Study Abroad

Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity that is afforded to most university students in the United States, as well as other countries, if they make the choice to do so. However, many students are unaware of the amazing benefits study abroad programs provide and the reasons they should take advantage of the amazing opportunity to learn another language, culture, and people. Unfortunately, being away from one's country for a semester or two seems unbearable to many college age students, but more and more are realizing the opportunities offered them by traveling with their university to study abroad in another country. Consider the following benefits of studying abroad and you will realize what a great opportunity it really is!

Choosing a Country
There are many universities in many countries that offer exchange programs with United States universities. For example, almost all of the European countries, Russia, Central and South America, England, Asia, Africa and even the Middle East have study abroad opportunities for students. Of course, the country where you choose to study aboard will be affected by which languages you speak because you will be required to take classes at a local university, hence the whole idea of studying abroad.

The country you choose will have a huge impact on your life because you will learn the cultures, customs, beliefs, foods, communication style, and the general feeling inhabitants of the country have as a result of their general living conditions. This will give you a new respect for yourself, your own country, your personal beliefs, and the right each individual has to believe and live as they choose. This understanding will help you become a more well rounded and accepting person and more accepting of others and their differences.

Host Family
The student will most likely live with a host family which allows them to truly see how a family from another country lives on a daily basis. Students will learn about inter family communication, family duties and responsibilities, cooking, and a wide variety of other things. This is truly one of the most amazing parts of studying abroad because you are not simply in another country, you are part of it while you are there. Many study abroad alumnae state the home stay was one of the best parts of their experience and develop special relationships with the host family.

Friends
You will find another benefit of studying abroad are the many friends you will make and keep up with for a lifetime. It's always nice to have a set of friends in a foreign country when you visit and through email and instant messenger services you will be able to communicate and practice your language skills regularly. The Internet makes communicating so much easier with individuals around the world so you will always be able to keep in touch with the friends you made on your study abroad program. Approximately 52% of study abroad alumnae say they still keep in touch with friends they made when studying abroad.

Grow and Develop
Past study abroad participants have nothing but great things to say about their experiences and most say it was the best time of their lives and recommend others to take the opportunity to study abroad. These statistics are profound and reflect the great impact studying abroad had on most students. For example, 82% of study abroad alumnae say that their view of the world expanded and they became more understanding of others beliefs and cultures as a result of their experiences. This is significant especially for individuals who desire to enter the business world and the international marketplace because they will be able to make connections more readily because of their understanding of the other culture. Another point in case is 97% of alumnae said their study abroad experience helped them become better acquainted with their true self and matured as a result. Another 96% reported their self confidence increased simply because of their study abroad experiences. This is most likely because living in another culture is challenging to your physical, emotional, and psychological states and learning to handle all of these makes you more confident in yourself.

There are so many benefits to studying abroad it is impossible to name them all. However, it is a fact that when you choose to study abroad you will not only learn while you are in class, but every other moment as well. This is because a study abroad experience is an education within itself from language and history to architecture and people you will learn more than you ever imagined by studying abroad, and most of it will be out of the classroom. Talk to your academic advisor and the study abroad office at your university today to learn about study aboard options, funding, GPA requirements, and any other pertinent information you need to know regarding study abroad programs.

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