DD considering abroad studing-info needed

[sigafoos]

I usually hang out on the cruise boards but I have been lurking around here for a while I'm wondering how many of the DIS have done abroad study themselves or have children who did. I'm looking for personal experiences both good and bad. DD is a freshman this year at a private Lutheran University and is thinking about fall of her junior year. Hopefully the world will be a bit more settled then and it gives her time to decide on her major. Right now she is thinking of Rome. So if anyone has info please share,it is always helpful to here it from someone who has been there.
Kim

 

[becka]

My sister spent a semester of her junior year at Oxford in the UK and I had a good friend who spent part of her senior year at a University in Switzerland. I don't really remember too many specifics (well I do remember the stories my sister told about the pub crawls ) but I know they both loved the experience and would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[wovenwonder]

No Experience Kim -- Just wanted to say Welcome to the Community Board and HELLO!

You are nearing your final countdown for your cruise! I hope you have a very MAGICal trip and enjoy Castaway Cay.

 

[alexandmaddie]

I studied abroad when I was a junior in college. I was in Birmingham, England.

It was the best experience!!! I was gone for the entire school year (Sept-May). My parents came over to visit at Christmas so that helped the small amount of homesickness I did have.

They gave us 3 weeks off between quarters so we were able to backpack through all of Europe. This was in 89-90, so we were there right around the time the Berlin Wall came down.

I would highly recommend studying abroad!!

Krista

 

[mrsv98]

I spent a semester in England my Junior year, studying and student teaching. I loved it so much, I eventually went to Cambridge to do my Masters degree. It was a great experience and I encouraged my younger step-sister to do the same thing. She also had a great time. Studying abroad really gives you a new perspective on the US and I think a new appreciation. The girl I used to nanny for spent the summer in Rome with a school program and loved it. They were heavily chaperoned and I htink safer than a regular college program. Really do some in depth research first, but I say go for it!

 

[tiggerlover]

Hi Kim!

I have no experience about studying abroad, I just wanted to say that Rome is awesome, one of my favorite Italian cities (I also wanted to bump this back to page one for you). I have lived in Italy for 7-1/2 years on and off over the the last 10 years and Rome has so much to offer, I am sure your daughter would absolutely love it.

 

[skuttle]

I did a summer abroad in Paris in 1998. It was actually through my school....teachers from my school came along and they taught us. It was a WONDERFUL experience! Whenever we have kids in college, I really hope they want to study abroad. There will never be another time where you can spend months abroad for so "little" money....unless you're a millionaire. I loved it and would do it again in a second if I could!

 

[Pin Wizard]

My boss' daughter spent the very end of her senior year studying in France. She LOVED it!

 

[amid chaos]

I spent a semester at Oxford, DH spent a year in Switzerland and my neice is at Regents in London this semester.

Excellent experience.

 

[JuliaEeyore]

Both DH and I (before we met) studied abroad for a year in England. I was in London, he was at Wroxton College, wherever that is.

As expressed here, anyone your DD talks to will tell her that studying abroad was the BEST decision anyone ever made. And almost always, the best year of college.

I learned SO much about myself... I used to laugh at people who came back and called it "a life altering experience." I really thought they were being a bit over dramatic.

But they were RIGHT!

Good luck... just tell her to make sure she's got all her credits lined up from subsequent semesters. I used to work in the Dean of Studies office and a lot of times, kids lost credits by studying abroad and came back to the harsh reality of having to spend an extra semester on campus. Depending on her school, if it's like mine was, she might benefit more from going on one of her school's program. Credits transfer painlessly that way.

Any questions, feel free to PM me!

Julia

Edited spelling error!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

My daughter was suppose to do her junior year in France.. but then the Gulf war broke out.. and the college would not let her go as the State Department sent out letters advising the college not to let students go. They felt she would have stuck out as an American.. I think it is a great thing to do a year abroad if you can..Hope it works out for your daughter..

 

[sigafoos]

Thanks everyone for the input!
Julia I appreciate the heads up about credits. We will be looking at programs affiliated with her school because she thinks that her scholarships from the college will follow her. She recieved a presidential scholarship from the school which is half tuition for 4 years(tuition is 18,000 a year) so if that actually followed her it could be cheaper to do a semester abroad. Also if it is a program through the school I would hope the credits would transfer easily. I really hope this works for her everything you all said only reinforced what I thought. I only wish I could have done it, but I love seeing my children achieve all their dreams, and aren't their dreams ours also?!
Kim

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>Kim,

What a great gift you're giving your daughter to give her a year abroad.

I studied at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid during my own junior year, and it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.

I intend on encouraging my own rascals to study for a year abroad when their own time comes. (though I'll be so tempted to ask for a temporary transfer so I can be close to them )

If you can, try to go there, too - after your daughter's year, and let her show you the sites from her own perspective.

 

[suzannen]

My DD did a summer abroad program 3 years ago in Seville, Spain. It was a wonderful experience for her. She was living with a host family and since only the father spoke English, she increased her Spanish language skills immensely. She had a blast, learned so much about another culture, learned so much about herself. And, since it was a program sponsored by her university, she got a college credit for it as well and it's a great addition to her resume. Two of her friends did the same program in Florence the same summer and also seemed to benefit from it.

As long as the political situation at that time is one that you, your daughter, and her sponsoring school all feel comfortable with, it is a wonderful life experience.

 

[skuttle]

I forgot to add that when I did a summer abroad, I did get credit for the classes and my tuition scholarship followed me since it was a school sponsored program.