Study Abroad -Worth the Money?

[katie_h17]

Hi everyone I was wondering if any of you have studied abroad. Even if I have money saved up, I think it's really hard to justify the cost of study abroad. For a semester (including the plane ticket), it costs about 12K, but I have a scholarship that would bring the cost down to about 9K. While I know this isn't terrible for about 4 months of study, it's still quite a big chunk of money.

I am a Spanish major and psych minor planning to go into Speech Language Pathology. Since bilinguals are really in demand, I can understand that studying abroad might be a good investment. But at the same time, graduate school will be expensive, especially if it's out of state.

But have any of you done 'untraditional' study abroad programs that you've gotten value out of? Or do you think it's worth the money to do a traditional study abroad program? I'm sure there are volunteer opportunities out there, but I know that you wouldn't really get any course credit through those. And a lot of them aren't as long-term as study abroad. It's nice that study abroad helps arrange living arrangements, etc....but are there better options out there?

What are your opinions on the issue?

[eltoro89]

As a Spanish & Political Science major, I studied abroad in Mexico and it was nowhere near as expensive. I'm not sure what you mean by non traditional, but I went to a private language school in Mexico for four months. I did their intensive course while living with a Mexican family. I took 6 hours of Spanish classes (in Spanish) at their institute five days a week for four months and also benefited from living with a Mexican family.

This was the best thing I ever did for my Spanish and my research interests. Not only did my Spanish improve leaps and bounds, but I got practical experience with the people and countries whose politics I claim are one of my interests. Since you're going into SLP, the international experience won't be as important for you as it was for me, someone applying to Latin American Studies programs and political science with Latin American politics interests. You would still benefit from the experience in terms of cultural awareness and Spanish ability.

I consider my study abroad non traditional because I did not complete it at an actual university in Mexico, merely a language school. I think that's the best decision I ever made. I had the chance to go on a university exchange with the University of Veracruz, but chose this program at this private language school because it allowed me to focus purely on improving my Spanish and enjoying Mexico. I don't think I would have been able to if I had done actual university classes at a university. Since I was a Spanish major, I got 15 of the 24 upper-division Spanish credits I needed abroad in Mexico in the end anyway, so it wasn't that bad.

9K really isn't that bad if it includes lodging and meals. I paid 4000 for my program fees (lodging, 3 meals a day, Spanish instruction), 3000 for my tuition (in state at a state school), and 700 for the flight. So, all in all, about 8000 dollars. Had I gone just for the experience without academic credit, it would have been only 5000.

If you want to do it and the program is an intensive one that's going to give you as much exposure to Spanish as possible, do it! You can't put a price on bringing your Spanish closer to fluency. Before I left for Mexico, I had 3 upper level classes in Spanish and could handle myself okay in the language, but I still had problems, doubts, and difficulties speaking spontaneously. After spending four months in Mexico in this intensive course and having to live with Mexicans who didn't speak English, I came back to the states more fluent in Spanish than I have ever been. There are still words I run across that I don't know, but I can express myself on most any topic, understand anything on the radio and tv, read novels without the dictionary or pauses, and genuinely communicate with Spanish speakers with the same ease that I can in English. I owe this to being abroad. I learned a lot of Spanish in the classroom in the states, but going to Mexico really unlocked it all for me.

Edited June 17, 2012 by eltoro89

[sociologo]

I think study abroad programs are significantly cheaper if you decide to do one outside of Europe/Australia. I did mine in Guatemala back in 2008, and I think the experience was invaluable. It was a non-traditional program in the sense that I completed my formal coursework when I got back to the States. My entire time in Guatemala was spent traveling between a variety of service projects. The only formal school part of the trip was three weeks of language school spread out in the beginning of the trip.

I think the experience is definitely worth the money. For me, the time really helped to focus my interests within sociology, and my research is still heavily influenced by my experiences there. If you have the ability to do a semester abroad that won't completely empty your bank account, do it. Feel free to pm me if you'd like information about the organization I went through or specifics to the types of semesters they do.

[annieca]

I think it really depends on your field and your own feelings.

However, being a Spanish major, I think that a study abroad experience could be invaluable for you. You can definitely pick up some Spanish that you don't learn in class. My sister spent 4 weeks in an intensive German-only Goethe course and she learned so many little things she never learned in class - like who do you really use the formal "You" with or what the word for "little box of matches" is.

I highly suggest it!

[toasterazzi]

I studied abroad in Italy for six weeks and it was roughly $5000 including the flight. For me, it was definitely worth it to be in a completely different culture, experiencing all sorts of new things. I think studying abroad is a great opportunity to travel and learn that many might not get in their regular lives.

[rkg2012]

I didn't study abroad as an undergrad and am definitely not great with modern languages (I'll take a dead one any day), but everyone I know who studied abroad thought that it was a great decision.

Mostly though, I want to point out that grad school is NOT necessarily expensive. PhDs are usually funded, and, at least in my field, there are a few funded masters programs as well. The study abroad program would likely help your chances of getting in and getting a good funding package if your field is looking for bilinguals.

[katie_h17]

I didn't study abroad as an undergrad and am definitely not great with modern languages (I'll take a dead one any day), but everyone I know who studied abroad thought that it was a great decision.

Mostly though, I want to point out that grad school is NOT necessarily expensive. PhDs are usually funded, and, at least in my field, there are a few funded masters programs as well. The study abroad program would likely help your chances of getting in and getting a good funding package if your field is looking for bilinguals.

I"m just trying to examine my options, because grad school for speech language pathology tends to be very competitive. From what I've read, scholarships are mostly reserved for PhD students, and I'm just looking to get an MA. And if I did bilingual programs, they would be out of state, which is a lot more costly. But I can understand that doing study abroad might help me get into grad programs, and it would look good on my resume

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I study broads all the time.

[DeeLovely79]

So study abroad is a worth while experience but I wouldn't advise going if you have to spend money out of pocket. I went study aboard in undergrad and the only "out of pocket" expense was my plane ticket. I went to an Ivy League school which was fairly expensive. Most people in my school picked a program that was cheaper than the cost of staying on campus for the semester and so they would collect the difference in financial aid and use that for living expenses during the year. I can't give you the exact numbers because that was over a decade ago but the principle is still the same. I went to Ecuador through the Partnership for Service Learning and with the difference in financial aid I was able to live in Ecuador for 4 months and take trips all over the country and go to the Galapagos for a week (not a cheap trip).

Speaking a 2nd or 3rd language is great skill that will make you eligible for more jobs but most employer's won't pay you more than your colleagues due to the additional language skills. With the economy the way it is it might make your sense to find ways to study aboard for free and keep your savings to help you bridge the gap from graduation to securing a job. Whether they are completing undergrad or grad programs. most people are not finding jobs right after graduation.

[OregonGal]

If you don't need to get academic credit for it, there are a lot of intern/volunteer/language study programs in Latin America where you're basically paying living costs--and if you do home-stay, even those costs are pretty minimal. I had a friend who spent a summer in Central America for a couple thousand dollars. If you're close to graduating and have more than a couple of months to commit to it, there are also a lot of opportunities to go work internationally--for example, you can try for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant position or take a job teaching English with a private company or public school in Latin America, so that you get international experience while not spending a ton of money and you'll use your Spanish outside of the classroom. I taught English in South Korea through their public school program after graduating college and managed to put aside some decent savings, while ticking off the "international experience" box for my graduate degree plans.

There are also foreign language/study abroad scholarship programs like the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship program--it provides study abroad scholarships to low-income undergraduates (Pell Grant recipients). Your international programs office should have a list of these scholarships and other resources.

[katie_h17]

I was thinking about doing some kind of volunteer project, because the expenses are quite less. And I think it would be a great way to work with children, which is probably what I'd be doing as a speech language pathologist.

However, studying abroad through a university does allow me to do volunteer work on the side. And the classes would appear on my transcript.

I'm really hoping to get a scholarship to do a bilingual focus in speech language pathology (Master's Degree). The programs are really competitive and I don't know if NOT doing study abroad would kick me out of a place for the program. I'm not sure if the admissions committee would view volunteer experience with the same merit as study abroad through a University.

[rising_star]

The best experience I had as an undergraduate was studying abroad. If you can figure out the finances, you should definitely do it. But, let me say that I think $9K is a lot, especially given the number of Spanish-speaking countries you could potentially go to. Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama*) tends to be less expensive than a lot of other places. Mexico also has lots of inexpensive areas that are safe and good places to really learn the language as well as attend classes. If you do decide to study abroad, I recommend that you find a program that will let you take classes at the university directly, since that will greatly improve your Spanish. Keep in mind that that will be more academically challenging though. Oh, and definitely try to go to an area where there aren't many people that speak English if you want to maximize your language-learning opportunities.

*Yes, I left Honduras off that list. There are reasons for that, which I can tell you via PM if you'd like.

[katie_h17]

The best experience I had as an undergraduate was studying abroad. If you can figure out the finances, you should definitely do it. But, let me say that I think $9K is a lot, especially given the number of Spanish-speaking countries you could potentially go to. Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama*) tends to be less expensive than a lot of other places. Mexico also has lots of inexpensive areas that are safe and good places to really learn the language as well as attend classes. If you do decide to study abroad, I recommend that you find a program that will let you take classes at the university directly, since that will greatly improve your Spanish. Keep in mind that that will be more academically challenging though. Oh, and definitely try to go to an area where there aren't many people that speak English if you want to maximize your language-learning opportunities.

*Yes, I left Honduras off that list. There are reasons for that, which I can tell you via PM if you'd like.

Thanks for your advice What programs did you go through that were cheaper? The cheapest organization that I could go to Argentina through is named CCIS, and there it would be 8K about (with no excursions). ISA includes excursions and costs 9K. Buenos AIres seems beautiful but I'm not really super attached to going there; I'm open for anywhere, really! And I would really like to take classes with the locals; I think that my Spanish is good enough to be able to not be super lost.

Do you think it would look worse on a transcript to volunteer abroad instead of studying abroad at a University?

There is a volunteer program that is really cheap and looks like a fantastic opportunity . I've always wanted to do volunteer work, and I think working with kids would be very helpful for my future career. And I could still live with a host family!

*And I've also heard Honduras is pretty dangerous El Salvador is worse though haha

Edited June 20, 2012 by katie_h17

[DeeLovely79]

Oh, and definitely try to go to an area where there aren't many people that speak English if you want to maximize your language-learning opportunities.

Aside from finances and safety concerns this is key. Where ever you go (especially in Latin America) all the natives will want to speak English with you so that they can improve their skills, couple that with spending a lot of time with Americans or Europeans (who are usually working on their 3 or 4 language) and your Spanish conversation skills could take a hit. Doing a homestay is best because you really get to understand the culture and you have no choice but to learn the language because you are totally immersed. My brain was working so hard that first month abroad that I had instense headaches until I started being able to process all of the foreign data that was coming at me.

During the last few months of my program one of my host family's former students came back to visit and he stayed with us. I got lazy and spent too much time speaking English towards the end of my stay. I really think my Spanish would have been better if I was the only American in my house.

[rising_star]

Katieh,

I don't know of any programs specifically because I haven't looked at study abroad prices in a while. But, your school's study abroad office should be able to help you. You might be able to find a program run through a state university in whatever state you have residency that might be more affordable as well. The key elements are classes in the language (ideally with locals) and a homestay. Excursions that they plan are nice but you'll likely be able to go on plenty of trips on your own time and money, and possibly at a lower cost than those organized by whichever study abroad outfitter you're using.

As for volunteering, it's great. But, it won't be on your college transcript. There are a lot of health-related volunteer programs that you could look into. Remember to see what they include. Many programs include your lodging, but not things like health insurance, language classes, etc. And that lodging is often not a homestay, but staying with other volunteers, which will not increase your language skills as much.