How should I prepare for study abroad?
Those of you
planning to study
abroad should consider a few tips before leaving campus. If you do your
homework before you set off on this journey, you’ll likely maximize the
experience—and minimize visits to this office when you return.
Consider
the following:
- Orientation
Sessions: Attend
all orientation sessions (yes, all of them) for your specific
program.
Attendance is usually required, for good reason. The MSU faculty member
and the Office of Study Abroad (OSA) in charge of your specific
study-abroad
program will explain all the critical details that are likely
to
make a difference between success and failure—or joy and dismay.
- Financial
Aid: Be sure you
understand how your enrollment in study-abroad courses in the summer
might
affect your financial-aid package for the following academic year.
Don’t
be caught unaware when you return to campus in the fall, only to
discover
that your summer study abroad was included in your financial-aid
package
for the next academic year, leaving you with less money for the fall
and
spring semesters than you had anticipated. (Please Note: If you
determine
now that you can’t afford to participate in a study-abroad program for
this reason or others—with the exception of medical and family
emergencies,
you’ll likely loose your deposit.)
- Know the Rules:
Understand that
you’re studying abroad, not at MSU. (No, don’t say, “Well, duh.”
Remember,
this is the office that receives more than 1,500 complaints from
students
each year—including study abroad.) If you’re a guest student at another
institution with a non-MSU instructor, the academic policies and
regulations
that govern that institution will differ from MSU’s. For example, you
might
not be protected by a document similar to MSU’s Academic Freedom Report
or Code of Teaching Responsibility. Don’t be surprised if you
leave
your first class session without a course syllabus, which is required
at
MSU. Try to find out—before you leave campus—as much as you can
about
the courses you’re going to be taking at whatever university in
whatever
country: grading scheme, assignments, exams, deadlines,
etc.
Again, reduce the surprises by attending the orientation sessions for
your
program. Ask as many questions as you can think of to shrink the
unknown.
- More about
grades: Some
students report the grading standards and expectations of host
university
instructors are uncomfortably rigorous. That may or may not be true;
therefore,
simply commit now to working hard this summer. At the same time, don’t
expect MSU instructors teaching MSU courses abroad to relax their
standards,
just because the venue is far from the banks of the Red Cedar. You’re
studying
abroad; you’re not on holiday.
- Transfer
Credit: If your
study-abroad program doesn’t offer MSU courses, don’t leave town
without
visiting with your academic adviser to confirm in writing: (a)
the
courses
you’re about to take at another university in another country will
transfer
to MSU, and (b) the courses will substitute for courses required in
your
major at MSU, if that’s part of your plan. Leave nothing to
chance,
especially if your study abroad program is sponsored by another
university.
- Cultural
Differences: Part
of any study abroad experience is learning about another culture—the
values,
beliefs, behavior, customs, habits, etc., of the host country.
While
the effects of the Global Village will keep you from feeling totally
like
a fish out of water, you’ll nevertheless be immersed in a different
culture,
which will require you to understand and respect those differences.
This
includes classroom climate and expectations. Don’t leave the safe
harbor
of the MSU campus without reviewing those differences with the OSA
staff
or your program director. (For those of you planning to study abroad
before
you graduate, the College of Arts and Letters offers AL 200—Cultural
Difference
and Study Abroad each fall semester.)
Study abroad will
likely change
your perspective on life. Enjoy the experience.
Need assistance? Click
here.
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