Study Abroad deadline draws near
Terrah Baker: Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/18/10 Section: Life & Leisure
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Carla Prael is everything study abroad, and, more specifically, the study abroad coordinator for the International Center. When a student walks into her office requesting information about studying abroad, she said there are some initial questions that must be asked.
"We ask students what their major is, what they're wanting to study, if they have a location in mind, if they have a major or minor in foreign language, or if they're wanting a specific study program," Prael said. "We can work from any of these parameters. We also ask them what semester they're thinking about going,"
The students' answers doesn't determine their eligibility, just the individuality of their program.
This is because studying abroad is for any major, students with 24 credit hours or more, and can be done at over 220 university locations in over 50 countries by English-only speaking students. Students can also participate in the program during fall, spring or summer semester and can stay for a semester or a year
"depending on what they want to do," Prael said.
Students must decide which of the two capacities of studying abroad, they want to participate in: program providers or student exchange. Both programs require the same application process, but differ in pricing and student participation.
The difference between student exchanges and program providers is that providers are companies offering study aboard opportunities through the International Center and exchanges are a student for student exchange with a host country, Prael said.
"We have [27] partnerships with program providers throughout the world," Prael said.
Although any major can participate, there are usually specific places where majors can attend "if they are wanting to study in their major," which some students choose not to do, Prael said. "We have advising sheets with what courses are available at what universities."
Once a student has assessed the options, they can then begin the process of applying to the program.
Getting Accepted:
Getting accepted into the program requires several prerequisites. So before going through the process, go through a degree audit.
Most of the programs require good standing with the University, a minimum GPA of 2.5, attend a manditory orientation and complete the required paperwork, Prael said.
"The application is a three-page application, plus four letters of recommendation, two academic and two non-academic. We also require an official transcript and an application fee, two passport size photos, and at some point in the application process, if a student is accepted to study abroad, we will need a copy of their passport and other documentation, and that's just the initial application."
The next important step is for a student to apply to the out-of-country university they wish to attend.
"They receive two letters of acceptance: One into the study abroad program that they have met the requirements and have been accepted to study abroad, and then they receive a letter of acceptance into the host university, which is required for getting a visa," Prael said.
Students must also write a one-page essay, as part of the application process, explaining why they want to study abroad, "because that really does help us in the advising process in getting them to a location that would best for their educational needs," she said.
There are also several programs located in Mexico,
Germany, France, and Spain, that require language proficiency. All programs require students to take a cultures and language course while in-country.
Funding the program:
Price breakdowns of studying abroad vary for every program. What Prael pointed out, and a couple of students who have participated in the program said, was the cost of living aboard, compared to just staying at UCM, is not that much different.
"Students, when they're looking at study abroad, see our number and think 'Oh my gosh, it's so much higher than what I spend.' But they don't think about car maintenance, health insurance, how much text books cost at UCM," Prael said.
Jason Landgrebe, a senior history major who studied abroad in Bremen, Germany, said although the cost of the program added up to be a lot, he only spent a small fraction of that out of his own pocket. "Germany cost around $20,000 for a year, that's August 08 to August 09," Landgrebe said. "It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's not impossible to do. The international center helped me figure out cost and crunch numbers. There are aid packages and loans and scholarships that exist to help out, I spent only about $1,000 to $2,000 out of my own pocket from savings, and that was mostly for airfare to and from Europe."
According a brochure focused on scholarships and financial information, there are scholarships based on the country and sometimes the continent of study.
"During the fall and spring semesters we offer students a $1,000 scholarship to study abroad," Prael said. "It's an automatic scholarship and students don't have to apply for it. If they are accepted to study abroad, we post that to their student account. Students may also use their student financial aid. Almost anything applies to studying abroad except for work study, because students are enrolled as an on-campus, in-state-tuition paying student and students are enrolled full time while they are abroad."
Scholarships for the summer semester are prorated depending on credit hours but usually are around $500, she said.
The International Center staff laid out a chart of costs to the students, before any of the scholarships are applied. The range of total cost is from around $10,000 to around $24,000 and include UCM tuition, room, food, books, program fees (if they exist), application fee, transportation there, back and in-country, insurance and even personal expenses.
"These costs are all based on semester estimates and we try to estimate on the high end of the total cost so students do not have sticker shock or get to the end of their semester and are not able to afford food or something along those lines," Prael said. "Personal expenses are based on feed-back we get from students; food, entertainment, clothing, all of those things, and we try to average based on currency exchange."
Brent Jepson, a senior criminal justice major who studied abroad in Vaxjo, Sweden, said he wished he had saved more money for traveling.
"There are many more places I would like to travel to now in Europe, however, I had to pick those that were affordable and that I really wanted to go to," Jepson said. "I will say that with these costs, it's not near as cheap as what people will say. There's so much to go see in Europe that you have to balance cost and time for school."
In the end, Prael said every program is very individualized especially when dealing with finances.
The application deadlines for spring, summer and fall are Sept. 20, Feb. 20 and Sept. 20, respectively.
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