BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey guys, I'm wondering, where did you study abroad, and why did you pick your location? I'm doing an article on top destinations for students and looking for reasons why people picked the places that they did.

For example:

I studied in Sydney, Australia. I wanted to study in an English-speaking country, and I figured that I would be to England/Ireland a number of times in my life. I also wanted to go there because I figured that if I was going to drop that much money on a ticket, I wanted to be there awhile. I picked Sydney because I wanted to live in the city.

Anyone else?

I studied abroad in Brisbane, Australia. I picked Brissie because it was the furthest place away I could go on a 1 to 1 exchange (my uni has a few 1 to 1 exchange programs). I went with the 1 to 1 program because it was cheaper (same tuition rate), and I got a scholarship that supported that program.

The English speaking part was not a big deal for me. I studied quite a few years of Spanish. If I weren't wanting to run far, far away at the time (long story), I may have chosen to study in a Spanish speaking country instead so that I could work on my language skills.

My reason..well, I just wanted to go to the other side of the world!

You have already put down EXACTLY why I chose to study at Macquarie Uni in Sydney for a semester.

I studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium my junior year and had an amazing experience. I went through a different school so I didn't know anyone before I got to the oreientation hotel, but made some amazing people in and out of the program.

I went to Brussels, because I wanted to improve my french skills. I was originally looking at France, but couldn't find a program that I really liked. So, I went to my study abraod advisor and she suggested the program that I went on.

It was focused on the European Union and NATO and was perfect for me. Classes twice a week and an internship twice a week. That left the next four days for travelling around Europe. Personally, I picked the program b/c I am was an international studies and political science major and very interested in the EU. Which was great because the majority of our classes were about the EU, with one about NATO.

In addition to classes we had ambassadors, professors, foreign service officers, NAOT personel come talk to us. We even went to NATO, embassies (in Brussels and Cyprus), World Bank, European Court of Justice (watched a court case), the EU, and many, many more places with the program.

In addition my internship was with a lobbyist firm for the EU (I was really really lucky with my internship). I spent everday I was at work either in Parliament, ECSC meetings, or at meetings. It was an amazing experience for me.

In addition the program gave me a lot of travel for my money and helped my education as well! We went to Brugges, Luxembourg, and Trier (Germany), we did a Brussels Trip, hit up Switzerland, and did a big trip at hte en to Cyprus, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and Germany. All this was with the group and was included in our program fees.

In addition to the classes, internship, and emphasis on the EU, I picked Brussels because the location was perfect. Every weekend I went somewhere different, Brussels was the perfect distance to go anywhere for a weekend. We would take a train (or budget airline) on Thursday night and then come back Sunday night/Monday morning. It was a great location.

Hope that this helps you, sorry if I rambled too much!

Mine's pretty simple - I'm going to Korea because everyone else went to Western Europe. I didn't want to end up at a school with five or six other students from my university.

As it stands, I'm the only one going to Korea!

Oh yes. And, because I really really wanted to visit Asia and I could take my exchange to Korea, tack on a few weeks and see China (namely Beijing before the 2008 Olympics changes the city).

My alma mater, Michigan State University, has an extensive Study Abroad program, offering courses in just about every discipline in places around the globe. I really wanted to go to Italy but my father was dead set against it. His reason was that the MSU program in Italy was not related to my major (the program was Italian language; my major was criminal justice. Never mind that at that point, I had already been studying Italian since the 4th grade, but whatever...) Realistically, Dad knew that if I had gone to Italy, I never would've come home. So he said, "Find another program related to your major and you can go." I researched and found a criminal justice / political science program at University of New South Wales in Australia. Dad had no choice but to let me go.

Freesia, you never went to MSU. I graduated from Western Michigan U. Ok, so it's not like we were neighbors, but there are so few Michigan-types that I'm impressed when one pops up.

Anyhow, study abroad. So I went to Ireland. I am the first of my family and of my circle of friends to go abroad (and the first of my family to go to university, but that's another story), so I was pretty much flying blind. All I knew was that I thought maybe I'd like to go to Ireland, because my people are from there and hey, it'd be fun. So I went to the study abroad office and said, "Please may I go to Ireland?" And they said yes, but I had to choose a school.

Right. Like I had the vaguest clue. So the guy gave me a booklet, which I took home and looked over, and my parents said, "No, absolutely not, you are not going to Belfast." Clearly, they were as ignorant as I regarding the true state of things. "Go to Cork," they said. "Look up your relatives."

Um, no. NO way was I going to start poking around in cemeteries and knocking on strangers' doors discovering my roots and happening on a long lost cousin or six. So I went to Galway instead. Just like most of the important decisions in my life, I made this one in a state of rebellion. Whatever. It works for me.

I had NEVER been on an airplane, or even in a real airport, before I did my study abroad. My first flight ever was out of JFK, and I had no idea what to expect. At the time I had chosen to remain deliberately clueless beforehand, so as to better abosorb everything...heh. How silly I was.

So away I went, determined to stay only for a semester so I could go to Turkey next summer, but there I stayed for a full year, enjoying every minute, celebrating the way uni. is conducted Over There (no exams, no homework, just one paper--hurrah!) and finishing my major. When I came back I finished my requirements for graduation by taking the all-important Piano 1 and Introduction to Tap Dance classes.

Most of the time I felt like an uncouth ignoramus, because I had exactly zero concept of travel, Hollywood, and all else really worked. BUt I learned from the experience, got my degree, determined I must now go out and see the rest of the world, and started a bit of a chain reaction among my friends--they ALL went abroad after I came home, and two of them (the lucky B-words) actually moved overseas.

After that year, travel became an integral part of my life. I went to Bangkok for almost 6 months after I graduated. I moved house all over the US when I got back from there. I've started keeping a list of where to go next. All because I stepped onto that first plane almost ten years ago.



But I still haven't made it to Turkey.

Hey all you Michigan types, from all your fancy schools. Hail the mighty Saginaw Valley State alumni!!

Get this -- in college I studied abroad in Ormskirk, England at Edge Hill College. Anyone heard of it? It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, just a tiny little town. I was dying to study abroad but I was scared of going to a country with a foreign language. (Obviously, in retrospect I know that was a silly thing to fear.) That coupled with the fact that my school only offered about 10 programs, AND the one in England was the second cheapest (1st was Mexico). So I went there. They also billed Ormskirk as being part of the "real England", far away from London and where some people had never even seen a real American before (ha ha). It was an interesting experience and some of the locals did have a skewed view of Americans because they only knew them from TV. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice place with nice people.

In case you were wondering, Ormskirk is about a 30 min train ride from Liverpool.

Again, looking back I wish I had done things much differently--gone to a different place and I wish I'd been more outgoing. I didn't get as much out of it as I should have.

I haven't left yet (unfortunately- I'm getting the itch big time), but I will be studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt next semester. I'm stoked on it. Like others on the post, my options were fairly limited. I've been blessed and cursed with a good amount of scholarship money (blessed b/c my uni costs $22,000/yr, and cursed b/c it means I'm stuck here for a while). Because of this I have the choice of going to China, Africa, Oxford, Costa Rica, New York, or Egypt without loosing my scholarships.

I chose Egypt becuase it seemed the most interesting and because it is the most pertinant to my majors. I would like to work in intell eventually, and there is virtually no way to get into it if you don't have knowledge of the Middle East and its various languages. I'll be learning Arabic while I'm there. Also, I feel that this area of the country is incredibly misrepresented and misunderstood, especially by Americans.

If you want to know more about or discuss Middle East affairs and problems (such as Western modernity and libralism) give me a post. I would love to discuss it.

-Elise- a soffocating college student who wants to break free-

I've studied in England, Ireland, and Costa Rica, and will be going to Mexico this summer.

The University of Sussex, in Brighton, England was my first trip in the summer of 2003. I was in a rut at my Midwestern college, and had always longed to study abroad. I wanted a change in not only my locale, but also wanted to try to jumpstart my mood and personality (I was going through a bit of a depression). England seemed relatively safe and fun, and since I was only 17 (I started college early), my parents were also more willing to see me off. They also offered classes I could use for my major. Also, Brighton appealed to me, since I come from a dry, non-party-ish college, and as one of the party destinations in England, it appealed to me for that reason.

Costa Rica was next in the summer of 2004. For my Spanish major, I was required to spend at least six weeks in a Spanish-speaking country. Most students from my school opted for Costa Rica (mainly for safety reasons). I almost went to Spain, but the terrible bombings in Madrid scared my mother and she refused to let me go (and also withheld some money I needed...money is a powerful tool). So, I opted for San Jose, Costa Rica, at a different school than most of my peers. I loved it.

I was in Cork, Ireland last semester and had the time of my life. I wanted to go back to England or Scotland instead, but the terrible pound-dollar exchange rate made me reluctantly choose Ireland. I didn't think I would like it much, but I loved it more than any other place I've studied. That said, Ireland was incredibly expensive, and I don't think I saved a great deal by opting for the euro.

Mexico this summer because I don't want to intern in DC for the entire summer (which I'll do part of the time), and also because I still need to finish up some uni Spanish credits. I learn and retain so much more Spanish in a Latin American country, rather than in a US classroom. Plus, my dad studied there for two years as part of his MD, so I'm excited to go back, a few decades later.

I studied in Maastricht, the Netherlands. I went with one other preson from my university and we were the pioneers of this particular exchange. I did it becuase I was already in my junior year and needed a program that would allow me to take major courses, as oppose to just general subjects. This was the first and only program offered by my uni specifically for psych. It was affordable- I paid the tuition to my state uni but went to uni in Maastricht, which meant that my loans would also apply and I did not have to take out more money.I absolutley loved it. I had class twice a week for 2 hours and and the end of the six week course, 1 exam. Compared to my schedule in the U.S., it was great. However I have to add that I never in all my life studied so hard or learned so much. (Which is not really saying much about the American education system.) I met people from all over the world and got to travel western Europe. One of the main reccomendations I made to my school upon return was not to send more than 2 people cuz then you tend to stay with your group and not meet as many new people (these were my observations from a group of 16 Americans from N.C.) I only wish I had taken the initiative to learn Dutch!

For my first study abroad program I really wanted to learn about a number of different cultures. I picked the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program. We started in the Bahamas then sailed to Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, Tanzania, India, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, and then back to the U.S.

Then for my current study abroad program I wanted to improve my french language skills, so obviously I picked France.
Both programs are great!!!

I went to university in Amiens France as part of my degree. I was studying international marketing and French, so participating in the Erasmus program was an element of my degree from the word go. You had to go to graduate.

We were allowed to choose our exchange university from a list of French universities ours was affiliated to. There was also an option to go to uni in French speaking parts of Canada, but I wanted to gain as much fluency as possible and thought France was the better option.

I chose Amiens because it was an ecole superieur de commerce.. basically, one of the best business schools in France. I liked that they only accepted a handful of english speaking students, and as the other students came from all areas of Europe (czech republic, italy, spain, netherlands, germany, poland, croatia) our common language was french and we used it as our first language. Also, the college really encouraged us to interact with our fellow students, both french and exchange.. the classes were small... which mean we were truely included and made some of the best friends there. Overall, one of the best experiences of my life.

i was given a choice to go germany or sweden. i spoke german and my exchange coordinator encouraged me to go there. however, i had been to germany and felt that i should try something different.

i chose sweden. it was excellent. i learned swedish as well as meeting sooo many people. we all started off using english, but by the end of it i had picked up swedish, dusted off my german and had enough italian to curse several generations of the same family to nasty mishaps...

although i ended up speaking german anyway, i didn't feel confident enough to do all my studies through german. at least in sweden, alot of my classes were in english (my degree is computer science, so i had to study maths, networks, programming and engineering)...

I applied to go to Singapore, because it's exotic, hot and has cheap electronics

Unfortunately that was over-subscribed, but I was offered an exchange to York U in Toronto instead, where it's freezing and the shopping's not cheap! Still, I'm sure I'll have a good time, and I have 5 months to travel afterwards

I studied in Berlin, Germany which I picked through a very comlicated and elaborate process. My boyfriend had lived there before so it seemed as good of a place as any. My only choices were New Zealand, Australia, France and Germany and I didn't want to be in an English speaking country. When the rep from the program called me to tell me I'd gotten the scholarship he asked if I indeed wanted to go to Germany and I nearly switched at the last minute, but I didn't. It really didn't matter to me where I ended up as long as it was far, far away.

I chose Barcelona, Spain.

I could have gone anywhere in the world, my school has an excellent exchange program, but I wanted to live in a Spanish speaking country. I had already studied in Mexico, and had never been to Spain, loved europe when I went there before, and decided I wanted to see more of it. Living in Spain would be an excellent way to do so. And it has been! I've been all over Spain, to Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Amsterdam since I've been here, and my upcoming travel plans include: Morocco, Portugal, and maybe Greece!

I think I'm the person with the most boring study abroad place on here

I chose to come to Madrid because Spanish Languange and Literature is one of my majors. My American university only offereed a few Spanish-laungauge programs...the one in Chile isn't very well run and I ruled the one in Mexico out pretty quickly because it seemed to close to home. My parents also weren't too keen on my going to San Sebastian because they're alarmists and were afraid ETA was going to whisk me away or something. So, Madrid it was. My univerity offers a direct extension program with all other American students, which didn't really sound at all like study abroad to me. So I'm directly enrolled as a student at ICADE (a college in the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas). Although Madrid is a very sterotypical study abroad location, it's been a fantastic experience so far becacuse I chose a program where i'm enrolled in normal classes with regular Spanish students...I go to classes in Spanish, take my finals in Spanish...even had to find an apartment in Madrid! I'm so sad that it's all ending soon...

My college didn't have many options for attending class for a semester, however it did offer an excellent international coop program. I really thought that I would just get one so I picked Germany. I was working on a degree in History and tryign to learn German. In the end I worked at the Deutches Hygiene Museum in Dresden doing research for a summer. I only worked four days a week so I was able to travel quite a bit. Just before graduation a year later I was at a loss of what to do with myself. I had no idea what type of job I wanted. I had kept in touch with the office and they offered me a job as an even planner in London. I jumped at it and spent six months living there post graduation. They were both amazing places.

I definitly recomend working abroad!

I can't believe I haven't posted on this thread yet, must have slipped past the goalie.

I studied in Oslo, Norway last summer, because I wanted to improve my Norwegian (that's where my family's from, so that's the language I'm studying as part of my BA), and because I wanted to see how I would handle being away from familiar surroundings for a longer period of time. After spending the summer studying Norwegian history and politics, and generally having the best experience of my life, I added Scandinavian Studies as a third major.

After returning, I went to speak as an alumnus of study abroad to people considering going to Scandinavia, and actually convinced myself to go back to Norway for a year (which I'd need to do anyway, since I need to go to complete my language requirements for the major).

So, taking some Norwegian classes because of my family's hertiage ended up changing my academic plans in a big way, and is now leading to me going back to Norway in a couple weeks for a year. My school has programs in 70 countries across 90 cities, so in some ways it feels like I should try another city, but I can always travel later, and this is the best for my academic goals.