<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am hoping to study abroad in Vienna, Austria Spring 2015.
The program gives me an opportunity to do a supervised teaching of English into a Viennese school, which would be an amazing experience (I want to become a teacher)</p>
<p>But I feel as though that since Vienna is not a very popular study abroad location, does that mean that going to Vienna would not be such a good idea?</p>
<p>What programs did your children do?
Was studying abroad worth it?</p>
<p>Personally I think going abroad is a wonderful opportunity for most young people; some do get very homesick I believe but generally it broadens your horizons in so many ways. You may not meet as many expat students in Vienna as you might in Spain, UK or France but you would meet Austrians and Germans. The fact that you are considering Vienna means you probably have a reason/interest in the country or the language. Go for it. One of my D’s did a semester in Paris, the other did 6 weeks in Grenada, Spain. I think living in a foreign country and experiencing another culture is an experience everyone should have.</p>
<p>Personally I think the fact that it’s less popular is a good thing. I think too many study abroad programs are full of kids who want to travel and drink legally and take easy courses and less about learning the language and culture of the country they are in. My son spent a year in Jordan - the first term in a small conservative city in the north with a language pledge that most students kept. He loved that program and actually liked his next term less which was in Amman which is much more westernized and where everyone wants to practice their English. </p>
<p>I spent a summer in very, very rural Costa Rica living with an Indigenous family (fun fact: the Costa Rican government says Indigenous people don’t exist in CR).
It was an incredible experience and I loved the fact that it was off the beaten track. I became much more immersed in the culture than my friends who went to, say, Rome or London because they often had very “Americanized” experiences. </p>
<p>Don’t worry if it’s unpopular. You’ll be fine and have fun! :)</p>
<p>My d studied abroad in Vienna in an IES program that was awesome. She loved that she was located in a city like Florence or London that has a zillion study abroad students. I have only good things to say about the IES program. They had orientation in the Alps upon arrival where they registered for classes and met/matched up with roommates and were placed in different housing situations. Also as she was in the music component, during orientation they auditioned for placement and were assigned different instructors for lessons. The first several weeks they only studied German intensively every day. Then there was a break and then they began the remainder of the classes. When she was there the dollar was not at all favorable against the euro (fall 2008) and so she didn’t travel as much as one might have done. She did go to Paris and Prague and travelled around Vienna to Budapest, Bratislava, Salzburg, the Alps for skiing over Thanksgiving. She felt that she was exposed to quite a lot and loved and thrived in Vienna, the city of music. As a plus she loved, loved the cafe culture in Vienna with classic coffee houses and lots of apple strudel. </p>
<p>I meant to say that Vienna was unlike Florence or London that were swarming with American students. She did have a friend who was studying in London visit her for a few days and others had friends visiting who were studying in Paris. Besides being extremely expensive the student living conditions in both cities could not compare to the set-up that she had. She lived in a three bedroom apartment, not walking distance from where the classes were but a good location. She lived with four other students and a sort of RA. There was at least one other group of students in the apartment immediately below.</p>
<p>As a side note to what I said above: I should add that I’ve filled out several GSI applications in the last few days and almost all of my cover letters have had discussions of my study abroad. </p>
<p>I was recently given in a position in a state agency partially because of my study abroad experience (they need my Spanish skills). My study abroad was now 4 years ago and it’s still coming in handy.</p>
<p>Just something to think about 
</p>
<p>For those who have not lived outside N. America, study abroad is an amazingly broadening experience, one that is hard to replicate if you’re not going into a field where you’ll live elsewhere. Two of mine have done IES programs, one in Barcelona, the other in Nantes, Frances. Both were good programs, with home stays. The homestay experience is important if you care about gaining language fluency, and really learning the culture. Too many students live in dorms with other foreigners, which is easier, but less beneficial in the long run. Working in a school hopefully will make this a far more interesting experience. The best experience any of my kids had was a service learning semester, where a volunteer placement was a large part of of the experience. This one was in Quito, Ecuador. </p>
<p>As for Vienna, go for it! It is a beautiful, cultured city, and being off the beaten track is far better than living in a foreign ghetto. Though I haven’t seen a lot of Austria, my main impression is of jaw dropping beauty. </p>
<p>I say go for it, as long as your program is helping you arrange housing. That can be very difficult if you are expected to find housing on your own. But other than that, I say it sounds wonderful to me!</p>
<p>Vienna is a great place to study abroad. Lots of art, music, history, food (particularly sweets - there’s a reason that dessert buffets are often called Viennese tables!). The kids I know who have studied in Vienna have all loved it. And it’s easy to travel around the rest of Europe, particularly Switzerland, Italy, Poland. </p>
<p>My Bil did his mission in Vienna. He had a great time & still talks about it more than 30 yrs later.</p>
<p>Find out from your school if you could just apply to the host college directly instead of going through a study abroad program. My kid’s school allows its students to apply to any college directly and charges 2500 for administrative fees. Most colleges outside of US cost a fraction of what US colleges charge, so you may be able to save a lot of money by going to them directly. When my older daughter studied in Sydney for a semester, her tuition cost was 50% of what we were paying at her college. I spoke with someone from JHU, she also studied at the same uni for a semester. She went through a study abroad program, so she paid for JHU’s full tuition, PLUS additional fees for the program. </p>
<p>^^^I’d second the suggestion above. When my son-in-law studied abroad he enrolled directly in the university in St. Petersburg and paid half of what he’d have paid at Tufts for the year he was there. All his credits transferred. My D went to a program in Madrid that was run by Syracuse and the cost was about the same as a semester at Tufts. </p>
<p>Lots of good advice here. Find out how many other US students will be going to Vienna too. It helps in sharing expenses on breaks and having someone to talk to when you feel a need. Would your family want to take a vacation and visit you in Vienna? </p>
<p>I spent a summer in Finland due to my college’s programs for France and England being already sold out, and I never regretted it. My son studied in New Zealand and lived in a development with mainly other US students. Some of them went in on a van during spring break and toured the South Island. No matter which country you choose you should have an exciting time. </p>
<p>I went to Vienna for the first time this past summer, and LOVED it. Wonderful city. I’d spend a year abroad there in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>^^^You could, but it would be called a vacation.</p>
<p>Yes, but if I were a college student I would spend a year studying there in a heartbeat also. :)</p>
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<p>One of my kids did this. Although her college only allows it in countries where there isn’t a specific program they or their affiliates offer, you can’t do it just anywhere. We did save money, BUT it was a huge hassle to find housing when there wasn’t a program to provide it. Especially if you are going to a non-English speaking country, which my kid was. The university was zero help except providing a link to a website where people posted rooms. My kid followed up on over 100 room postings before she found someone willing to rent to a foreigner who they hadn’t met and who had to wire transfer a deposit. And the housing situation was not great, it was a studio sublet a couple of subway stops off campus in a somewhat seedy area with no other students around. She also had a difficult time with course registration – the courses she had discussed via email with a registrar at the university did not turn out to be offered the semester she was there, even though the registrar assured her they would be. So she really had to scramble to put together a schedule her college would accept, and ended up taking her study of the language in the country (which she already had studied some prior to going) outside the university. This was not in Vienna – but don’t think the “go on your own” is easy, it has a lot of hassles involved. She and I both think if she were to do it all over again, she would go through a formal program.</p>
<p>My D studied abroad in Scotland. Although they speak English there (you do have to listen carefully, of course!), that was pretty much the extent of the experience being “familiar.” We were glad she went through a program, because there was support if she needed it. However, she attended the university’s regular classes, so she wasn’t in a special program in terms of her coursework (she had her courses reviewed by her school in advance, to make sure the credits would transfer). It was an amazing experience for her. </p>
<p>My S, on the other hand, knew he would be too busy enjoying a foreign country to put enough time into his schoolwork so he wasn’t interested in study abroad. Instead, he did a summer lab in Costa Rica.</p>
<p>If you want to achieve an ease in conversing, you need to be immersed in the language. GMTson developed speaking confidence at a summer time study abroad program, where he lived w a host family that spoke little to no English.</p>
<p>Vienna is gorgeous! It’s a choice tourism destination w or w/o study abroad. Feed me some Sacher torte!</p>