Arizona by Gage

Arizona by Gage - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

The opportunity to study abroad is unquestionably one that should be treasured and coveted by all who desire it, but I believe the key word in that is ‘desire.’ Those who want to study abroad and do what they must to make it happen should definitely be allowed to, and it should definitely be celebrated and special. However, I doubt it would be difficult to find a college student who does NOT want to study abroad, and if they don’t want to do it, what’s the point in creating a needless requirement?
“Why, Gage”, you say, “They need to understand that other countries are very different places!” Obviously, they already know that if they’re in college and have ever paid attention in history class. Those of us who love America and aren’t particularly keen on any other country should not be required to leave America just to become an engineer or something. A requirement to study abroad would simply be another pointless graduation condition that would be unpopular.
Besides, why would we want to pay money for this? If somebody doesn’t want to leave the country or isn’t willing to work to make it happen, why would the university want to pay for them to? That’s really the only option, unless the student had to pay for it, which would be monstrously unfair. Leaving the country to study has always been a special thing to have happen, and I see absolutely no reason to make it a universal mandate.