Economic woes don’t scare CMU students out of studying abroad
Clinton Township junior Amber Mardis is determined to study abroad.
Despite economic scares, Central Michigan University students flooded the Rotunda Room in the Bovee University Center on Tuesday evening for the Study Abroad Fair.
Groups of students circled around tables lined up in the UC Rotunda to learn about CMU’s Study Abroad Program and all it entails.
Study Abroad has a vast number of programs students can choose from in more than 25 countries.
Students had common concerns, such as which countries offered what classes, or if studying abroad would affect graduating.
“I’m worried that it will set me back because I won’t find a place that has classes that I need,” Mardis said.
Dianne De Salvo, director of Study Abroad, said credit transferring is a common question students ask.
Every student who studies abroad can gain credit for their University Program requirement Group IV, Subgroup B, in addition to the credits they set up to transfer before leaving abroad.
Along with this, students prepare credit transfers before going abroad, so they are aware of which classes are counting toward their major, minor and graduation.
De Salvo said Study Abroad offers courses CMU does not and, in several cases, students corresponded with department faculty to receive transferable credits for classes not initially exchangeable with CMU courses.
Study Abroad is affordable
California graduate student Nicholas Cavallo was able to correspond with the Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts department at CMU while studying abroad in Singapore to ask if they would allow him to count credits for a class that was taught through a department outside of BCA.
“I sent the department the class’ syllabus, and they looked over it and decided that it was comparable enough content to qualify for a BCA course,” Cavallo said.
Financing the trip is another concern for students interested in studying abroad, but many steps can be taken to decrease or eliminate the financial blow of the program.
Mardis said the cost worried her, but not enough to turn her away from the program.
“I heard there was a lot of fundraising and scholarships available,” Mardis said.
Not only are there scholarships specifically for studying abroad, but students should also remember that applying for and receiving Pell Grants can be used for Study Abroad.
Also, some Asian and Arabic countries involved with the program award additional scholarships.
Along with Study Abroad scholarships, tuition exchange is available in certain countries. Cavallo’s Study Abroad in Singapore was a program with tuition exchange.
“For me, it really depended on what country I was going to,” Cavallo said.
So tuition exchange was less of a concern for him, but for other students it can be a helpful factor on choosing where to study abroad.
Tuition exchange means that students will pay the same price for tuition and credits that they would for a semester at CMU, but even in some countries the price to study abroad can be less than a semester at home.
A cultural experience
Along with receiving credits for a study abroad semester, the cultural experience is an important part of the program.
“I think traveling gives you more experiences,” De Salvo said. “Going to a country and soaking it up.”
Jobs are competitive, she said, so the more cultural experiences a person can partake in the better.
For more information students can speak with peer advisors, who have gone through the Study Abroad Program at CMU.
“These are the folks that are going to convince you,” De Salvo said.
