It’s that time of the year again. It seems as if every sophomore on campus right now is finding out where they are going to spend their next semester abroad and have the adventure of a lifetime. Of course this is super exciting for everyone who is going abroad, but for those of us who aren’t, whether the reason be academics, finances, athletics or simply not wanting to, this time of the year can give you some serious FOMO. You might find yourself wondering whether you’ve made the right decision about not applying for that program in Budapest, or wishing you hadn’t decided on being a double science major, leading to the academic requirements that prevent you from being able to live it up in Paris next fall.
I know that I was so disappointed when I first realized that studying abroad would not be an option for me, but the more I began to really think about it, the more I realized how many benefits there are to staying on campus, even if most of your friends have jetted off to Europe or Australia for the semester. Below are just a few of the things that everyone staying on campus next semester has to look forward to:
1) Saving dat $$.
Going abroad is great, but so is taking all the money you would’ve spent abroad and saving it for later in life. Not only do you save money by not going abroad, but since you’re probably going to have more free time with less friends on campus, you might even have time to get a job and make some extra money too! No longer will you be the poor broke college student you once were and when your friends come back broke from abroad, you won’t have any of those financial burdens.
2) Boosting your GPA – a lot.
This seems to be to the most common trend among every single person I’ve talked to who did not go abroad with their friends. With many of your friends gone from campus for a semester, you have so much more time to study, and so many less distractions or reasons to procrastinate. Hello 4.0!!!
3) Meeting all of the new freshmen on campus and keeping your abroad friends in the loop.
When everyone comes back from abroad, they’re going to be so confused about who this freshman girl is that the sophomores all hate and why Johnny suddenly doesn’t talk to Caitlin anymore, but not you. Not only will you know who most of the freshmen are, you’ll be able to fill your friends in on all of the scandals they missed out on while in Europe.
4) Forming stronger bonds with other people who also didn’t go abroad.
Even though it feels as if every person that you know is leaving next semester, they aren’t. There are going to be people that you are acquaintances or even friends with who end up staying on campus as well, and this just gives you a great opportunity to connect with them more than in the past!
5) Getting in the best shape of your life.
Not only will you have more time to go to the gym, but with less people on campus you might end up going out less and with less alcohol comes a healthier body. Plus, you can impress all of your friends when they come home after four months of indulging in pasta and wine.
6) Not having to adjust to a new home.
Experiencing new things is great, but so is not having to make huge life adjustments. Going abroad means learning how to live in a different country and a different culture, while staying on campus means you can keep speaking in your American accented English without feeling like everyone in the vicinity is judging you.
7) The BEST on campus housing.
Housing is dicey at best coming back from abroad and many people end up having to find an apartment off campus and commute. By staying on campus in the fall of junior year, you’re almost guaranteed the best on-campus housing without having to worry about scary landlords and other real adult living scenarios.
8) Going home for Thanksgiving.
One of my favorite parts of fall semester is going home for Thanksgiving and seeing my family and friends. Going abroad means not only spending Thanksgiving without your family, but spending Thanksgiving in a country that doesn’t celebrate our holiday. Imagine going to class on Turkey Day!!
9) Staying involved in on campus activities.
Whether greek, athletic, service, academic or the arts, we all have activities that we love being involved in on campus. Not going abroad means you get to keep participating in the activities that you love, and maybe even get more involved in leadership roles or trying new clubs!!
10) Visiting friends at other colleges.
Richmond is different from most other colleges because most of our students study abroad in the fall rather than the spring. This means that friends at other schools probably aren’t abroad either right now and you can go visit them in person like you’ve been talking about doing for the past two years, instead of just keeping up with their lives through social media.
11) Building that resume.
Get an internship! Hone your skills! Boost the GPA! Volunteer! There are so many things you can do in your newfound free time to make your resume stand out from the pack – just choose one!
12) More sleep!!!
I don’t know about you, but I plan on using my upperclassman scheduling advantage to schedule afternoon classes and catch up on zz’s.
13) Being the cool upperclassman at parties (or more relaxing nights in).
Less juniors on campus means more attention for you! Orrrr less pressure to go out every night of the weekend. Face masks and pizza anyone??
14) Reuniting with your best friends in January.
One of the best parts about not going abroad is reuniting with your abroad friends in January. You can hug, cry, laugh, swap stories, tell each other how much you missed each other and threaten them that they’d better not ever leave your side again. Not going abroad will leave you with a stronger sense of love and appreciation for your friends who were gone for the semester and vice versa, and nothing is more positive than that.