Not All Students are Ready by Brian

Not All Students are Ready by Brian - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Should college students be required to study abroad? The answer is no. To study abroad it takes money, maturity, and responsibility, all of which most college students don't have.
What do most college students not have. Money, and the little they do have goes towards school or just living on their own. For one month to study abroad it takes five to six thousand dollars, collage students don't have that kind of money, yet they still are studying abroad. How are they paying for the expenses? By paying for it with their loans. If you pay for a trip with your loans, interest is charged on it and every year they have to pay interest. Most students have their loans hovering over their heads years and years after they graduated. So the five to six thousand dollar expense is now above the original cost. It takes money to study abroad, which students don't have, the trip is paid through loans, which charge interest,pushing students farther into debt.
Maturity is also needed to study abroad. Most collage students are far from mature. To study abroad you must be mature, to realize why you are there in the first place. To learn of other cultures. To most students to sign up for study abroad translates into a long vacation. Yes they may learn a few things here and there about the culture, but really are they actually having the experience the program was intended for? Most likely no. It takes maturity to actually dive into the culture and learn about the people and history of the land they are in.
The last thing and student needs to study abroad is responsibility. They need to take responsibility for their actions. This also ties in with maturity, to actually study the culture. Students need to know the laws of the country they are in. Responsibility is required to keep themselves in check. Actions or words may be translated differently in other cultures and students must take responsibility for them. Responsibility ties in with maturity, students most learn the culture in order to keep themselves and others safe.
There are three reasons why college students should not be required to study abroad. First money is required, second Maturity is needed, and lastly responsibility. Most of which not all college students have. Requiring students to study abroad would be a mistake.