Challenges of Studying Abroad and their Benefits

It is a reason of constant amazement for students who have not been abroad for their studies.When a student leaves his known environment for an entirely new place in a foreign country, he or she faces challenges such as adjusting to a new environment, making new friends and acclimatizing with customs and cultures there. In short, they need to start all over again from the beginning. So then, why study abroad if there are so many challenges to overcome? We know that studying abroad gives you hands-on field experience in professional areas but there is more to that.

Benefits of studying abroad:

                                    

1. Makes you a better team player and worker: Studying abroad gives you the perfect luring element to pull in employers to your resume and eventually to your candidature. The demand for candidates who have an international knowledge base and the experience of working with colleagues and students of different backgrounds has always been high. To answer the question- why study abroad - an international education gives you cross-cultural communication skills, analytical skills, exceptional flexibility and teamwork which are always good traits to own, especially in today's competitive market. Additionally a foreign education also adds a foreign language in the resume which is another positive thing that one cannot ignore.

                               

2. Widens your perspective: The moment you leave your country, you begin facing new information regarding politics, ethnicity and culture of an entirely new country. Studying abroad encourages you to interact with others from different backgrounds and gain deeper insights into the way natives feel about the world around them. It is very interesting to know how perspectives differ with nations and educational institutions, even when you consider the same course at two different institutions there will be a sea of difference which will widen how you see things and employers value that immensely. 

                                   

3. Adds a new language to your resume: Large establishments (companies) value employers who have extra languages added to their resume. It is understood that a foreign language improves inter-cultural competency, thematic understanding, and cultural understanding, and to the pursuit of field-based, independent research which is becoming ever more necessary in companies across the world.

4. Opens up new job opportunities: Acquiring a foreign education not only gives you new skills and a different perspective of the world, it also links you to prospective employers and employees in the field and people who can help you in finding a job either in your native country or wherever you have completed your education.

                                

5. Personal Growth: “I learned a lot more about myself in that one semester than I did in the three and a half years in my home school because of the unique space in which I learned, experienced, and spent exploring another culture,” says Carolyn Valtos after having studied abroad for a semester. An overwhelming majority of students echoed Valtos’ feeling. Studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity, increased self-confidence, it enabled them to tolerate ambiguity, and it has had a lasting impact on their world view.

                          

6.Intercultural Development: Study abroad educators often assert that one of the goals of study abroad is to train future global leaders to be more effective, respectful of other cultures and political and economic systems, and willing to take a stand for the world’s welfare, not just what benefits a specific country.

7. Longer stays mean greater benefits: Consistent with national study abroad statistics, the survey found that students are generally studying abroad for a shorter duration, with the number of full-year students declining ramatically. In the 1950s and 1960s, 72 percent of respondents studied for a full year, but only 20 percent of respondents did so in the 1990s. The number of students studying for less than 10 weeks tripled from the 1950s and 1960s to the 1990s. 

For many years, conventional wisdom in the study abroad field has been that “more is better”—the longer students study abroad, the more significant the academic and cultural development and personal growth benefits. According to survey results, the “more is better” idea holds true.

However, results of the study also suggest that programs of at least six weeks in duration can also be enormously successful in producing important academic, inter- and intra-personal, career, and intercultural development outcomes. These findings are significant considering the current national increase in students attending shorter programs

                                    

A lifetime of benefits: Few other experiences in life have proven to net such a positive and sustainable impact. With study abroad offering so many life-changing and enduring academic, career, intercultural, personal, and social benefits, students should carefully consider studying abroad when searching for a college and during their collegiate career. Students should question potential colleges about the study abroad programs they offer and find out how competitive the application process is and if grades and financial aid transfer. In addition, colleges, parents, and employers should encourage and enable students to study abroad.

Author Bio:

I’m Tanya Schenck working in moderations and maintenance of usa writing companies, an online community that serves as a platform for college students to interact and clarify their doubts about essay writing needs.

PS - This was a guest post by Tanya Schenck who is currently writing article for usa writing companies. Do check her website. 

My education experience in chemnitz part 2 will be published next week. Due to exams and hmmm bit of laziness I could not publish it sooner but the exam period is a key part in my next article so stay tuned