BootsnAll Travel Community

i was just wondering which would be better to do. i am 21 yr old guy going to the university of Oklahoma and from what i hear OU has a pretty good study abroad program. but i would rather not go to class while living in a different country. i want to either go to New Zealand or Spain. I think i woudl rather work abraod but dont know the ups and downs of either

Hey I have done both!! One year exchange programm in the USA, one year work in Switzerland and now I am doing my post-graduate studies in Germany.

Starting with studies:
ups
- You have loads of school free days to organize trips and get to know places around
- It is the hell easier to get to know people.
- Students are allways planning a party.
- There are always outside school activities
- Well, you learn what you want to study
downs
- You have little money (after school jobs are not that well paid)
- So, if you have little money, you can not organize that many trips on your free time.
- And also there are exams, papers to write, homeworks and all the student stress.
- You keep your student ID card and get discounts in many things.
- You can use the sports facilities of the school. (usually for free or really cheap)

Working:
ups:
- You have money to enjoy yourself in the place you are.
- You can travel around using that money.
- You learn a different type of working mentahlity.
- If you are lucky the people you work with are nice and friendly... You get to meet new people.
- People at work also prepare some small hyde aways.

downs:
- You have to wait until big hollidays to travel, or do small long-weekend travels everytime.
- Your boss might be nasty!!!
- You have to pay more for events, museums and all the stuff students get discount for.
- Your collegues at work might not have your age. Meaning they will have other interests.

Anyhow, I loved both experiences, but at the moment the thing I miss most is the money. I am broken!!!

Don't forget that there are also study abroad programs where you actually intern or volunteer rather than studying. When I was in college I found one of these programs at the university of minnesota - twin cities. So I switched schools for one year, did a preparatory quarter in Minnesota and then headed to Senegal.

For me it was an incredibly psotive experience. The only down side was not making any money to travel around more. But on the upside:
I learned SO much I can't even begin to tell you about it. They placed us with families for living so the immersion was amazing. I lived in a House in Dakar with a family that was middle class by senegalese standards, there were an average of 15 family members living there at any one time from ages 2 to 60. It was fantastic. Since it was an internship I was also not surrounded by students or other foreigners. I also got credit for the 6 months toward my degree, which was convenient.

I would recommend this type of study abroad to anybody. Just make sure it is all well organized by an organisation that you trust to do this work well (sloppy organisation just means that you'll be the one to suffer down the road).

If you're a business student, check out if there's an AIESEC chapter at the uni for work abroad information.

One thing you might keep in mind is that depending on what school you go to, it might be much easier than you're used to. I've had multiple friends go to different schools in Spain, and both commented that they'd never worked so little and gotten the best grades of their lives. This is very dependent on the school, and these were both smart kids, so do some research on the particular schools, but it is possible to get the best of both worlds.

I have done both as well, and I would recommend doing both! My study abroad was in England, and my work abroad was in Ireland - these were easily the best experiences of my life! If I were you I would do your study abroad in you favorite country, and then work in the other. It's a win-win situation, because you will get the best of both worlds!

If you can sap some money out of your university, study abroad is the way to go.

It actually cost me less to study in Australia than it would have to be at Pitt for a semester. And that's after airfare. - This is not including the other travel though - with that it cost a bit more.

Here's how: I have a full tuition scholarship here at Pitt. As an out-of-state student, this is worth about 10K/semester. When I studied abroad, they simply sent me a check for about $10,000.

Tuition abroad was about $7,000 so by going abroad, I put $3,000 in my pocket. (Which I spent in less than educational fashoin.)

I never studied abroad and when I graduated college I regreted it. So I looked up working abroad and did 2 programs-one in London and the other in Sydney. They were GREAT experiences and I learned so much!!

This summer I'll be studying abroad in Prague for my masters....I guess I'll see what is better!! Both allow you to meet lots of people in your situation although going to school you'd probably meet more people of your background while working abroad usually means meeting more people from around the world-but that's just my opinion.

Either way both are great ideas!!!!

The nice thing about studying abroad is the trips they have arranged for the class. Granted, sometimes these can be touristy types of things, but they still give you a chance to see the area, and are already arranged. I think it would be great to study abroad first if you've never gone by yourself. More of a "Get your feet wet" kind of deal.

i studied abroad and did an internship while i was there .. it was the best semester i had!

I agree wtih "xscorcho", I studied abroad in Brussels, Belgium and had an internship there as well. Two days of shcoo, two days of my internship, and a four day weekend. What more can a college age student want when you are in the heart of Europe. I would suggest a program where you can both study abroad and have an internship, it worked out awesome for me. Plus a lot of the time they will organize the interviews and everything for you, something you will really appreciate once you get to a country you have never been to before.

Do NOT work while abroad. First of all, it's very difficult to get work visas, and aside from those, foreign students are only allowed to work about 20 hours a week (generally at relatively crappy jobs, too.) I've studied in England, Ireland, and Costa Rica (going to Mexico this summer), and knew friends that worked in each. Most people got bar jobs, where they cleared the cups off the table and whatnot, which I understand was not enjoyable at all, and also precluded them from going out with us at night.

Also, school abroad is generally MUCH easier than in the States, in my opinion. For instance, my classes in Ireland were based almost entirely on one paper or test at the end of the semester, instead of "continuous assessment" (what
most of us have in the States). I know it's bad to say, but I really didn't start studying until about the last week of November, and still made out with straight As. Also, most courses meet with much less frequency than in the States--for instance, with the exception of some language classes I took, my Irish and British classes only met once, occasionaly twice a week, for 50 minutes each time.

So, please, STUDY ABROAD. It's such a wonderful way to go experience a country and have a wonderful time, while still getting respect from family and friends since you're "studying." Also, you can travel frequently on weekends (especially since many courses don't have Friday classes), wheras if you worked, there'd be a pretty good chance of you having to work weekends.

Best of luck! My friend studied in Barcelona, and had a wonderful time.

quote:

Originally posted by AnCailin21:
Do NOT work while abroad. First of all, it's very difficult to get work visas, and aside from those, foreign students are only allowed to work about 20 hours a week (generally at relatively crappy jobs, too.) I've studied in England, Ireland, and Costa Rica (going to Mexico this summer), and knew friends that worked in each. Most people got bar jobs, where they cleared the cups off the table and whatnot, which I understand was not enjoyable at all, and also precluded them from going out with us at night.

For lots of people there's no choice. They either work or they don't go.

I believe, however, the OP was debating whether to work instead of taking classes. This leaves less free time than only school, but more than school + work.

Depending on where you work, especially if you are there for language can be adventageous. Plus you get a good insite into the real life of the place. I'm getting a full undergrad degree abroad, and do some work for the uni so you can do both.

quote:

Originally posted by Elis:
Don't forget that there are also study abroad programs where you actually intern or volunteer rather than studying. When I was in college I found one of these programs at the university of minnesota - twin cities. So I switched schools for one year, did a preparatory quarter in Minnesota and then headed to Senegal.

For me it was an incredibly psotive experience. The only down side was not making any money to travel around more. But on the upside:
I learned SO much I can't even begin to tell you about it. They placed us with families for living so the immersion was amazing. I lived in a House in Dakar with a family that was middle class by senegalese standards, there were an average of 15 family members living there at any one time from ages 2 to 60. It was fantastic. Since it was an internship I was also not surrounded by students or other foreigners. I also got credit for the 6 months toward my degree, which was convenient.

I would recommend this type of study abroad to anybody. Just make sure it is all well organized by an organisation that you trust to do this work well (sloppy organisation just means that you'll be the one to suffer down the road).

Hi there,

Might you have been a MSID (Minnesota studies in Development) kid? I went to the U and did Spring 05 in India with MSID.

Cheers,

Samantha***

I know this is a bit late but i just noticed this topic and thought i'd add my 2cents!

Have you ever thought of doing both? I spent 2 years working in USA and studying via correspondence... the University of South Africa is the largest distance learning university in the world. Granted, it's not the easiest thing to do and you have to have good self motivation and discipline... but it kills two birds with one stone... i get to travel and keep up with my studies!

I'm now back in SA continuing with my studies, but i'm ready to move on again and i can take my studies with me!

I also came across this fairly late, but thought I would say what I know.

I agree with Elis, that the best thing to do is to do a study abroad with a program that has you out working and meeting people and getting involved in the culture instead of sitting in the same old classroom (just in another country). That way there's full financial aid, you get credit towards graduating (assuming you're interested in that), and for a first-time traveler (like myself) it can provide the structure needed to really learn how to travel.

I did a program called LEAPYear (www.leapnow.org/) which I would completely recommend. There's a college called Friend's World (www.brooklyn.liu.edu/fw/) that has campuses all across the world that I was considering. And then there's the million out there I don't know of!

I was wondering what type of study companies there are for australians. The one I was looking at to learn 3 languages in germany was 20 000 dollars aud. Anyone know any language schools or places to study the language in that country?

Also I worked overseas but only for 3 months and travelled at the end of it. It was through an organisation though just working at a summer camp.

well i started this post...yeah i did had to look at it. i m now studying in vichy france and am having an ok time. the thing I would recomend about studying abroad is that you need to make sure you have enough money saved up. the real reason im here is to travel. but i am getting credit towards my major so thats why i am doing this as opposed to working. oh and school is easy