Why would you not be? And we are here to help.

Studying abroad is an awesome experience. However, there are definitely steps you can take to maximize the benefits you receive from your time abroad. We have broken them down into three steps and we came up with a little alliteration to make them easier to remember.

The 3 E's of Your Study Abroad Adventure:

EDUCATION

Obviously, if you are studying abroad, one of the reasons for going should be educational. No doubt you are examining the programs offered by different study abroad advisers and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each. Here are some brief considerations regarding the educational benefits of studying abroad.

Credit

Most schools will work with you to provide you with academic credit for the classes you take while studying abroad. You want to make sure to follow all the appropriate procedures for getting credit for your classes abroad since you are working toward a degree and do not want to lengthen the amount of time it will take to complete that degree.

Generally speaking, schools are very reasonable about awarding credit for study abroad classes, and you will probably just have to fill out paperwork detailing what classes you will be taking, and what topics will be covered. If you are taking courses that correspond to equivalents at your home school, you should make that clear so that you are given not only general credit, but credit for those particular classes.

Variety

One piece of advice for picking a school for study abroad would be to pick a type of institution that differs greatly from your home school. If you go to a small school, pick a big one, if you are on a rural campus, move to an urban campus, and vice versa. Look for someplace that will give you as diverse an experience as possible.

A new variety of available classes may also be an unexpected benefit of studying abroad. If you attend a small school normally, and pick a larger school for studying abroad, you may find that the new school offers that obscure class in children's fantasy literature that you have always wished existed at your school. The only way to discover these opportunities is to carefully examine what different schools offer.

Language

One of the determining factors in studying abroad for many people is the native language of the country to which they will be going. Those who are seeking to gain competency in a second language will frequently choose to study abroad so that they can immerse themselves in the language. If your language skills are sufficiently advanced, you may wish to consider enrolling in classes that will be taught in the native language of the country. While challenging, this can present an unparallel opportunity to improve and perfect your fluency.

Even if you are not at a level where you can take classes in another language, going abroad is still the best way to quickly increase your fluency. Studying the language itself in conjunction with living with native speakers is incredibly effective. You will probably be amazed at the speed at which you gain proficiency.

The temptation when studying abroad with a group of people from your home school is to keep close to those who are known and familiar. Resist this temptation! If you want to maximize your language learning and study abroad experience, it is vital that you become friends with the locals, and move beyond the familiar and comfortable. Even if your grasp of the native language is not very good, it is important that you do your best to speak it. If you are at least trying to speak the local language, even if you are speaking it poorly, you will not offend most people. You will probably even find that they will try to help you and encourage your efforts.

New System

When working within a given system, it is somehow hard to imagine getting to the same result a different way. Other countries have some very different approaches to education, particularly higher education. Studying abroad will give you first hand knowledge of a new approach to a familiar challenge. You may be amazed to hear some of the stories of your fellow students about the strenuous testing process involved in their university applications or the way that they are required to declare fields of study. Appreciating and searching for alternative solutions is a life skill.

Some differences you may appreciate and others you may not. Classes might be more discussion or lecture based than you are familiar with. You may spend more or less time interacting with professors and fellow students than you are used to. Classes may require a different volume of graded assignments than you are used to. Many American schools tend to be based on frequent assignments and testing whereas some other school systems are based more around large, comprehensive exams or projects. Depending on your strengths or weaknesses, you may prefer certain formats, but the important thing to remember is to work within the system you are in and learn from it.

Strengths by Location

Another way to maximize your study abroad education is to pick locations based on your interests or fields of study that provide unparalleled opportunities for deeper explorations of your field. For example, each year countless study abroad trips leave for Jamaica to study marine biology or to Costa Rica to study monkeys and other local biology. While your home school may have great faculty and research facilities, a landlocked state in the middle of the US can hardly compare to Jamaica for studying marine life.

EXPERIENCE

You will hear many people tell you that the "experience" of studying abroad is really the vital part of the process. What do they mean by this?

Appreciating Other Cultures

We can say almost without exception that living abroad is the best way to broaden your horizons and increase your appreciation for other cultures and people. Living in a different culture allows you to learn it from the inside out. Particularly if you are living with a host family or with foreign students who bring you into their group, you will learn more in a few weeks than you could in years of studying textbooks.

Little Blunders

The experience of living in another culture can also teach us how 'strange' some of our own assumptions are. Try looking for any sort of establishment abroad that is open 24/7 for your convenience. We guarantee you will not find many. (At least not of the sort that you should be going to!)

Life in many other areas of the world tends to move at a different pace and value different ideals than American culture. Although you also may be surprised occasionally at the strange places that America does intrude (such as hearing Britney Spears blaring on a market street in the middle of Guatemala). Savor the chance to get away from the familiar and learn from people that have an entirely different background and preconceptions. (Keep in mind that everyone has preconceptions; we just usually do not think about them since they inform and guide us all the time without us consciously referencing them.)

Different Lifestyles

One piece of advice for picking a school for study abroad would be to pick a type of institution that differs greatly from your home school. If you go to a small school, pick a big one, if you are on a rural campus, move to an urban campus, and vice versa. Look for someplace that will give you as diverse an experience as possible.

A new variety of available classes may also be an unexpected benefit of studying abroad. If you attend a small school normally, and pick a larger school for studying abroad, you may find that the new school offers that obscure class in children's fantasy literature that you have always wished existed at your school. The only way to discover these opportunities is to carefully examine what different schools offer.

Global Perspective

Those returning from studies abroad also tend to exclaim at their increased understanding of the world and the global perspective they acquired. It is not only the experience of learning about another culture that increases global perspective, it is learning from those that already have a more global perspective themselves.

Few nations today maintain as much isolation and general lack of global perspective as the United States and her citizens. Most Europeans you talk to will express amazement at the percentage of Americans that have never been out of the country, and do not even have their passports. People from most other nations tend to be more aware of the world around them out of necessity if nothing else. Studying abroad affords the unparalleled opportunity to not only learn about the country in which you are studying but also to visit neighboring countries and to explore the idea of a global community.

Another aspect of gaining a global perspective is understanding where the United States fits in terms of the world viewpoint. While this may not always make for a pretty or encouraging discussion, it is both informative and sobering to realize how people from many other areas of the globe view Americans. While these may be stereotypes just as we stereotype others, it is important to learn what other people think so that going forward, those with such an understanding can help shape America's future as part of that global community.

Maturity

With all the benefits of experience comes maturity. Beginning to learn about another culture and gain global perspective and understanding will inevitably be a difficult and challenging journey. Studying abroad is a fantastic experience but not always because it is fun or carefree. Growth is frequently painful and confusing, but that does not make it any less necessary or valuable.

(And for those of you who are getting worried or discouraged at this point, DO NOT WORRY! You are going to have a blast studying abroad, and will likely only remember that it was painful and confusing in those moments when you are waxing philosophical and disseminating your garnered wisdom to the uninitiated contemplating the journey.)

ENHANCEMENT

Enhancement is probably the most vague of our three E's, but still an important one to consider. Both education and experience lead to enhancement so in a way this topic is a summary of what the other benefits of studying abroad will do for you in the long term.

Communicate your Education & Experience

When you return to your home school, you will probably find that there are a good many opportunities for you to put your newfound knowledge to use. The education that you received while abroad should help make you a valuable contributor to classes and discussions back home. If you took classes in your major abroad, you have had the benefit of being taught in your field from a different background, possibly a different methodology and almost certainly from a different point of view. Share this new knowledge!

Another way that you can share your experience is by helping other students who are considering studying abroad. If you remember how many questions you had, it can be a great help to have someone confident to answer those questions. This will not only help them, but also give you the opportunity to talk about your experiences and enjoy sharing them. Many schools hold panels with returned students where prospective students are invited to come and ask questions. Other schools compile lists of students who have gone abroad who would be willing to talk to students with questions. Encourage others to study abroad so that they can experience the amazing benefits and growth that you have had.

Capitalize on Maturity

Much as you may not believe it, you really will return from studying abroad with a different perspective on world affairs and more maturity. This new global perspective should impress on you the responsibility to share that with those around you. In your school, your school organizations, your activities, and eventually in your career, you have the basis for a lifelong recognition of the world as a global community. You owe it to yourself, your experience, and your local community to facilitate understanding and increased global awareness. Learning to translate your experiences into action on your return is what really makes studying abroad worthwhile in the long term.

Career Enhancement

Another benefit that few students consider to studying abroad is the opportunity it may yield for career enhancement. With the improvement of global communications, the world continues shrinking and businesses must operate in an international environment. People with an international background can be an asset to any company today. Many of the skills you have learned (fluency in a second language, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, understanding, etc.) are directly transferable to the world of business. It is not only language skills that make you valuable today, although those can be important, it is the ability to adjust and communicate with those from widely different backgrounds in an effective and sensitive manner.

Conclusions

We imagine that when you first considered studying abroad, you had no idea how many benefits could be gained from a few months or a year in a different country. However, it is important to recognize that these benefits are not all going to fall into your lap just by showing up. While some of them may, you are going to need to put some amount of conscious effort into the process to reap the maximum benefits. Be looking for our next article for details of how to maximize your experience while you are actually abroad!