When most people talk about study abroad they discuss all the amazing trips that they
take throughout the semester. Usually when hearing from Londoners you’ll hear about trips to Spain, France,
Germany and Austria. But, something that most pre-study abroad students do not know is
that Syracuse offers prequel trips before traveling to your final destination.
The Breakdown:
Syracuse offers 3 credits for various trips before study abroad for an additional $3,000.
You can take this class to fill in various requirements such as social sciences or writing
intensive. You can also take this class as a pass/fail and more than likely the professor
that is the leader on this trip will be a teacher at the university in your study abroad
location. These trips are limited to around 25 students and are a great way for students to
meet each other.
The Plus Sides (because there is no downside):
Any trip that you do is going to be amazing! The first and best thing is that you’re going
to get close to tons of students. Since you’ll be spending all your time together you’re
going to get to know people fast. Studying abroad is similar to freshman year all over
again in terms of meeting new people so I think this is the fastest and best way to meet people. Then,
when you go to your final destination you’ll already know people to go out with.
Another benefit is that you’re going to learn so much more than you will in your
actual classes at school. You’re going to see a new culture and learn about things that
you’ve probably never thought much about. I went on the Ireland prequel
and I didn’t know anything about the culture or the history. But once I got there, I learned so much about
the religion there, the way the city works, the architecture and the peace walls. There were
various lectures from people who work all around Ireland and they were the most unique
speeches I’ve heard. I didn’t really think I was going to have much interest but these talks
were probably my favorite part about Ireland.
Along with lectures, prequels usually will provide fun things that students will want to do
such as walking tours and tours of popular attractions. When we were in Dublin we had a
tour of the Guinness factory. The best part about this was that I actually had a bucket list
of everything I wanted to do in Dublin and after the trip I had crossed out about 95% of the list. I
didn’t even realize how much I had gotten to do.
The final plus side is that you’re going to stay in an actual hotel or college campus and
travel on everyday airlines. This will be a nice luxury since for the rest of your travels
you’ll probably be flying cheap airlines and staying in hostels.
Overall, not only do you meet amazing people, get to see new sights but also, you’ll save
yourself traveling during the semester! Prequels are an experience that you cannot get
anywhere else.