BY KATHY LALUK
It was time. I had spent nearly four months studying abroad
in London, but the day had finally
come to return home. My bags were packed, weighed and measured to airline
standards (after a bit of difficulty with the conversion from kilos to pounds).
My flat had been cleaned — twice — and passed our landlord’s inspection. The
taxi to Heathrow had been called and paid for. My plane ticket and passport
were safely tucked away in my purse and, with one last heavyhearted sigh, I
finally set off to return to the United States.
After 118
days overseas (96 in London, 22 elsewhere in Europe), 4386 photos (seriously),
11 different tube (subway) lines, countless trips to the theater, museums, pubs,
and landmarks, and too many friends and memories to count, coming home was a
difficult experience. Not just because of everything I’d be leaving behind, but
also because of the expenses I was facing. I had been checking the exchange
rate since October and had some rough cost estimates in mind. I thought I was
ready for the financial burden when I set off on my semester abroad. Turns out
I was wrong.
Flash-forward
half a year. Even though my bank account is still on the rebound and I spent my
last real summer vacation working 40-plus hours a week to make up the financial
ground, I wouldn’t trade my semester abroad for anything.
International
education has become a more popular phenomenon over the past few decades — the Institute
of International Education reports
that in the 2005-06 school year, 223,534 students took classes abroad, compared
with only 89,242 a decade earlier.But the declining economy has many
college study abroad offices worried. In a recent survey conducted by IIE,
college officials listed increased operational costs and budget and staffing
cuts among the challenges they expect to endure in the near future. Yet nearly
all of the same officials agreed spending a semester abroad is one of the most
valuable things students can get out of higher education, and it’s worth
fronting the often panic-inducing bill to do it. (For money-saving strategies,
check the sidebar on page XX.)
Despite the challenges, students continue to show interest
in study abroad programs. Jackie Levine, assistant dean and director of study
abroad at University of Rochester, says that UR’s study abroad numbers are
still on the rise — they’re up 5 percent for the fall term from the spring ’09
semester. Levine says her goal was to see a 10 percent increase, but she’s glad
to see students considering international programs at all.
“I’ve seen a
lot of students sacrifice other luxuries — giving up their cars or getting a
job, for example — just to keep study abroad on the table,” she says. “It’s incredibly
encouraging for me.”
Nils
Klinkenberg, a 2006 UR graduate, decided to study in France in the spring of
his junior year — a popular time for students to study abroad — and says he
doesn’t regret the decision.
“I suppose
you could put a monetary value on [studying abroad], but it’d be meaningless,”
he says. “Experiential learning is powerful. You learn so much more by studying
abroad than you ever could from a textbook.”
Mark Zaid, UR
’89, added another dimension to his political science degree by spending a
semester working for a member of British Parliament in London.
Now a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C.,
Zaid said there’s no doubt that his experience helped boost his career, and
continues to influence his day-to-day life.
“Let’s put
it this way: my study abroad experience is still on my résumé 20 years later,”
he says.
Levine says
Zaid isn’t the only student to benefit from study abroad post-graduation. She
says those who spend a semester abroad have a better chance at earning
Fulbright Fellowships, and at getting hired because of their time abroad.
In an
increasingly globalized society, gaining an international perspective can give
students a competitive edge in the job market. Going abroad should not be seen
as an add-on, Levine says, but as a must: “The question shouldn’t be ‘Can I
afford to study abroad?’ The question is ‘Can you afford not to?'”
Klinkenberg’s scholarships carried over into his study
abroad experience, which made it much easier for him to afford — and affording the
trip is a challenge for many students. The IIE estimates the average semester
abroad will cost a student anywhere from $8,500 to $35,000.
“Thinking
about the study abroad in the financial sense is certainly important and
certainly something I experienced,” he says. “But I don’t think it should ever
stop a student from studying in another culture.”
And with
about 50 programs in 30 different countries, UR
offers plenty of opportunity to travel. UR offers traditional exchange programs
and summer sessions abroad, in addition to more unique programs, like the
Internships in Europe program and the Semester in Tuscany program (students
exclusively study Italian history, culture, and language).
RIT offers
affiliated programs in more than 20 countries, including a Sea Semester program
that allows students to study in multiple places, including Tahiti,
the Marquesas, Lunenburg, and Bequia. Students can also spend a semester in Paris
or Croatia
specializing in film and photography.
At Nazareth
College, students can even major in international studies, minor in international
business, or take part in the college’s Inter-Cultural Teacher Education
programs in places like Wales, Ireland, or the Navajo Nation. MCC students can
study Celtic mythology in the United Kingdom
and Ireland, or
Homer’s epics on-location in Greece.
The college also has affiliated study abroad programs through SUNY Brockport
and SUNY Geneseo, as well as SyracuseUniversity. For specifics on all
the programs your college has to offer, visit your school’s website or stop by
their study abroad office.
For this
writer, studying abroad was one of the best decisions I ever made. I’ll be
paying back the expenses from the trip for years to come (about $22,000 by the
time you add up tuition, living expenses, travel and everything else),but
I don’t care. The cost of the trip is something that will linger in the back of
my mind for a while, but the trip itself, the friends I made, and the
experiences I had will stand out in the forefront of my memory for the rest of
my life. Ask anyone who’s studied abroad and I’m sure they’ll feel the same
way. If you have studied abroad, let us know; share your experiences by
commenting on this article at rochestercitynewspaper.com.
How to afford a study abroad trip
Take a trip to your school’s study abroad office. Figure out which programs fit your wants and your needs, financially and academically.
Remember, the people in these offices are there to help you, and they really
know their stuff.
Seek out alternative study abroad programs. Many
colleges allow students to transfer credits from affiliated programs, and some
offer exchange programs, which tend to be cheaper because colleges aren’t
sacrificing a tuition-paying student for the semester. Do some independent
research and see if you can’t reduce overall costs by considering a
different overseas option.
Visit the financial aid office. Many students who
already qualify for aid on their home campus can transfer it to make a semester
abroad more affordable.
Look for scholarships and grants. This is a good tip
even if you’re not planning to study abroad. You might not know it, but there
are scholarships for everything. Some are worth more than others — anywhere
from a few bucks to thousands of dollars — but every little bit helps. A good
start is to visit fastweb.com, a subsidiary of monster.com. Once you’ve filled
out a lengthy survey, fastweb will generate a list of scholarships, grants, and
contests just for you. For scholarships specific to international education, and
plenty of other useful resources, try studyabroad.com.
Don’t pay for credits you don’t need. Colleges offer
all sorts of cool courses for students who go abroad, but why not knock off
some of those graduation requirements while you’re overseas? Make sure to take
a fun elective or two (hey, you’ve gotta have at least some fun) but try to
earn credits toward your degree too so you don’t add to the financial burden
down the road.
Set up a “study abroad” bank account. If you know you
want to study abroad, set up a separate bank account and start saving now. Set aside a $10 a week and put it
into the account. You could even ask family members and friends to donate to
your study abroad fund in lieu of birthday or Christmas gifts.
Some additional tips:
Once you’ve decided to go abroad, keep an eye on the exchange
rate and ask your study abroad office for a cost estimate (tuition, room,
board, etc). It might not even be a bad idea to have a rough monthly budget in
mind for your time outside the country.
Keeping track of your spending is crucial when you’re abroad.
Make sure you talk to your bank and credit card company before you leave, and
let them know where you’ll be going, when, and for how long. Nothing is more
stressful than being in a foreign country and not being able to withdraw money
from an ATM or use your credit card.
Take advantage of student discounts. Depending on where you
go and what kind of program you’re enrolled in, you can get special
international student cards that will save you money every time you go to a
museum, buy theater tickets, or ride the train. For more information on
international student discount cards, check out isecard.com, or talk to your
study abroad director.
Travel. I can’t stress this one enough. Staying in your host
country can be great — you definitely don’t want to miss out on anything there —
but you can go elsewhere too. Spend a weekend in another country and see what
it has to offer. Sites like lastminute.com and hostelworld.com can help you
find cheap flights, train tickets, hostels, and hotels. It may seem
counter-intuitive, but it was a lot cheaper for me to fly to anywhere in Europe
from London than it ever would be
from Rochester. It may be an
additional financial burden in the short run, but you might never get the
opportunity to travel like this again.
This article appears in Aug 19-19, 2009.
