Historically our students who go abroad have tended to want to go primarily in the fall semester of their junior year. As I have said before, the pro of that is they get to go abroad with the largest group of their friends, and the con of that is they are unlikely to live in the residence hall of their choice with the roommate of their choice (as they will be filling in beds vacated by spring abroad students or those who take a semester off, etc.) or be released to live off campus, now that all our residence halls will be renovated and back online. You can refresh your memory of that blog post here.
I do want to encourage students to consider a summer study abroad experience. This has the benefit of not interrupting students’ academic path or major, allows them to live on campus in fall and spring in the building of their choice with the roommate of their choice. Summer abroad can also be great for students who are not sure they would want to be away for a full semester; 15 weeks can be a long time to be in a foreign country and so far from home.
I did a summer session abroad at Oxford University in England when I was a student and it was a phenomenal experience. I didn’t realize at the time what an amazing thing it was to be able to go into the Bodleian Library as a student and read there, something you can’t do on the average visitor’s tour.
Students interested in summer study abroad can go to the Study Abroad website, then click on the Choose Your Destination or Courses of Study menu options, then as they make their selections, they can see what is offered in the summer.
