Downsides?

Last week I began researching the opportunity of studying abroad for college students. This is an opportunity I may be interested in trying while I attend college. I wanted to start off very broad and very basic. I already know what studying abroad is and I've always heard great things about it. Never hearing negative aspects about the subject kind of makes me skeptical, so I began to look for the pros and cons to studying abroad with a focus on the negative aspects usually not mentioned.

I learned, but mostly already knew, that one of the most prevalent issues with studying abroad is the financial costs of the program. The cost can vary on the school, the program, and even the country and city you are studying in. As expected the monetary expenses are going to be high when traveling to another school in another country to spend a semester. One article mentioned that some scholarships were offered for studying abroad as well as aid and financial plans. Either way it would be best to plan ahead before making the investment. I’m not so much worried about the cost at the moment. I’m more concerned with finding out more about it and whether or not I’d want to do it. Then, I can decide if it is worth the financial costs for me.

The next most important con to me is the culture shock and homesickness mentioned as a very likely side effect for students overseas. Going to a country where English isn’t the native language and attending classes with that language would be very challenging. Some of the articles I read warned that, contrary to popular thought, students studying abroad do not just pick up the language and begin to speak it fluently.

In her article, “Studying Abroad: Expectations vs. Reality?” Arielle Demchuk says:

“If you don't hang out with locals, you're going to automatically divert to English, which is within your comfort zone and which will often be the common language within a dorm of international students.”

I find this pretty helpful advice. Learning a language takes time and studying, although being in an area where people speak that language often will help you learn it. The homesickness and having to leave college life on campus would be hard as well. Students going on trips abroad would have to leave clubs and friends behind for a while. I’d imagine you’d miss some things. I know I’d be scared going to another country, but the idea is also exciting.

After researching the major cons of studying abroad, I would have to say that the choice to go or not is really up to how bad you want to and how important it is to you. I believe you have to put hard work into planning it and making an effort to learn the language and communicate with the locals. It would take an attitude where one would be willing to try new things and be brave enough to step out of their comfort zone. I think it could be a very enjoyable experience if you worked to make it that. From what I know, it’s commonly fantasized that it will be wonderful going overseas when (not saying it isn’t but) it can be very challenging as well and everything probably won’t go super well and easy, especially at first.

Now, I am even a bit nervous about the idea of abroad study. It makes sense to enjoy the experience to its highest potential that you’d have to step out of your comfort zone within a foreign environment. I just hope that I can do that if I were to go. I want to research more and maybe find ways to sort out or prevent – at least partially – some of the cons to studying abroad.

Sources:

1. Arora, Devika. "The Pros and Cons of Studying Abroad." Article. N.p., Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. http://www.gradschools.com/article-detail/studying-abroad-in-graduate-school-2184.

2. Berdan, Stacie Nevadomski. "Busting the Top 10 Study Abroad Myths." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacie-nevadomski-berdan/busting-the-top-10-study-abroad_b_4175861.html.

3. Brewer, Holly. "The Pros and Cons of Studying Abroad." Article. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. http://www.gradschools.com/article-detail/studying-abroad-in-graduate-school-2184.

4. Demchuk, Arielle. "Studying Abroad: Expectations vs. Reality?" Studying Abroad: Expectations vs. Reality?, 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.< http://www.goabroad.com/articles/study-abroad/studying-abroad-expectations-vs-reality>.

5. Editoral Board. "The Unseen Effects of Study Abroad." The Duke Chronicle. Duke Student Publishing Company, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2013/09/30/unseen-effects-study-abroad>