Students participating in the programs have the opportunity to earn college credit in Spanish, French, German or Italian. McAllister, a Heisman Trophy hopeful, passed on the NFL to return for his senior season at Mississippi. He said he found out about the Study Programs Abroad from both his roommate and his academic counselor. It seemed to be a good idea because I knew I needed foreign language courses to graduate, said McAllister. The program gave me the opportunity to get away and learn Spanish first hand.
Classes are very individualized with class sizes ranging between three and six students.
The classes are taught entirely in the target language and are conducted in an open dialog format. Students have a choice of studying four or six hours per day. McAllister had no problem adapting to the new culture and surroundings of Costa Rica. Each student is placed with a host family that is carefully screened and selected by a housing coordinator. Most families have served as host families for many years.