<p>I studied abroad the summer before my senior year (of high school) and LOVED it. Although I’m sure that an actual college program would be different, I highly recommend it. I’ve made so many lifelong friends and became fluent in Spanish after only 3 years of classes at a sub-par public school. Besides the actual educational experience, being away from everything you know gives you a great vacation and helps you appreciate everything you have back home. We tend to lose ourselves in the daily stresses of everything. I’m not close to my family at all, but I can say that towards the end of the summer away I was missing them like crazy. It was a refreshing experience and I think colleges and grad schools love to see it on a resume. Be careful how you word it though, make it sound like you weren’t clubbing the entire time and like you actually got some work done!</p>
<p>My study abroad trip cost around $5,000 upfront. I raised funds for it and got the final price down to $1200 after donations and financial aid. I spent around $1400 around town in spending money. (That’s the thing you’re gonna wanna take a lot of!) My family is not well-off by any means, but we made the effort and made it affordable for us. The $1200 is sitting on a credit card with 0% interest and I’ve been paying it off every paycheck. The debt (for me) was manageable. </p>
<p>Also, I know a lot of colleges won’t charge you extra for tuition if you study abroad. (I’m pretty sure Notre Dame does this) The only thing that you have to pay for is travel and spending money, but the program itself is included in tuition.</p>