Key Questions to ask about Study Abroad

Almost every school with a residential population offers students chances to study somewhere else but there are many variable and options. If a chance to live abroad is really important to you, do your homework and ask questions. It's a good way to show interest, and you will get an idea of whether any given school will have what you want.

Here are a few of the questions students should really ask at those info sessions!

• Does the school run its own programs?
• If so, does faculty from the campus travel with the students?
• If not, where are the faculty from?
• Can I choose to study with a program from another school if my school doesn't have a program in the country I want to go to?
• Can I study at a university in the country where I will be living or do I just take classes with the other students from my college?
• Does the credit from a foreign university transfer? 
• If so can it be used to fulfill a core curricular requirement?
• Does it cost more to study abroad?
• Does financial aid travel with me when I go abroad?
• Do I live with a family, in a dorm or in another kind of student housing?
• How strong do my language skills have to be?
• Will I have to sign a language contract to speak only the language of the country I am in?
• Can I go abroad if I am premed/an engineering student/in a combined or accelerated degree program?
• Will I have housing when I get back? 
• Will the program offer travel opportunities within the country with faculty?
• If I go through another school's program, how will my grades be included on my transcript?
• Are there cultural opportunities, community service projects and enhancements to the program included?

Every school has different programs, requirements, options, merits and weaknesses, so be sure to ask questions before you apply. If you don't, you might find out your first choice school might be missing something key to your desired experience.