study abroad, therefore some study abroad opportunities could be time sensitive. Therefore, you may have to plan out your study abroad semester in advance to make sure it fits into your academic timeline and the credits necessary to graduate. Moreover, studying abroad often involves you taking courses, and many of these study abroad opportunities may be limited to what courses you can and cannot take. For example, some study abroad opportunities may only offer language courses, general credit courses, or location specific (such as history or art) courses available to take. Oftentimes, these types of study abroad opportunities will not have specialized major courses, therefore you may have to research what courses are offered and how they would fit into your academic credits and timeline.

Tip 3: Don’t feel limited to only look at study abroad opportunities through your own university, there are some outside programs that you could look into if your university lacks the study abroad opportunities you want. There are some programs offered by other educational institutions that may count toward credit hours at your own university, however this must be discussed with your academic advisor to ensure proper credit transfer and acknowledgement.

Tip 4: Research each location that is available as a study abroad opportunity. Make sure to really look into the culture of the country/city and how accessible it would be to a foreigner. Make sure to really look into how much the native people use English, as some countries have English as a second unofficial language, or in which areas it is most used, like in tourist-heavy cities or near international universities. Some important things to consider researching about a country or city of interest: cost of living, average price of food/groceries, average rents, local laws about foreigners, visa requirements, health care systems, typical weather, etc. While some universities may provide you housing or food during your studies abroad, you may still want to know the cost of living if you expect to explore and enjoy the location beyond the program’s vicinity.

Tip 5: Studying abroad can be expensive, but there are some ways to make the cost decrease. Many study abroad programs need either an initial deposit or the full amount paid prior to the study abroad opportunity.You can look into general scholarships for your education, but there are also some study abroad specific scholarships you can apply for. Additionally, you can choose a study abroad location where your money goes farther, AKA taking advantage of the good exchange rate between the USA and a foreign country. This could help reduce costs in regards to accommodations, such as choosing a lower cost of living city or a smaller city, or food, such as more widely available farmers markets or cheaper food due to the exchange rate.

These are all the tips we have for you today. We hope they were helpful and that they can help you have the best study abroad experience yet. Let us know if you utilize any of our tips, have your own tips, or feel like sharing your study abroad experience.

Aleksandra Ruminski