Friday, March 19, 2010

Studying overseas

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather, at least those of us in West Michigan, because it definitely feels as though winter is over. I wanted to write about studying abroad today, and, since it’s a lengthy subject, I figured I’d just dive right into it. I have not gone overseas myself, so I’m not speaking from experience here. Actually, the truth is that I have the study abroad brochure open in front of me, so just about anything that you’re about to read can be found elsewhere. Not that I don’t appreciate your readership, but seriously, this isn’t exactly a point of expertise for me. And that is actually something that I do regret to some extent; I feel as though I’ve missed out on a pretty fundamental experience in college. Especially because so many of the other admissions employees have spent time overseas, in Spain, France, and Belize, to name a few.

There are always a lot of objections that students sometimes have for studying abroad, all of which may be well intended, many of which are easily avoided. The first two are always cost and the impact on graduation date. It is true that some overseas programs will carry a higher cost than a semester at Grand Valley (a fact that is also true on the other side of that coin; some programs are less expensive), but in most cases a majority of scholarships and financial aid received to attend GVSU can be applied to a program abroad. This is in addition to grants and scholarships available specifically for studying abroad, both GVSU financed and privately funded. As far as the second concern goes, studying overseas will not set a student behind if they organize their courses carefully. Credit earned abroad can be applied to a major or minor, general ed. requirements, or be part of a student’s theme. In fact, one of the advantages of studying overseas is that students can use the opportunity to create their own theme, taking all three of the courses abroad or taking some at GVSU and some overseas, effectively catering their theme to the experience. Another frequent concern is the time commitment required, and students should understand that they can take programs as short as a couple of weeks or as long as a year.

As far as the programs offered by the Grand Valley, there are essentially three forms. Partnership Programs are what people traditionally think of as studying abroad, where students take courses over a summer, a semester, or a year. Faculty Led Programs are generally done over the summer, and can last anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months. With this option, students will travel with a GVSU faculty member and a handful of students. The third option is an overseas Internship Program, where students can gain work experience abroad. There is additionally a fourth option: if GVSU can’t offer a program that will meet your needs, it is possible to partner with non-GVSU institutions to set up an experience that works for you. In terms of choices, according to the International Center, there are 17 different nations students can visit, in six of the seven continents (my apologies to penguin enthusiasts, Antarctica isn’t an opportunity), and many of these countries have more than one university students can choose to attend.

But I’ve pretty much exhausted my slender knowledge on this topic, though I still can’t stress enough that any student should at least consider spending some time abroad, or at least more than I did. All the same, if you’ve got questions regarding overseas opportunities, feel free to post them and I can do some research to find an answer, or definitely feel free to drop by the International Center’s website.

-Kyle

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