Venturing away from the tired town in which you spent your formative years is a dream for many. If you’re a student, one way to transform this dream into a reality is to take part in a study abroad program. Through a program of this type, you can spend time at an educational institution in a distant land, giving you the opportunity to immerse yourself in a culture decidedly different from the one to which you are accustomed. If you think this type of educational adventure may be for you, consider the steps you must take to make your study abroad attempt a success.
Select Your Destination
Before you do anything else, you must decide exactly where you want to land when you launch your study abroad adventure. Speak to individuals at your school who specialize in arranging study abroad experiences and ask about the countries where your school normally sends its students. Choose from this list or ask them to set up a placement in a different country that has always sparked your interest.
Prepare a Budget
Having enough money is vital to a positive study abroad experience. To ensure that you don’t find yourself out of cash two weeks into your semester, turn your attention to gathering the capital you’ll need to pay for this adventure overseas. Use a spreadsheet to create an easy-to-use and accurate budget, accounting for everything from lodging to travel costs to obtain a realistic picture of how much money you’ll need to earn to make your study abroad experience a comfortable one.
Protect Yourself
It may seem like a drag to think about anything ruining your study abroad time; however, it’s important to prepare for any unforeseen events you may encounter as doing so will reduce the degree to which a negative experience, like an illness or injury, will impact your experience. As you make the necessary preparations for your trip, acquire some international student health insurance. This insurance will provide you with the safety net you need while studying abroad. With this policy in hand, you can rest assured that the costs will be covered should you fall ill or hurt yourself on your travels.
Pre-Trip Research
When traveling abroad it’s understandable for you to not be completely familiar with the customs of the land you visit. You are, after all, there to learn. You shouldn’t, however, be entirely ignorant. To ensure that you’re well versed enough about the country you’re visiting to avoid offending the locals, spend some time reading up on the country in question and acquiring a base of information about the customs there.
Create a Travel Plan
There will likely be much for you to see while studying abroad. To ensure that you don’t return home feeling regretful about missing some major sites, map out a rough travel itinerary for your trip in advance of your departure from home. Spend some nights downing coffee and searching the Internet for suggested sites to visit and compile a list to serve as your guide as you explore the landscape of your study-abroad host country.
Preparing to study abroad is undeniably taxing, but the experience is so profoundly life-changing that dedicating yourself to the early planning stage is well worth it. As you move through the necessary preparatory steps, keep your end goal in mind, likely enabling you to maintain your motivation and keep moving forward with your pre-travel tasks.
