Every year, thousands of students decide to spend a semester doing something a little different than just backpacking across Europe. These adventurers want to immerse themselves in other cultures, meet the locals, and make connections on deeper levels that can't be achieved by spending only two days in one place. By spending a semester or longer at a foreign university, you can earn credits while immersing yourself in a different culture. Most university study abroad programs have set deadlines for the fall and spring semesters, so if you are interested in going abroad, you should contact your campus office or other programs as soon as possible.
Many universities have their own study abroad departments, so start there first.
It s good to have some idea of where you d like to go and what you d like to study. Some universities will let you study abroad through them even if you re enrolled as a student elsewhere. When Leah Merrey, a student at the University of Maine, was doing research in her campus s study abroad library, she found out that another university sponsored the best program for her needs. Basically, I wanted to go to Seville, and the most prestigious program offering the courses I needed was through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Merrey. So, she went abroad via the Chapel Hill program.