Studying Abroad: Should It Be Required Of Students? by Ella

Studying Abroad: Should It Be Required Of Students? by Ella - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

The opportunity to study abroad and see new places, experiencing new things is something sought after by many students of colleges throughout the country. The chance to meet people of different cultures and to see how a change in scenery, politics, and even education systems can broaded a person’s horizon and strengthen their self identification. An overwhelming amount of people who study abroad in High School or in later years, in college, seem to think it is very worthwhile learning experience. Although so many people find this being the case, if schools made this a requirement for all students, it would drive many students on a different path because of financial reasons, and because of personal preferences.
Studying abroad is very expensive. This is a well known fact, and a reason very few people participate in it as it is right now. Maybe if it was a requirement than the the cost of going somewhere else in the world to learn may be included in the overall cost of the education, but it would up the price by a lot, discouraging people from going to college in the first place. It would be a financial strain on them and their families, or whoever is generous enough to help pay for their schooling. If it was a requirement, students would not get the opportunity to get the same education at a cheaper price in their own country.
Most people would agree that seeing the rest of the world would be beneficial. The percentage who are too afraid, or struggle with anxiety, or have no desire to leave the United States (or wherever country in which they live) would also be discouraged from attending a university that held this standard. Although this is a fantastic opportunity, some people would rather not participate in it, and making it a requirement doesn’t let the students have the free agency to choose what path they want their education to lead them down, like they rightfully should.
By making something a requirement (whether it be studying abroad or going to college in general) the committee of people who usually go through the applications of students who want to study abroad will not have the chance to pick the best candidates to represent the country. If everyone that goes to college must study abroad, then you will have people studying abroad doing it only because they have to. You will receive students who don’t treat an opportunity like that with the respect and awe-factor it deserves.
While studying abroad can be one of the most beneficial learning environments for young people to experience, making it a requirement would have very strong negative effects on the schooling system in America. It will weed out the people who can’t afford the up in price that studying abroad would entail, preventing them from getting a secondary education. This would negatively affect the society by having less highly educated people in our midsts. Less people will attend the schools that hold this standard because of anxiety, or maybe even just a lack of a desire to go. Making this a requirement would allow the people who don’t deserve this experience to be sent out to other countries in the world, and a lot of those people could easily take this delicate experience for granted. Learning about other countries and other cultures should be a sacred opportunity, and should be left for the people who will appreciate it, and it should not be something that negatively affects our schooling systems and drives people to not get educated to their highest potential.