Studying Abroad; Should It Be Required? by Morgan

Studying Abroad; Should It Be Required? by Morgan - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

Although college students might not feel comfortable opening up to new experiences, there are many amazing opportunities that could come out of studying abroad, and doing so should be required. Those opportunities include new experiences, skills, and knowledge. If you had the chance and the finances available, studying abroad would provide students with opportunities of a lifetime; studying in a foreign country, meeting new people, trying their foods and learning their customs/traditions.
No teacher has the exact same style of teaching, so one would experience a completely different the style of teaching in a foreign country. At the beginning of the school year, most teachers are aware of students having a hard time adjusting to their new teachers, schedules, etc. and it would be such an amazing opportunity to see how differently the teaching styles of a foreign country address those issues. You might even learn something that you didn’t know previously know about your major.
Meeting people from different backgrounds could result in making new and diverse friends. When studying abroad, you would be attending an unfamiliar school, with many unfamiliar faces and living with other students in your host family. From going to school with foreign exchange students, I’ve realized that some foreign exchange students tend to lean towards spending their time only with other students studying abroad, missing the whole point of the experience. Although meeting new people might be intimidating, especially in a foreign country without anyone that you know, while it’s understandable, one misses much of the benefits of studying abroad if they aren’t going to try to partake of the whole experience.
Trying new foods and learning the country’s customs and culture as well as the social aspects of that country are some of the amazing beneficial experiences of studying abroad. College students will have a better understanding and/or appreciation for the country’s history. They will also have the opportunity of looking at life from a completely different perspective.
Possibly making friends of a lifetime and trying appetizing foods as well as learning the country’s customs and traditions, shouldn’t even have to be required; you would think most college students would jump at the chance of studying abroad! Most college students don’t have the opportunity or the finances needed for studying abroad available to them, and the students that have been blessed with what is needed to study abroad should take that opportunity and use their experience to the fullest.