STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS

Study abroad scholarships continue to grow in popularity for a variety of different reasons. Usually a student just wants to earn academic credit while mixing in a new experience in a foreign land for about eight weeks or so.

The biggest misconception about studying in a different country is that it is inaccessible to most people. But once you do a little legwork and realize that study abroad scholarships will make it relatively painless you are well on your way to what may become a life-changing adventure.

There are currently about 300,000 American students studying abroad. With the help of study abroad scholarships that number could well rise in the coming years. It has already more than doubled in just the last decade alone. About five percent of American students studying abroad are foreign language students honing their language skills. The vast majority, however, go to countries where English is spoken as the native language.

What are the most popular destinations for students studying abroad? There are approximately 60,000 students at the top three countries—England, Australia and Ireland. Filling out the top ten are Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, China and Costa Rica.

Study abroad scholarships have helped immensely for those wanting to put in a stint studying in another country. While most students will stay for eight weeks—many over summer or winter break—there are a good number who will stay for an entire quarter or semester during the academic year. Fully four out of ten students prefer the extended stay.

The junior year of college is still the most popular time to study abroad. This is gradually changing , however, as many students are choosing other times with increasing frequency.

For some reason that is not entirely clear American women choose to study in another land at almost twice the rate of men. Sixty five percent of those studying abroad are women.

They say that when you take advantage of study abroad scholarships you return to America a changed person. You have a different, global perspective. A new way of thinking that is a reflection of the place where you studied.

Studying abroad, they say, can do a lot for a college student—in addition to earning college credit, of course. What can it do? For one thing you learn about yourself through the total immersion in another culture.

Of course, if you go to a country that speaks English, as so many do, the experience will be both different and more of the same. Sometimes even at the same time.

Wherever you choose to go on your foreign adventure, the odds are that you will come back a changed person. But before you start packing look into some study abroad scholarships.

With a study abroad scholarship you can take any financial worries out of the equation—mostly, anyway. And once you’ve secured the financial part of the picture you will be free to soak up the culture, language and maybe even have a little fun.

Essentially all scholarships that are awarded on merit are the result of scholarship contests.