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How is studying abroad?

When I go to college I would like to study abroad, most likely in Europe or Australia. If anyone has ever studied abroad, what was your experience? Did you make a lot of friends? Was it scary? How expensive? #college #school #travel #study #abroad #world #europe #vacation

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Laura’s Answer

I can honestly say that the junior year I spent studying abroad in Paris, France was one of the best years of my life. I lived with an older French couple who spoke no English so I was able to practice conversational french every day. And I took courses with students at the L' Alliance Francaise and at La Sorbonne so I was reading literature and writing papers on a regular basis. As a theater major, I was thrilled to find a course that went to see plays all throughout the city. I did not have any real mastery of the french language when I arrived but within 4 months, I was fully dreaming in French and when I came back to the US after 12 months, I could not construct an English sentence without awkwardly pausing to arrange the nouns and verbs in the usual way.


Friends? I made so many of them. Scary? You bet... but anytime you get outside your comfort zone you will be uncomfortable; the expansion is good for your soul and will make your heart sing. I purposefully chose a college that had a well developed junior year abroad program so that I did not have to figure out how to do it on my own or risk my credits not transferring correctly so I encourage you to work with your school counselor to find a college that does this routinely.


I have 3 kids and they all know that I expect them to go JYA! I hope you do too.
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Charles’s Answer

When I look back at my time in college, my one regret is not studying abroad. Honestly, you will never have a better opportunity (least obligations) to travel and engage with a different culture.


I have never studied abroad but I have heard great stories of making friends, learning about another culture, and overall having a good time. Anytime you travel away from your home country is going to be scary, since it will be different. However, putting yourself in those types of situations is where you tend to grow the most. With regards to costs, there are difference programs and organizations you can get involved with. Be sure to look around and do your research before making a commitment.


Long story short, study abroad.
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Fiona’s Answer

As someone who's done a study abroad program, I would highly recommend it! I think being able to adapt to a new setting, learn new skills and broaden your horizons generally.

As others have said above, there are so many upsides to studying about from both personal and professional perspectives. I can say from my own experience, it change my career trajectory completely in the most positive way. I did a study abroad program as a way to broaden my horizons and at the end of the semester, I was offered a job that was somewhat unexpected but in hindsight, an example of where the end reward completely outweighs the risk I had taken. The job that I was offered totally transformed how I viewed my professional path and broadened opportunities that previous to studying abroad, I would never have dreamed could have been a real possibility.

I really can't recommend studying abroad enough.

Hope this helps and all the very best!
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Amra’s Answer

Studying abroad, if only for one semester is probably going to be the best time you will have in school. This is when you will meet friends for life, maybe learn a new language, expose yourself to a whole new culture, food, maybe even climate.... I am from Europe, but will be forever grateful that life brought me to study in the United States. It is going to widen your horizons, you will get out of your comfort zone, and overcome what you thought your limits are:)
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Alexander’s Answer

Having studied in several countries (Switzerland, Russia, US), can confidently say that studying and living abroad is a very rewarding experience and broadens your perspectives. Embracing new cultures, languages and people in an educational environment is truly exciting - can't recommend enough.
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Roger’s Answer

Hello Josephine,

The straight forward answer. Do it.
Studying abroad has several benefits such as

- Learning a new languages
- Making friends from different back grounds
- Help you get use to get out your comfort zone.

Take into consideration that Europe is a continent with loads of different cultures (even within a single country) so might want to research that.

Hope it helps.
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Nick’s Answer

Studying and living abroad is an incredible experience. It opens your mind and all your senses to a totally different world and way of living. Living, working, studying abroad - forces you to adapt to your local environments, meet people and look at the world in a new way. It teaches you to be independent, how to survive and navigate your way through your own life.


Studying is great fun. There's lots of opportunities to discover more about yourself firstly, but also so much about others. Home is how you make your own life. You truly do make friendships for life. Language is so important, and your ear will adapt. If you really want to succeed, you will. It is scary - of course, but so are things worth doing. You won't know all the answers, but you'll figure it out. Finding a place to live is a life-skill you won't forget. But when you do, you'll know what's right for you. Couch-surfing is a skill!


Be open. Adapt to opportunities. Go with the flow. Welcome and be welcomed. And enjoy every moment of it. And don't be afraid - just do it!
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Katja’s Answer

Studying abroad or doing an internship abroad is in my opinion the biggest learning school you will ever have and it will help you develop as a person in so many ways school will not be able to teach you. You will develop a whole different skill set you could never imagine. Your perspectives will change and this will only help you further in life. It is truly an experience I would never want to have missed. Think of what language you might want to learn and do some research on cities in Europe for example that have a big exchange student community and you will see you will make new friends so easily.


There are also loads of funds available for studying abroad, I am not very familiar with the US, but a website like the following might be useful: https://studyabroad.state.gov/us-government-resources/programs

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Roald’s Answer

From my personal experience this was a once in a life time opportunity. I would recommend you to really try to do this if you have the opportunity, as later on in your life you might not be able to do something like this. I benefited from this experience on a personal and professional level. Maybe up front it seems somewhat scary, but actually once there you will meet a lot of people like you and you will make friends quite easily. I did a semester in Buenos Aires (Argentina) for 6 months and I got to learn to know a new culture and live in another country for a while. The cost of living was more or less the same for me. Maybe you even have the chance to find a scholarship/sponsorship, but without it this experience changed my perspective on life a lot and I still enjoy the memories I have from back then. Besides, I found that future employers also value a studying abroad experience.
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