<p>I’ve heard stories from kids who have done study abroad and there seems to be a very wide range of academic rigor among the different programs. Some kids say that grading is very generous, workloads are fairly light and the classes are little more than glorified field trips, while others say that the courses were way more demanding than the ones at their US colleges and grading was so deflated that it played havoc with their GPA.</p>
<p>How does a student investigate the academic rigor of the different programs? Since the actual foreign university is usually not well known (at least to Americans), how does one know what they’re getting into? Would this be something that the US college’s Study Abroad office would have info on, based on past experience of students who have attended?</p>
<p>This would be quite difficult to generalize, as it would depend on what school you were studying in here in the U.S. also. And on the courses you chose in the university abroad. My D studied in Shanghai last Fall, and found the coursework to be quite intense, plenty of assignments, and no easy A’s. She has a few friends who have studied in England, and one said that her Uni was a joke, and the semester was such a waste of money.</p>
<p>^^ That’s exactly what I mean – the differences between the programs seem to be pretty striking if you can believe the stories the kids tell. I wish there was some standard to compare them, but I guess that’s not possible.</p>
<p>Great question, patsmom. It’s not that hard to evaluate the overall rigor, immersion, and challenge of a study abroad program. However, evaluating the academics in isolation is probably a bit more difficult.</p>
<p>I don’t know if it’s possible to come up with any kind of universal criteria. You almost have to look at each program on its own merits. If you can, talk to students who have done the program. If you are lucky, you might even be able to Google up some diaries or journals from people on the program.</p>
<p>My impression is that rigorous programs are the exception rather than the rule in Western Europe and the other English speaking countries (Australia, etc.). Even the best European programs are mostly challenging because of the 100% language immersion, i.e. all courses in French or Spanish or Italian.</p>
<p>Any program in China is going to be demanding because you’ve got a rather significant cultural immersion shock layered on top of whatever academic challenge is being presented. Studying Sesame Street books would be challenging, just due to everything going on around you.</p>
<p>It also depends on what you are used to. My daughter didn’t find the academics on her study abroad all that difficult because it was a style of learning she was used to: small groups, discussion, student presentations, etc. However, some of the students who weren’t used to seminar classes found it quite difficult.</p>
<p>I think it depends if you’re taking classes during the summer/at a “study abroad” program, or at an actual University, as well as what language you are taking it in and if you’re primarily surrounded by other Americans.</p>
<p>My D has travelled extensively and participated in adventures that would take care of any culture shock in other lands. In fact her study in China was her second visit to China. (and no, we are not Chinese). The intensity of the academics was due in part to the program itself, the courses selected, and the fact that it was in a university where school is taken pretty seriously.</p>
<p>a summer program full of other Americans learning the language would generally not be as good as a school year program surrounded by natives who are native speakers</p>
<p>I would assume that exchange programs–in which you enroll directly in another university for the semester–would be much more difficult than taking classes offered by your school overseas.</p>
<p>When I was an undergrad at Barnard College in <gasp> the '80’s I went to Paris planning to study abroad for a year. I was deeply disappointed in the program, Reid Hall, compared to my earlier experiences as a high school exchange student. I could not find any housing with native speakers, ended up sharing an apartment with other Americans. My Reid Hall classes (classes for Columbia students) were good but the class I took at University of Paris was a large lecture that I could have found at any 4th tier city college - yet I was paying Columbia prices for my year abroad! After a semester I was no more fluent than I started so I decided my time was better spent in excellent classes in New York city. I think a high school exchange is a much better way to gain language fluency than a college study abroad. Just mho</gasp></p>