Shakuan
How should one prepare to study abroad?
I'm starting to look up different study abroad programs, so I was wondering what factors should I focus on when doing my research? #study-abroad
3 answers
Wael Al-Rihawi
Wael’s Answer
I would familiarize myself with the geography of the place I am going to and the customs. Moreover, I would try to work out communication and residence before getting there. Electrical gadgets could be iffy so check their electrical grid system and outlets design. All in all, it is all about common sense. Walk through your steps from when you leave until you find a place to live and hopefully you will be fine.
Whitney Vincenti
Whitney’s Answer
Hi Shakuan! Studying abroad is a one of kind experience and will most likely be valuable and exciting no matter where you go. However, you definitely want to keep your major and interests in mind. Many study abroad programs are by specific majors as certain universities abroad may only offer certain courses, so this is something to look into first. Think about weather, things to do, and as mentioned, the language they speak. If you are interested in history and museums, some places in Europe would be amazing. If you are interested in the outdoors and adventure, Australia could be a better choice.
There should be advisors at your school that are knowledgeable on all the programs offered. They would be able to answer most questions you have about choosing a program. I had the opportunity to study abroad but had to do it all on my own. Take advantage of the resources you have. My experience was incredible and I would encourage everyone to do it.
Whitney recommends the following next steps:
Whitney - Your answer is great, I myself had a study abroad experience that changed my life. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise with Shakuan! At this moment there are more than 1k unanswered questions so I want to encourage you to keep going! So many students will benefit tremendously from hearing from you. Keep up the great work!
Jordan Rivera, Admin
COACH
Maria Gomez
Maria’s Answer
Hi, Shakuan!
I will start by the culture and the language, sometimes English is not the second language (or is not easy to find people who speaks English) and so you maybe will need to learn the language first... Normally, if you go somewhere from Center to North Europe (Denmark, Belgium, etc) they will all speak fluent English and will include academic programs in English; but that's probably going to be a little different if you go to the south, Portugal, Greece, etc. because people is still not that fluent in English (I'm from Spain and I know that most of the times we still struggle with that factor...)
Good luck!