<p>I know there is usually an option to go for a semester or a year, but which is more common?
What did you / your child / your friend do?
Is it ever possible to study for more than two semesters abroad?
Is it always junior year?</p>
<p>Any schools with exceptionally good / bad study abroad programs? </p>
<p>I’d be curious to see a bunch of responses to this - I know experiences vary greatly.</p>
<p>My hunch is that most people take just a semester, usually in their junior year.</p>
<p>I do have a student who found he was enjoying his time in Japan so much that he took an extra semester, even though it wasn’t covered by the program he was attending. </p>
<p>Arcadia is known to have a great study abroad program which also admits students from other universities, and even grants (small) scholarships. D2 is using their program because her college doesn’t offer study abroad in England, which is where she really wanted to be.</p>
<p>Also, D’s feeling is that she would have preferred to go in the spring semester rather than the fall.</p>
<p>My D is abroad for the fall semester this year, then spending a second semester in DC on an internship program through a partner program with her college. But I know kids who have gone abroad for a whole year to one program</p>
<p>Most college have a limit on the number of credits they will accept from other locations/programs for graduation. But you have to check your college’s requirements.</p>
<p>I think junior year is most common for a few reasons. It gives students a chance to settle in and declare a major prior to going abroad. I know some of the schools D applied to gave juniors top priority for acceptance to study abroad. Also, a lot of students aren’t organized enough freshman year to apply for study abroad, which is when you need to apply for the next year. And most students don’t want to be away their senior year.</p>
<p>Every school will tout their “great” study abroad program. Because D had a specific country she was interested in visiting that is not a typical destination (she wanted to extend her language studies there from a previous experience), we ended up visiting the study abroad office at every campus we visited. Usually I would go there while D went to class. There is a lot of variety. Some key questions to ask:</p>
<ul>
<li>What programs does the college specifically sponsor abroad? Are they ongoing (is it likely the same programs will be offered by the time your kid is eligible to go)?</li>
<li>Do they have “partner programs” with other universities?</li>
<li>What if you want to study at a university where your college does not have a program and there is no partner program? (some universities make you withdraw and reapply in this situation!)</li>
<li>Does almost everyone who wants to study abroad get to? Are there some programs that “fill up” and are hard to get into? What criteria do they use to decide?</li>
<li>Do you pay tuition to your college, or someone else for study abroad (this can have HUGE financial implications, we saved about $15,000 this semester based on the answer to this question!) If you do not pay your college’s tuition, ask if they have any plans to change this, especially if you are looking at a pricey private college (you might pay $25,000 to your college for a program that only costs $12,000 if you pay directly, for example).</li>
<li>Does the college have any requirements for studying in the language of the country you are going to? That can make it tough to go to some cool sounding program (eg, want to go to Italy for a semester? Some colleges make you take a couple of semesters of Italian first).</li>
</ul>
<p>My D did two semesters abroad last year, each in a different country, as she is a double major. She then stayed in the second country for an internship. She plans to live there after graduating in May.</p>
<p>Her home school individually gets its students into the programs/universities, so you never pay the home school, saving thousands, as intparent said. Her school also lets virtually all merit and FA go with you wherever you go. Some schools do not. I think that schools that make you pay their big $$$ when they pay much less, are ripping the student off.</p>
<p>Junior year is usually chosen because if a FL is required, one needs time to have taken the requisite number of courses to qualify, and lots of schools require the last 30 hours to be on campus (my S’s school had this policy), knocking out Senior year.</p>
<p>Definitely one semester during Junior year is most common, but my school has an option that students can petition to do a semester during spring of Sophomore year or fall of Senior year instead. I have a small group of friends who will be gone for their entire Junior year. One is studying at Oxford, another is spending one semester in France and the next in South Africa, and another is spending one semester in Ireland and the next in Chile. In the latter two cases their decision was based on a combination of language study + major studies, and of course a desire to see the world. </p>
<p>I really love the way my school (Scripps) encourages study abroad, even though we only run one program ourselves. Other “pre-approved” programs can be researched through the Scripps website, and in the actual Off-Campus Study office, they will provide us materials on programs that match our interest (pre-approved or not) and if we find a program that is not already pre-approved, we can just petition for it. This is how one of my friends wound up in a unique program in Nice, where she could study both French and Arabic, her 2 languages of study, with a 2-week homestay in Morocco.</p>
<p>I’m super excited to be heading off to Denmark next semester!
[Scripps</a> College : Off-Campus Study](<a href=“http://scrippscollege.edu/academics/off-campus/index.php]Scripps”>Study Abroad | Scripps College in Claremont, California)</p>
<p>I know it’s probably more common to go for one semester, but if you can, I would definitely go for a year. I studied abroad in Scotland last year for the entire year and it was without doubt one of the best decisions I’ve made. The fall semester at St. Andrews didn’t start until October, so people who only went for the first semester literally had 2 1/2 months in Scotland - not much of an abroad experience if you ask me. Think about when you are a freshman… it takes longer than that just to get adjusted to college life in the U.S. never mind a foreign country. Because you’ll already be adjusted, during the second semester you’ll be able to take advantage of a lot more opportunities, travel more, create better friendships, etc. If it’s possible, definitely go for the year.</p>
<p>And although most students go during their junior year, I know schools like Middlebury have a program where you can go during your freshman year (I was abroad with someone who did this). Personally I wouldn’t do it, but there are other options out there.</p>
<p>[The</a> Ultimate Study Abroad Guide |](<a href=“http://www.ultimatestudyabroadguide.com/]The”>http://www.ultimatestudyabroadguide.com/)</p>
<p>Are there any schools you can name that are more open to year long study abroad programs? I’d really like to go for a year if possible, but it seems that a semester long program is the norm, and I would not want to fall behind in studies thanks to study abroad.</p>