For most college kids, the beginning of the fall semester is a pretty relaxing time filled with syllabus week, going out and not having any work to do. However, for the juniors around campus who are trying to study abroad next semester, this past month has been filled with applications, teacher recommendations and praying you get accepted into the program you love.
The application process for studying abroad is pretty expansive and requires things such as transcripts, personal statements and often times, getting permission to enroll in a program not recommended by Maryland.
Before having to deal with this process, most students don’t realize how much there is to do in order to spend four months living in Florence, Barcelona, Prague or even Australia.
Junior marketing major, Alie Rothman, felt pretty overwhelmed when it came to the application process for studying abroad next semester.
“I’ve always wanted to go abroad, but I never realized that there would be so much to do so that I could go! I had to apply for the program and for a student visa, and figure out things like courses and housing,” explained Rothman.
How ever tedious and frustrating this process tends to be, it is worth it in the end when you get an acceptance email giving you the opportunity to spend one whole semester of your college life traveling around Europe and the world with your friends.
Danielle Bauer, a senior criminology and criminal justice major, explained that going abroad was the best experience she could have had in her time at college.
“[Going abroad] introduced me to new cultural experiences and enabled me to mature as an individual in a place that was new and different from anything I have ever done. It was not only fun and exciting, but it was also the best four months I could have ever asked for or dreamed of,” said Bauer.
Photo credit: Michelle Ruth