Story By Stephanie Michael

 

On Tuesday, October 23rd, the UM Foreign Languages Department and Falcon Success Center hosted an information session to encourage students to spend a semester abroad. Rosamaria Stoops and Stephanie Rudolph hosted the event and presented students with different options for travelling.

“If you’re wondering, ‘Can I afford a trip like this?'” Rudolph explained. “The answer to that is ‘Yes, No, and Maybe So.'”

Stoops and Rudolph explained that there are many different options when it comes to studying abroad. Students have the option to spend either a semester or even a full school year in another country. There are also a number of faculty led trips depending on student interest. The trips can range in price anywhere from $3,000-$6,000.

For students interested in exploring other parts of the US, a US territory, or Canada the National Student Exchange may be the route to take. The NSE ( www.nse.org) gives students the opportunity to visit and take classes at another university for either a semester or a full academic year.

However, studying abroad is not a decision to leave to the last minute.

“If you come to my office in January and say I want to go somewhere in May, it can be very difficult to make that happen.” Rudolph warned. “We recommend planning your trip at least a year in advance.”

She explains that students need to take into consideration the time it may take to save for their trip and planning with their adviser to make sure their course requirements will allow them to study abroad.

For more information on how to plan a study abroad trip you can visit the Falcon Success Center at Van Tuyll House located next to Napier Hall or talk to a professor from the Foreign Languages Department.