Students Shouldn't Be Required to Study Abroad by Jake

Students Shouldn't Be Required to Study Abroad by Jake - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Many universities offer a study abroad program for their students. This allows them to visit new places, immerse themselves in a different culture, and to learn things from new perspectives. However, while these programs are great, they aren’t for everyone. I don’t think that students should be required to study abroad.
Make no mistake, I believe that studying abroad is a great program and that colleges should continue to offer it. It does allow people the experience of going to a new country and can help them to gain a more global perspective on certain issues that they might not get in the United States. With this in mind, it shouldn’t be a requirement for all students. Many students, like myself, suffer from travel anxiety. We don’t like to leave the country. Some people would be so concerned about losing their passport, getting kidnapped, or being caught up in a civil war (an irrational fear, but one that many hold) that the experience wouldn’t have the same positive impact that it might have for a student that is more accustomed to traveling.
There is also the issue of classes. Some majors, such as engineering or biomedical science, require some of the most rigorous coursework that the university has to offer. If the student takes a year or even a semester to go to another country, their education will be set back. They would have a time period where they aren’t getting every bit of education that they need to be on track to finish their major. I know a student in high school who went a year without a math course, and then he jumped into AP Calculus this year, and he struggled for several weeks to keep his grades up. In college, that struggling would increase exponentially.
Something else to consider is the student’s personal desire to study abroad. Travel anxieties aside, some people just don’t want to study abroad for other reasons. They may just be uninterested in the idea, not necessarily afraid of travel, but they just don’t want to do it. Forcing them to commit to something that they don’t want to do will most likely result in an overall performance that is a degree lower than what they might be able to do in something that they’re more passionate about. Will an engineering student put more effort into a class over engine mechanics, or into a class about fourteenth century literature? That’s the principle that I’m applying to study abroad. If a student doesn’t want to study abroad, they will, under most circumstances, not do very well with it.
While there are many benefits to study abroad programs, and while I do believe that they should continue at all colleges, I do not believe that they should be a mandatory thing for graduation. Whether the student has travel anxiety, a course schedule that doesn’t allow time for studying abroad, or just plain doesn’t want to study abroad, students shouldn’t be forced into a program that could be detrimental to their plans. Study abroad is a fantastic program and should continue, but it shouldn’t be mandatory.