Study Abroad trips prove 'valuable'

The program costs of Study Abroad have decreased slightly this semester because of the rising value of the American dollar, according to Ingrid Schmidt, director of the Study Abroad program.

Schmidt said studying abroad is an invaluable experience and students shouldn't be scared away by the costs.

Students have always been concerned about cost and credit," Schmidt said.  

The Study Abroad office is offering $20,000 more this year in scholarship money to students to help offset expenses.

Christy Michal, a sophomore in textiles who studied abroad last semester in Italy at Lorezno de Medici, said it was an amazing experience.


"I've always loved traveling, and when I learned about the opportunities you could have when studying abroad I thought it was a great opportunity," Michal said.


Schmidt said Study Abroad tries to coordinate classes and majors so that students can take classes that will benefit them where they choose to study abroad..


Michal said she decided on a school that offered classes she thought were interesting and applied towards her major.

"I chose Lorenzo de Medici, mostly because of the classes they offered. All the classes were in English and I got to take fashion related classes," she said.


Schmidt said Study Abroad is receiving less early applications from students than in previous years. She said she thinks it's because students are putting more thought and planning into the program before applying.


"The Study Abroad office was easy to use," Michal said. "One day I was thinking that I might want to study abroad and I think it was the next week that I was attending an informational meeting on studying abroad in general. After I had that meeting I started researching the different programs and realized the Florence Semester Abroad was the best for me."


Study Abroad tries to make the office easy for students to use, Schmidt said.


She also said she thinks the program has immeasurable value for students' future opportunities.


Michal said the experience was a cultural learning experience for her.


"When you are living in another country I think one of the biggest ways to deal with learning their culture is respect, because even if you don't know why they do certain things, it's important to respect what they do," Michal said.


Michal said budgeting and planning was important to do prior to travel.


"When I was in Italy the euro was a lot stronger than the dollar, so even buying a Coke was about $5," Michal said.


She said she suggests planning on spending more than you think.


"There will also be some unimaginable opportunities, like skydiving in the Swiss Alps or taking an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower that you won't want to pass up," Michal said. "So many students have come back and said 'this experience changed my life', and as much as I hear that it never gets old,"