Studying abroad is a life-changing opportunity of adventure, culture and experiences. When researching study abroad, there are many factors to take in such as the destination, time length and academic programs. One of the biggest factors to consider is taking a semester abroad or a Maymester, which can range from two to seven weeks. While there are differences to both, there are also benefits from both opportunities.
The Semester Abroad
A semester abroad offers you a range of destinations to live in for an entire semester. The academic programs offer Gen Eds, electives or major-related programs, which allow you to take at least 12 credits. A semester is an opportunity to immerse yourself into a specific culture and language. It also offers more time to get acclimated to the city.
For senior Kari Brue, her favorite part of a semester abroad is becoming more independent, as it gives you more time to create relationships with locals.
“Having access to easy transportation like the metro was a game changer for being abroad,” says Brue, who studied in Barcelona, Spain. “It allows you to see so much of the city and you feel like a local.”
A popular preference for study abroad is the access to travel to new cities that are close. Brue’s favorite trip was Morocco in North Africa, specifically camping in the Sahara Desert.
“It was an entirely new culture that I would not have been able to experience if I didn’t study abroad,” says Brue.
A big consideration to take in when choosing a destination is finding a destination where you enjoy the food because the country’s food is what you will be eating every day. Her semester abroad inspired her to move to Europe after graduation.
The Maymester
A Maymester takes place after the school year is over and is typically one to two courses, which is a benefit for those who don’t want to worry about falling behind in school if the program doesn’t offer certain credits or classes that you need to graduate.
For junior, Nikki Shin, a Maymester is perfect for those who want a taste of a new cultural experience. It is also a great opportunity if you want to take more immersive programs during your college experience.
Shin enjoys that different majors offer certain Maymester programs, as she participated in a Greece Maymester. “Although any study abroad creates close bonds, I see most of them every day and take the same classes,” says Shin. It’s a perfect opportunity to make memories while being able to take credits abroad instead of on campus.
Shin notes that not having F.O.M.O (Fear of Missing Out) of missing campus, friends and family can help feeling at ease during study abroad. Another bonus is being able to keep your apartment lease for the year without having to worry about subleasing.
It is important to remember that when researching study abroad programs, to find a program that is right for you! It is okay to do a different destination that is off the beaten path or not what your friends are doing. Best of all, going out of your comfort zone is exciting! It is an experience of growth and trying something new. Whether it is a semester abroad or a Maymester, you never know what could happen.
Did you study abroad? Let us know @VALLEYMag on Instagram!
Related
VALLEY Abroad: Locals Only
VALLEY Abroad: Penn State Hollywood
Underrated Post-Grad Cities You Should Move To
I have to express thanks to the writer just for bailing me out of this type of crisis. Right after scouting throughout the world-wide-web and getting tricks that were not powerful, I figured my entire life was well over. Living devoid of the answers to the difficulties you have fixed all through the short article is a crucial case, as well as ones which might have badly affected my career if I hadn’t noticed your web page. Your personal capability and kindness in dealing with all the things was tremendous. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t come across such a solution like this. I can also at this time relish my future. Thanks for your time so much for this impressive and sensible help. I will not be reluctant to endorse the website to anyone who should get recommendations about this situation.
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Chrome. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Kudos
I really appreciate this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thank you again
Good site! I truly love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I could be notified when a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your RSS which must do the trick! Have a great day!
I was studying some of your articles on this internet site and I believe this internet site is very instructive! Retain posting.
I’ve learn some excellent stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how a lot attempt you put to create the sort of magnificent informative site.
What i do not understood is actually how you’re not really much more well-liked than you may be now. You are so intelligent. You realize thus significantly relating to this subject, produced me personally consider it from a lot of varied angles. Its like women and men aren’t fascinated unless it is one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs great. Always maintain it up!
I’ve read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to make such a fantastic informative website.
I have not checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
Simply wanna input on few general things, The website design and style is perfect, the articles is real great : D.