Study Abroad?

clone2011 · 06-05-2008, 06:49 PM

Anyone here gone somewhere to study abroad for a semester (or more)? Was it better than you thought? Where did you go...was it easy to get around and travel?

I'm looking at Australia and New Zealand right now, so any advice from those areas would be fantastic, but any thoughts are appreciated!

BryceC · 06-05-2008, 06:52 PM

I went to Aus in the summer of 2003 with my future wife, we didn't study abroad though we just got work visa's and hung out. I would highly suggest it, although you might want to go up to Brisbane or farther north, Sydney never gets that cold but it's a little warmer up there. Australians love Americans and I honestly never met one I didn't like, they are a fun loving people, like Canadians. Very, very, very fun and I think you'd have a great time studying abroad or traveling.

cytech · 06-05-2008, 06:52 PM

had a friend that went to australia through ISU for the summer. She did some classes for the first month and then was to go out get a job etc for other 2 months, problem being not many of the people there from ISU actually were able to get jobs.

I know my friend cut her summer short because of it.

Clone9 · 06-05-2008, 08:22 PM

Do it. I studied abroad for a year in Malta from 2000-2001. It was quite arguably the best year of my life. It was a really great experience for me, even though the school was not entirely serious....so basically we just partied and traveled the whole time. I met people from all over the world and got to travel a ton. I still keep in touch with many of them.....and I even met my future wife over there! She is from Virginia but was studying there at the same time. Classes in Malta are taught in English, if that's the only reason you're considering Aus or NZ....but anywhere you go will be great I'm sure. Don't worry about credits or classes too much....just soak it up!

isucyfan · 06-05-2008, 08:27 PM

My future wife and I studied abroad for six months in Newcastle, England.

It was definitely one of the best times of our lives. I highly recommend it. I didn't learn much academically, but the life experience was immeasurable.

We did it through ISU, and at the time, we just paid tuition as if we were at ISU, and someone from England took our place at ISU and paid as if they were still at university in England. ISU even paid for half of our plane tickets.

It added a summer session to my degree completion, but it was totally worth it.

Cyclone06 · 06-05-2008, 08:43 PM

Spent spring 2005 in Caceres, Spain. An amazing place to be, and was also able to travel a ton. Was able to hit eight different countries and much of Spain, plus Africa, all in four and a half months. An experience I'll never forget and one I'd like to do again and again. I really couldn't put a price on it and I think one day study abroad will be a required componet of the undergraduate degree.

ripvdub · 06-05-2008, 08:44 PM

How much is it?

My wife was gonna get some Grad school credits by going to China for 2 weeks. Shes in the MBA program through Iowa State, and it was going to cost $6,000... for 2 weeks in China.

clone2011 · 06-05-2008, 08:50 PM

$6000 for 2 weeks? Ouch. The programs I'm looking at are around 14-15K for early February to late June. An ISU 3-week program I want to do next summer is around $3200 for 3 weeks.

Thanks for the stories, everyone. Not going until Spring 2010 but Ames is less than exciting right now, my summer class hasn't started, and I've been passing the time by looking at Study Abroad stuff. And reading CF.

Cyclone06 · 06-05-2008, 08:53 PM

I paid same tuition and room and board as I would ISU and lived with a family in Spain. (3500ish at the time I beleive) They made me three meals a day and did my laundry. It was plush. I paid all the extra travel expenses obviously, but I'd pay atleast double for another go around. I also learned a great deal, all the while having a ton of fun (Some would say too much

)

Factor in Airfare and extra travel, I came in at under 10 grand total.

Clone9 · 06-05-2008, 08:57 PM

Mine was like isucyfan....I just paid in-state tuition and room/board like I was living in the dorms and I was took as many classes as I wanted, had a shared apartment over there, and even got a stipend for the "board" part, since they didn't have a cafeteria like us.

I don't know if 2 weeks in China is worth $6k, but I can tell you that my year over there was worth 10 times what I paid. It's your only real chance to do it and just isn't the same as going places for vacation. You've gotta spend at least a semester (I recommend a whole year).

Cyclone06 · 06-05-2008, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by Clone9

Mine was like isucyfan....I just paid in-state tuition and room/board like I was living in the dorms and I was took as many classes as I wanted, had a shared apartment over there, and even got a stipend for the "board" part, since they didn't have a cafeteria like us.

I don't know if 2 weeks in China is worth $6k, but I can tell you that my year over there was worth 10 times what I paid. It's your only real chance to do it and just isn't the same as going places for vacation. You've gotta spend at least a semester (I recommend a whole year).

Agreed. And whether you like it or not, you'll come back with a different perspective on things.

isucyfan · 06-05-2008, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Cyclone06

Agreed. And whether you like it or not, you'll come back with a different perspective on things.

Ditto this. We signed up for only one semester plus some exploration time, and my only regret is that we didn't do it for a whole year.

Phaedrus · 06-06-2008, 01:51 PM

Back in 1985, I spent a winter quarter in the Soviet Union studying Russian.

I met and fell in love with my wife there. She was an Iowa State student travelling the Soviet Union for "fun" at the time. I heard that she was an ISU student and when we were introduced it was love at first sight.

ISUonthemove · 06-06-2008, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

Back in 1985, I spent a winter quarter in the Soviet Union studying Russian.

I met and fell in love with my wife there. She was an Iowa State student travelling the Soviet Union for "fun" at the time. I heard that she was an ISU student and when we were introduced it was love at first sight.

Wow, that is pretty crazy.

larry · 06-06-2008, 02:03 PM

Anytime you can spend time abroad, go for it. My 2 vacations in Europe were fantastic, but extremely rushed. To be able to spend 3 months, 6 months, a year--I can only imagine.

And yes, you might actually develop a world view.