Synergy between APs and study abroad

[UT84321]

<p>It appears that extended study abroad is not all that common at Princeton. Fiske (2010) only puts the number at 10% and says “leaves of absence must be taken by the year, not the semester, and impediment to ‘stopping out.’”</p>

<p>Does anyone know the extent to which utilizing AP credits can clear up your schedule enough to make study abroad more feasible? Given that you can use AP to be able to graduate in 3 or 3.5 years, is it possible to use it to create the flexibility to do a study abroad and graduate in 4 years?</p>

[FightTheTide11]

<p>The problem with studying abroad at Princeton is that junior independent work gets in the way, so it’s extremely rare that an upperclassman can go abroad for a semester or more. But if you have the AP credit to take advanced standing for a semester or a year, you can definitely find time to study abroad during your sophomore year, especially if you know what you want to major in by the end of freshman year so you have time to knock out the prerequisites for your major in three semesters (which normally isn’t difficult). Several bicker clubs have fall bicker to account for those who would have bickered during sophomore spring but could not do so because of study abroad.</p>

[ramblin]

<p>The Fiske information is out-of-date and incorrect. </p>

<p>Junior independent work and senior thesis work can be and has been conducted abroad with communication with advisors at Princeton via email and Skype.</p>

<p>[OIP:</a> Study Abroad](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/oip/sap/]OIP:”>Study Abroad Program | Office of International Programs)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/oip/sap/publications/Study_Abroad_Guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.princeton.edu/oip/sap/publications/Study_Abroad_Guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

Bridge Year Program
The opportunities begin with your acceptance into Princeton, when, as a newly admitted student, you can apply to defer enrollment and spend nine months of volunteer service abroad through the new Bridge Year Program. Bridge Year takes an innovative approach to learning, offering a chance to work with and for others, while gaining international perspective, developing linguistic abilities, and strengthening intercultural skills.</p>

<p>Semester/Year Study Abroad
The success of your international experience depends largely on the extent to which you are integrated into the host culture and the length of time you stay. Studying abroad for a semester or a year is one of the most effective ways to immerse yourself in another culture. Beginning in the spring of your sophomore year—and all the way up to the fall of your senior year—you can spend a semester or year abroad on a Princeton-affiliated or Princeton-approved program. A firsthand experience of different countries and educational systems provides a critical complement to the courses offered at Princeton. Studying abroad will profoundly deepen your understanding of your academic subject through the combination of coursework and activities outside the classroom.

</p>

[UT84321]

<p>ramblin–
Nothing in your post contradicts Fiske. Certainly the Bridge Year program is irrelevant because a) it is prior to arriving to one’s freshman year and b) only 20 students out of an entering class of about 1200 can participate. Moreover, just because selected individuals are able to do something like senior thesis work abroad does not mean that it is feasible for the broad sweep of the student population. The exception does not prove the rule.</p>

<p>I am not hating on Princeton–we just decided to send our youngest son there. I am merely trying to understand it. But there is a contrast between Princeton and the school where his older brother goes, one where 80% of all students spend at least a term abroad. In the latter case, about the only people who don’t go abroad are some pre-meds and competing athletes.</p>

[UT84321]

<p>According to Princeton, in 2010, 207 students studied abroad during the academic year; that is out of student population of just under 5000. Many more appear to be doing summer or short term international experiences. Right now, some 47% get an “international experience.” Even with that expansive definition, the international component of Princeton undergraduate experience lags behind a fair number of other schools. </p>

<p>I think it is due to the structure of the Princeton curriculum, which makes study abroad logistically difficult. I am merely trying to figure out if AP credits can make it less onerous.</p>

[Wildwood11]

<p>I think many students get experience abroad through summer internships supported/funded by the university. Freshman D obtained one for this summer and hopefully will find another next summer.</p>

[midatlmom]

<p>UT</p>

<p>Interestingly enough, Harvard also has relatively few students who choose to study abroad.</p>

<p>

In the previous academic year, 180 Harvard students spent a semester abroad.

</p>

<p>[Destination:</a> Abroad | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/5/6/abroad-students-semester-harvard/]Destination:”>Destination: Abroad | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>

<p>And while I couldn’t find 2009 figures for Yale, in 2007, the number of Yale students studying abroad was not particularly high</p>

<p>

The number of American students studying abroad increased by 8 percent in the 2006-’07 academic year after rising 8.5 percent the previous year, according to the annual Open Doors report released Monday by the Institute of International Education. . . The number of Yale students studying abroad in the last academic year decreased by 22 percent from the previous year to 141 students.

</p>

[FightTheTide11]

<p>Princeton is just so awesome that once we get here, we don’t want to leave :)</p>

[glassesarechic]

<p>I’ve heard the same thing about several top schools–that students don’t want to miss a semester for academic or social reasons and instead spend a summer abroad. I’m not sure this is unique to Princeton.</p>

<p>But if your thesis has an international component, it is possible to finagle a junior term abroad. And don’t forget sophomore year.</p>