<p>Am afraid this will be somewhat long, but here goes-</p>
<p>S1 is a junior in college. Always wanted to take a semester abroad, particularly in England, and see a bit of Europe while there. </p>
<p>His college has programs there, but they are full-year only. He could not take a semester this past fall, because the short fall semester in UK schools was not long enough to be accredited by his school. He could not go this spring because of military commitments (he joined the army last year, and is in ROTC).</p>
<p>Next year is senior year. He loves his college and his friends, so obviously does not want to take the full year away. Because he’s taken a somewhat heavy schedule and has a lot of AP credits, he only needs one more semester to graduate. As a result, next fall is somewhat free. He could live with his friends at school and get a job for a semester, but he’d still like the chance to live in England before starting active duty next year. He can take a leave of absence for the fall semester but that’s where we’re stuck for ideas.</p>
<p>If we had endless money to blow, he probably would do a typical semester abroad, even if he didn’t need the credits. There might be a shot at taking some classes on a “non-rewards” basis at Kings College, but he’d be on his own re: housing. Being there for only one short semester, he’d like the assurance that he’d be with other students to socialize and/or travel with. </p>
<p>He could also just travel, obviously, but most of his friends have already gone abroad, or are doing so now, and it doesn’t sound like too much fun alone while everyone else is in school. Summer will probably not work because of LDAC and other commitments. </p>
<p>So - we’re looking for suggestions from anyone whose S or D may have done something a bit out of the ordinary during a semester abroad. Thanks!</p>
<p>Not inexpensive, but look into summer internships with University of Dreams. They have had a program in London since 2006.</p>
<p>If he opts for a semester program, be sure to check that his school doesn’t have a residency requirement for graduation. All 3 of mine (different schools) required the last 30 credits to be ‘in residence’</p>
<p>Thanks, mominva-- Have never heard of University of Dreams. And thanks for reminding me of the residency requirememnts. I’m assuming he will have no problems with the semester away, but we do NOT want any surprises before graduation!!</p>
<p>Hadn’t thought of that, actually – will have S. check into it. His summer schedule is iffy because of army commitments. Wonder if anyone has school year/ semester internships?</p>
<p>My D did a study-abroad summer session in Scotland which she really enjoyed. She was a CS major with a packed, pre-req filled sequence of difficult courses and couldn’t easily have done an entire year or quarter study abroad but the summer session worked perfectly for her. She wasn’t there as long,of course, but she still enjoyed the time she had. She went first to Cambridge and then to U of Glasgow and studied Scottish history through a UC session (which any college student can participate in) for credit. It wasn’t cheap but I used frequent flyer miles to get her there and back so that helped.</p>
<p>It seemed more like a vacation/tour than a typical study-abroad to me since they went to a number of places while there (Cambridge England, and a number of places around Scotland) but it all tied into the course.</p>
<p>Thanks - I just checked the UC study abroad page and will forward link to S. Except for perhaps continuing with Arabic, he will have fulfilled all his requirements, so has some flexibility in that respect. For that reason he’s also leaning towards taking a lighter academic load. We had just discussed looking into programs offered by other schools, but didn’t know where to start-</p>
<p>IMO the big gain from the study-abroad is the experience itself more than the actual course(s) taken so it’s good to consider all different kinds of courses including those not ‘needed’ but would still be of interest.</p>
<p>Perhaps he can put out an inquiry for partners/group for <em>youth hostelling</em>. He would have perhaps 6 months to meet and acquaint other students/young adults before this fall. The group can be from several surrounding schools or ethnicity or field of study.</p>