Hi everyone,

I am currently in the beginning process of understanding how Study Abroad works! I am working towards figuring out how I will make it to Barcelona, Spain next fall! This whole process is a little more challenging than I anticipated, so I wanted to give you a couple guidelines to make it easier on you!

Click here to find the general Study Abroad Page

Step 1: Talk to your family

Studying abroad is highly recommended because of how great of an experience it is; however, that experience isn’t for everybody. Going abroad is fairly expensive, you need to pay for tuition, living expenses, food, etc. Many families can not afford to send their children abroad, so that is a very important conversation to have with your family before you continue the process. Also, most people tend to go abroad for a semester which is for 3-4 months. That is a long time to be away from home, and from everything you are used to. There is so much to think about that goes into this process, but if you find that it can work for you, I highly recommend going. I have only heard good things :)

If you are looking for financial help, Study Abroad has some great scholarships to offer! Click here to check them out!

Step 2: Consider all of your options

There are SO many places to go and so many programs to pursue. You need to find what one will be best and which will make the most sense for YOU! For example, I am majoring in Business and minoring in Spanish so it makes the most sense for me to do the Business and Culture program in Spain to fulfill a couple Business classes, while also developing the language.

Here is a page where you can search for places and programs to help you find what you are looking for: Study Abroad Program Search

Step 3: Speak with a Study Abroad advisor

Click here to find the contact information for our Study Abroad office! Before you call, have an idea of the program you want to do and what semester you hope to go abroad. Once you speak to the receptionist, they will be able to guide you towards the best advisor for your situation.

Step 4: After you talk to your Study Abroad advisor, speak to your Academic Advisor

Make an appointment with your Academic Advisor to discuss how a study abroad program would fit into your schedule. They will be able to help you determine what classes will transfer, and if going abroad is the smartest decision to make.

This is as far as I have gotten so far…the application for my program doesn’t open until January 1st, so I still have a lot of time to figure this out. But, I wanted to get a head start on this whole process because it is a little overwhelming. I will have another post on here once I finalize everything, giving you a checklist of things to do that will help you figure out everything you need to do before going abroad! I hope these few initial tips will help make this process a little less stressful to go through! Good luck :)

<3 Heather