Study Abroad Meeting

Today there was a meeting for students interested in studying abroad, so I chose to attend, of course.  The meeting started at 11:00 and was scheduled to last until 12:30, but the meeting ended a little bit early due to a lack of questions from the audience.

The meeting began with some a free lunch, some sandwiches, an apple, a bottle of water, and a small dessert.  While everyone started working, the Study Abroad coordinator began the presentation.  She talked about some of the experience of past students, with quotes about how the experience affected their lives.  She then went into some detail about the various study options available: University Study (where the student attends universities in the local language), Immersion (with classes in the language), and an English based system (students could take English classes with other American students, while in the foreign country).  The next topic, or one sort of interwoven, was about the various programs which led these study options.  The adviser also discussed the general/overall benefits of study abroad, such as the opportunity to experience a new culture, a new style of learning, and an expanded world view.

At one point, there was also discussion of some of the academic requirements of the program.  These included the extensive planning for study abroad, starting almost a year before the actual semester abroad.  Another important fact is the need to have a pre-approved schedule which will ensure that the credits taken abroad can be transferred and applied to the credits needed to graduate.  While it may be a bit more complicated for some majors, engineering as the example, any major is able to study abroad during the four years at Mudd.  Yet, it is necessary to rearrange the schedule so that all of the per-requisites for the classes abroad are obtained before the semester abroad, and also that the classes taken will align with the return home.  One of the scariest portions of the academic section, is the need to obtain a certain grade abroad for the credits to transfer, which could be a distinct source of stress at one point or another.

Towards the end of the meeting, Prof. Orrison and Prof. Ran spoke about a study abroad opportunity for CS or math majors in Budapest.

Finally, the meeting ended with the introduction of some study abroad alumni who discussed their experience and gave some advice or insight into the programs.

The Study Abroad coordinator also provided a table full of various pamphlets on the requirements for each major and the different countries which could be visited.  Immediately after the meeting, I went over to the Study Abroad office to grab a couple more pamphlets, and it was here that I saw the study abroad board.

Notice the statistics for Scotland and Ireland in particular.

A couple other places, mainly New Zealand, which I will consider.

Looking at the board was very interesting, because it became clear that I would be able to choose a country that is interesting or appealing to me, in which I will be able to study whichever major I ultimately decided to pursue.

It was a great meeting, and I am very excited about the opportunity to study abroad for a semester!  Now, I just need to look into organizing my schedule to accommodate the time abroad.  But at least I have plenty of time to get everything ready.