Required to Study Abroad? by Christopher

Required to Study Abroad? by Christopher - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

I personally believe that college students should not be required to study abroad. I think that forcing students down a path will drive them against college, make them constantly change their degrees, or even make them all so interested in the new atmosphere, they will want to continue pursuing their life in the new country which can lead to family issues.
Forcing students to study abroad may first and foremost drive them away from college. If students know right off the bat that they will have to stay in another country for a while to study abroad, they will not want to go to college at all for that reason. Students, for the most part, already know what they are going to pursue in their college life and making them add something to it might frustrate them. It might make them feel pressured into a life decision they might not want to follow or even be ready to follow. The student might decide to go to a vocational center or a community college, but most importantly they may decide to not go back to school at all for the simple fact they do not want to go to another country because they think it has nothing to do with the degree they want. Because these students already know what they want to go into for college, they should already know what classes they need to take to get there. Studying abroad, more than likely, has nothing to do with the degree they want to pursue. That might be another reason why students would neglect going to college if they had to study abroad.
If students were to be required to study abroad then they will see so many other things and listen to so many new people that they might be inspired to change their degree multiple times. This can lead to many new student loans that they will have to pay off in order to follow their new degree path and prolong them from getting the degree they originally would have already obtained had they not changed their degree so many times. When these students leave their country to a completely new one, it is like stepping foot on a new planet. The students will have so many new inspirations being surrounded by so many new things and people. Through this process, they will also grow new interests. People’s interests are what create the urge to learn more about them and potentially follow them as a career and while seeing so many new things, and creating new interests, the possible degree options are endless. This can make it very difficult for people to make up their mind in their degree, making them change their degree as many times as they want.
During the time when these students are in the new country studying abroad, they might not want to go back. They might enjoy it there so much they decide to reside there from now on. That can change their life around unexpectedly. For someone who thought they would just get their degree and then pursue their career and end up living in a different country is completely life changing with little preparation. When this happens it can lead to family issues and even regret. There are decisions those students might make in those new countries that their families may not agree with and that can lead to further issues. Some college students already make bad decisions in college and they are still in the same state most of the time as their parents. When you make students go even further from their parents, such as a new country, the odds of the student doing things they are not supposed to do increases.
As you can see, students being forced to study abroad if they go to college can lead to more problems than those just about college. Will those students not only not go to college to avoid studying abroad, they may constantly change their degrees due to new interests in the new country they are required to attend. Also, requiring college students to study abroad can create family issues because of the large division of the student and their parents. If anything, requiring college students to study abroad creates many more issues than if they were not and able to choose their own path for their own education.