It isn’t knew knowledge to say studying abroad will teach a student many things. Language, culture and adaptability are some of the most talked about outcomes of studying abroad. I think students tend to have a prerequisite of requirements or hopes before they dive into studying abroad. Such things like will their credits transfer, will they actually learn a language, price of tuition, the availability of a host family, the exact place they want to study abroad in and the list continues until they have met so many blocks in their idea of a perfect study abroad experience that they resign in the fact that studying abroad is too difficult, giving up on the idea entirely. I think the two biggest factors that hinders students studying abroad is the worry of credits not transferring, thus keeping them at university longer and price of study abroad tuition. For this blog post, I’m here to claim and attempt to support a rather bold statement.
Now, I will not say it’s a bad in any way to have preferences when it comes to studying abroad, by all means, I say write a list of all the things you would like for your study abroad experience. The destination, the credits you want to transfer and the language you wish to learn, but I wouldn’t say to hold on to this list until all demands are meant. But, I can tell you this, whether you credits transfer or not and you have to stay at university for another semester or over the summer, you should still study abroad. If you wanted to study abroad in Spain, France or anywhere but it filled up to quickly or is now unavailable, you should still study abroad. If you really wanted to study abroad but the prices are high and you’ve applied for scholarship will real ferver and still have to take out a loan, you should still study abroad.
The payouts of studying abroad no matter what it costs you are far more wide and deep than you can imagine now. I truly believe there is no better aspect to learn about than your own self, and that’s what you receive so intensely when you study abroad. When you’re out of your comfort zone, away from family, friends and your own language, it allows you to examine how you live back home, how your family lives and how you view your own world, and expanses it. This knowledge can allow you to better assess how you want to live, what you want to change, reveal some great and bad aspects of yourself and gives you the opportunity to meet them and decide what to do with them. There are also so many alternatives to what a student might fear in studying abroad. If prices are too high for your study abroad experiences, it’s probably because your attempting to study abroad in a very popular country, France or England for example. Instead, why not try something that might be more challenging but a great study abroad experience nonetheless, Thailand, Cambodia, or any middle eastern country. These countries not only have tons of scholarships available but have a rich culture and beautiful atmosphere.
There are really no excuses to not study abroad. I’m not saying it’s not scary, it is but I believe you can be stronger than fear itself. Just having an interest in living in another country shows how much you want to broaden your horizons. I think there are two main options a student has in studying abroad. If you have a list of things you have to have met in order to study abroad that makes your experience rather expensive, then see it as an investment in your future, not an inconceivable bill you have to pay. An investment in your future, an investment that says you’re betting on you, that you’ll be able to pay everything you need because you believe in you, your future you after you study abroad. And two, if you want to study abroad but destination, prices and credits seem to be getting in the way, allow yourself to see all the things that allows you to study abroad despite all the things you wanted as a challenge, as an opportunity. Don’t allow yourself to be upset or harden because you wanted to study abroad in Paris, France, dreaming how all the wonderful things you couldn’t done there, but you can only afford to study abroad in Costa Rica and learn spanish. All the things you dreamed about in France never happened and you can’t be one hundred percent sure that they would’ve happened. By allowing yourself not be injured because you can’t go to your exact location, you open yourself to the hundreds of other possibilities waiting for you out there. Study abroad where you can. Study abroad so you can grow.
Yours Truly,
Temperance Talley