Monday, March 21, 2011

Convincing your parents to let you go abroad

It can be reallllllly hard to convince your parents to let you go abroad and spend a whole year away from them. I had to do a lot of convincing. I put a powerpoint together to get my family on board and here are its basic contents:


Financing a Year Abroad: You can afford a foreign exchange!

If you go to private school, consider the price of the tuition you pay, if you go to public school, see if your district will pay part of the tuition. Then consider the price you pay in food and electricity,gas and water for a year. +Many exchange organizations offer financial aide and/or scholarships which can range from full ride scholarships to $3000 to a few hundred dollars.

How will studying abroad affect my college admissions?


I spoke with Yale and Harvard admissions officers. Both said that studying abroad would not at all look negatively on an application. Instead they, internationally known ivy league schools, said that many applicants to these schools are from abroad, or have studied abroad. They said that studying abroad could demonstrate commitment to interests and a sense of leadership.

They also said it provides excellent college essay topics

They said that they would only would not look at grades from study abroad, but would like to see classes I took and teacher statements. They recognize that while studying abroad the language of instruction is not in a student’s first language.

They said that the time away from home students who studied abroad already had experience being away from home and would have an easier adjustment to life away from home.

They said studying abroad demonstrated one’s desire to challenge oneself and “overcome obstacles” e.g. language barrier, culture shock.


Pros:

Studying abroad is one of the best ways to understand the social, political, and economic issues that profoundly affect the world.

Stand out on college admissions

Stand out on job applications

Becoming fluent in another language

Learn about a new culture

Stronger sense of leadership

Growth in maturity

More independent

Cons:

You'll be away from your family and home and everything you know and are familiar with for a whole year. You''ll spend your holidays and your birthday away from your natural family.


No comments: