Studying Broad: A Great Opportunity if you can afford it by elijah

Studying Broad: A Great Opportunity if you can afford it by elijah - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience that some college students get to experience. Lack of funding, work schedules, and overall cost of studying abroad hold most students back from even applying to study abroad. Making it required to study abroad is unfair to those who can’t afford and aren’t willing to accept more student loans and fall farther into debt. If Universities are willing to lower undergraduate cost of attendance, offer more freshman and transfer scholarships, and overall make college less expensive, studying abroad could become a financially achievable outlet for those who want to experience the rest of the world.
Firstly, studying abroad can be a game changer for students who are studying certain topics like political science, a foreign language and so on. Being able to study about a certain countries political system first hand can greatly increase a student’s retention rate and provide connections to individuals who are in the government they are studying. Being able to study a language, like French, in France is much more effective then studying at home. The full emersion into a new environment can open new paths and opportunities for students to broaden their horizons and make connections all over the world.
Also, being able to put that you study abroad on a job resume can greatly increase your chances of employment. Studying abroad separates yourself from other possible candidates because you have experienced another countries culture, lifestyle, and regime. With this you gain multiple outlooks on life and certain situations that other candidates can’t understand. And in certain careers, like journalism, being able to provide multiple outlooks on a certain topic is key.
Studying abroad is a great opportunity for undergraduate students to experience the rest of the world and gain multiple perspectives. It can boost a student’s chances of finding employment after college and allows a student to make connections outside of their country. And it also provides international students who are in country that is experiencing economic and educational problems to study somewhere else where they can thrive. If universities are willing to lower the cost of college, provide more financial aid and grants, making studying abroad mandatory would be possible. But until that happens, studying abroad will have to stay as a beneficial, optional decision for undergraduate students.