<p>here’s a student perspective:
[Oberlin</a> Blogs | Blog Entry: “Study away: My advice”](<a href=“http://blogs.oberlin.edu/learning/study_abroad/study_away_my_a.shtml]Oberlin”>http://blogs.oberlin.edu/learning/study_abroad/study_away_my_a.shtml)</p>
<p>Bottom line here: there may be reasons why the OP would prefer Smith to Oberlin or Oberlin to Smith, but study abroad opportunities should not be a decisive issue; there are ample opportunities for study abroad in Oberlin-affiliated programs or in any other quality program you might find, and for which you will receive course credit. For language students, it is undoubtedly a valuable part of an undergraduate education to immerse themselves in the language; for Classics students, it is certainly an enhancement to one’s study of the ancient world to spend time in Sicily or Rome or Athens in one of the outstanding programs Oberlin students regularly attend; for English majors, a semester in London is a great way to explore the streets that Dickens and Milton frequented and to study theater. For others, it can be enough to spend a winter term or summer somewhere new. At Oberlin, though, some students may decide that they don’t want to be away for a semester or a year because they don’t want to miss what is happening there.</p>