Start Early
This was an easy one for me because the thought of studying abroad consumed my thoughts for the entire fall semester. Browse the list of institutions that Bentley partners with on the study abroad site and familiarize yourself with the locations.
Schedule a Long Range Planning session with Academic Services
I really recommend doing this because it helps you map out what classes you need to take for your remaining time at Bentley. Once you have your 4 year plan, you can browse the study abroad course equivalencies page and make sure that the schools you are looking for have classes that you need/ want to take.
Consider all options
Keep an open mind and take a look at schools in places that you wouldn’t immediately think to go. I had originally been set on going to either England, France, Australia, or Spain but I ended up ranking a school in Italy as my second option.
Take the time to research where you want to go
Once you have narrowed down your options in terms of location, start doing a more deep dive into each possible school in your chosen locations. I had really wanted to go to France, but none of the schools in France offered enough courses I wanted to take. The course equivalencies page is very helpful, but that list is not exhaustive and those courses don’t run every year/semester. Visit each school’s web page and browse their course list. You will also find more information about size, dorming, etc.
Schedule a meeting with program advisors
If you are doing a lot of research, you will inevitably come up with questions. Meeting with program advisors was so helpful to me for ranking my top 3 programs and getting insight on what was expected of me in the application. Every program is different and the one I applied to happens to be one of the most competitive. I am so glad to have met with my program advisor because she helped me understand what they were looking for and gave me some tips on what to do/ what not to do.
Take your time with the application
While you could do the entire application in one shot, there are quite a few questions that each require careful thought to craft a good, persuasive response. I recommend editing each question as you go and making sure you get to a point that you are confident in your response before moving onto the next question. Then, at the end, go back and read everything over to see if secondary revisions are necessary. I also found it very helpful to have a friend read it over and help me with word choice.
Be yourself!
I think as with any application, it is important to let your personality shine through. The people making decisions are not robots, they want to read compelling answers that show them who you are.
I took the whole study abroad process very seriously and I’m honestly not sure that’s necessary for everyone. Bentley has so many great programs so even if you don’t get into your first choice you will end up somewhere amazing! As a one last little tip, make sure your answers reflect why you want to live in the location you chose, not just visit. Good luck and have fun!