Study Abroad Programs

[Mikell Taylor]

I spent a semester in Puebla, Mexico during my junior year of college. It was definitely valuable -- despite not being far from the US, the culture/lifestyle is very different, so I got a good perspective there. Also, I took classes in both engineering and in humanities, so my Spanish (which was good already, for someone having only learned in the US) picked up like crazy in both conversational and technical vocabularies. I know it's not possible for everyone, but if you *can* study someplace where you can apply your foreign language classes, it's definitely a good thing.

Keep in mind that valuable != best time ever (necessarily). I know some people who studied abroad who went right back right after graduating, who made really incredible friends, and who think it's the best thing they ever did. I had a really hard time while away -- didn't like my university (lots of cheating, lab partners who took advantage of my foreign-ness to blame me for problems in front of the professor), and the international student office there repeatedly screwed me out of my money, and it took me six months after I left to get everything straightened out -- so be careful, and try to plan it kind of the same way you planned your normal college: don't just go somewhere cheap because it's cheap (like I did). Go somewhere you really think you could be happy.