Studying abroad has been a privilege that most students
could only dream of experiencing. Until
now it has been an option that few individuals have taken advantage of. There
are many factors that go into deciding whether you would be able to study
abroad, i.e. cost, time, knowing where you would travel to and if it would be
beneficial to you degree or not, whether you would receive credit for your
classes or not etc. Most students would rather take up internships or get jobs
in the US than “waste” their time and money going to a foreign country to study
for one semester. What they don’t
realize is that they receive much more than an overpriced vacation with some
college credits to go along with it.
The experience that you receive when you study abroad is
something that you would never be able to experience in your own country. You can gain new perspectives on things you
normally wouldn't have. In fact a lot of colleges are now making it mandatory
to study abroad in order to graduate. An
example of this would be George Mason University. The School of Business at George Mason
University recently added two minors to their program (entrepreneurship and
international business). While these
programs are minors and not majors, of the 15 credits that are needed it is
required that in addition to these credits one must fulfill their Co-curricular
Requirement (Mason). While there are options to receive credit that would
satisfy co-curricular requirements domestically, the vast majority of the
options are through studying abroad. It
shouldn’t be surprising if soon it’ll become mandatory for all students to
study abroad in order to receive their degrees.
By studying abroad you will become a much more diverse individual, and
become more marketable to grad schools and employers because of the intangible
life skills you’re going to pick up along the way. So ignore all the nay sayers and open your
mind to an experience that you will never forget.
Work Cited
"International Business Minor | George Mason
University." International Business Minor | George Mason University.
N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2015.
I agree that you will become a much more diverse individual. One of my friends actually mentioned this idea to me, and I actually might do it myself for my masters degree. Have you studied abroad? If so where did you go?
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