<p>Dartmouth’s study abroad options may indeed be much more limited than what is available to many other students, or at least it seems this way from the above.</p>
<p>But as pertaining to the point of this particular thread, programs involving mostly students from your own institution are more conducive to developing relationships that will carry over back to your own institution. Thereby creating more contacts, a wider social network, more people you know and can see daily at your own institution. I think that was the point slipper1234 may have intended to focus on, as far as this particular thread is concerned. Having a network of friends elsewhere across the country, while obviously still a good thing, is not as immediately useful in a situation where some people seem to be facing relative social isolation at their own institution. They would prefer to have these additional contacts close at hand in that case. I guess that would be slipper1234s main point. Though he can speak for himself.</p>