I always told myself I would never study abroad for a whole semester in college… until I discovered the SUMMER study abroad option. I never thought I’d be able to study abroad for a million reasons, all of which turned out to be paper-thin excuses like FOMO (fear of missing out), GPA, and language barriers.Thankfully, I looked past these excuses and I decided to study abroad for one month in Rome this past summer. I have never made a better decision in my life, and here’s why:
1. You won’t have FOMO!
As superficial as it sounds, my biggest fear of studying abroad for a whole semester was that I would be missing out on all the fun things happening on campus. I’d miss Halloween, Marathon Monday, Saint Paddy’s Day, and turning 21 in the States…. Or so I thought. By studying abroad in the summer, I didn’t miss any of that! In fact, my friends working or interning back at home were the ones with major FOMO. You’ll be so busy immersing yourself in culture abroad, you won’t have time to worry about the things you’re missing out on at home.
Here’s a pic of my friends and me living our best lives at the Trevi Fountain. Not even a little bit of FOMO here.
2. You’ll have a simple answer to the dreaded “What did you do this summer?” question
We all hate this question. We’re all guilty of asking it and we’re all guilty of stuttering in the elevator trying to summarize three months in ten seconds. Although this is a minor perk of studying abroad in the summer, it’s a huge relief during the first two weeks of school to have a solid answer. It’s also going to come in handy during interviews! If you’re like me, you are neck-deep in recruitment season and you’re looking left and right for internships. Luckily, you have endless stories from your international experience in your back pocket, ready to whip out at a moment’s notice. *Bonus points if you managed to study abroad AND hold a job at home! Employers love that one.
So what’s my answer for what I did this summer? Well, I ate the best meals of my life, hbu?
3. You get to go on a mini vacation
Who doesn’t love a vacation? But there’s an even bigger perk: No parents! No parents to slow you down and no siblings begging you to take pictures of them. Take advantage of the opportunity (even for a short time) to experience another world completely on your own! When you’re looking to apply for your summer abroad experience, think about which cities you’d love to vacation in but wouldn’t normally have the chance – like Milan, Hong Kong, Prague, or Cape Town! You’ll be feeling major Julia Roberts/Eat Pray Love vibes while you independently explore the world on your own mini adventure.
Here’s a pic of me enjoying my mini vacation and ignoring the fact that I had reading due for class the next day:
4. It’s the easiest GPA boost you’ll ever get
If you pick a class that’s relevant to your location, you can’t go wrong. For instance, I studied the first thousand years of Christianity (for a theology credit) right in the heart of Rome. Every day, we learned a lesson in the classroom and ventured out into the city to see it for ourselves. It’s also much easier to manage your time during a short summer term since you don’t have other priorities to schedule like office hours and sports practices, for example. And we all know that time management is the key to a good GPA! Also, If you’re lucky, your class will bond and take a “we’re all in this together” approach to ensure you all succeed in the class and do well on all of the tests. Overall, there’s no doubt that you’ll learn to love the material in the class if it revolves around the city where you’re studying abroad.
In my class, we studied the origins of the Vatican and then we actually went to see Papa Francisco, live in the flesh. What could possibly be a better learning experience? LMK.
5. You’ll find a new crew
There’s nothing better for bonding than being confined to a 12-person social circle for an entire month! Living with these people 24/7 is even better – it’s like a season of Big Brother, except everyone has class the next morning. You may not know these people going into the program, but you’re sure to make quick friends as you travel together over the next month. When you only have a few weeks to become close, friendships bloom quickly. Cherish these friendships! Even when fall comes back around and you all go your separate ways, you’ll share some amazing summer abroad memories with each other forever.
I absolutely LOVED my summer abroad experience and I hope I’ve convinced you to give it a try, too :)