Studying abroad for a semester is not a foreign (no pun intended) concept at BC. Throughout the year, there are countless information sessions, panels, and even a fair you can attend if you’re interested in spending several months expanding your personal and academic horizons in another country. Additionally, upperclassmen that have gone abroad are always eager to share their experiences with undergraduates. But it can be a little harder to get perspective on a summer abroad program, since they’re not as widely discussed. This past summer, I took Intro to Law and the Legal Process in Madrid, Spain, from May 28th to June 25th. Even though I know this makes me the cliché post-studying abroad college student, I can honestly say it was probably the most incredible experience of my life so far, and I know I will never forget it. So, here’s the real scoop, including both pros and cons, on studying abroad in the summer!
Con: You’ll miss getting to spend a few weeks of summer with your friends from home, whom you haven’t gotten much of a chance to hang out with since the holidays.
Pro: Although an endless summer is every young adult’s dream, spending three months living at home, as compared to in a huge dorm with hundreds of kids you know, can get slightly boring after a while. Whether you go abroad in the beginning, middle, or end of the summer, a month in a foreign country is definitely not a bad way to break up the time and cure you of any summertime sadness. If your friendships stayed strong throughout years of college, they’ll last another month! I promise!
The corner of the street I lived on during my program, Calle de Fuencarral. Not too shabby, right?
Con: A rumor often heard about studying abroad is that professors give much less homework in another country than they do at your own school. But, unlike with most semester programs, your grade for a summer program does not factor into your GPA. So, if you were simply looking for a quick GPA-booster, a summer program might not be the best option.
Pro: Depending on how you look at it, your GPA not being affected by a summer program could actually be a good thing! Plus, you still get credit for the course. Also, since you’re only taking one class, you have most of your day available to explore the sights and sounds of another culture, wherever you’re living!
A shot of the Parque del Retiro, which my classmates and I often visited after class.
Con: Since summer programs are usually only about a month long, you won’t have as much time to travel to other countries as you would if you were abroad for several months.
Pro: However, you do have all the time in the world to tour the place in which you’re living. By the end of the month, you’ll know it’s attractions, restaurants, and shopping like the back of your hand, and you’ll feel like a native in a place that was once completely strange and new to you. Also, you’ll get to go on day trips to other areas within the country, which can expose you to different lifestyles besides the one you’re experiencing in your home city.
This is me and some of my classmates in front of our house in Madrid. Just kidding. It was on a day trip to Segovia, another city in Spain!
Con: Since summer abroad programs at BC are usually internal, your class will consist of only BC students. So, if you’re really interested in meeting students from other schools, or native students from the country in which you’re studying, you’ll have to do so in places other than class.
Pro: Most of the class sizes are small, and everyone in the class lives together, so your group will get to be pretty tight. This opens the door to a whole new circle of friends (and reunion parties!) when you get back to BC. If you’re lucky, which I was, you even get to become close with your professor!
My Law class at a restaurant in Madrid after lunch with a foreign services officer.
Pro: If you’ve always wanted to study abroad, but thought a whole semester away from the U.S. was too long, a summer program is the PERFECT way to “dip your toes in a lake of culture” in a smaller time frame. (That may or may not be a direct quote from The Lizzie McGuire Movie.) Or, if you’re considering a semester, doing a summer program can be like a dress rehearsal before you step on an international stage. It will help you figure out whether or not you think you could handle a full season away from the good old US of A.
Con: The biggest con of a four-week study abroad program is simple: it’s only four weeks. While you’re there, you’ll experience feelings of never, ever wanting to leave. Although that’s an impossible goal regardless of however long you’re studying abroad for, a summer program means you get less time for traveling, doing touristy things, meeting new people, going to nightclubs, shopping, generally feeling like you’re living in a movie or a dream…OH, and also studying, while abroad.
On a day trip to Toledo, Spain. If I had it my way, I’d still be sitting there!