Should all college students be required to study abroad? Why or why not? by Rachel

Should all college students be required to study abroad? Why or why not? by Rachel - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

I believe that the opportunity to study abroad should be extended to all college students but I would not absolutely require this path because for some students this could be a very uncomfortable situation. But when I say extended, I mean to make it much more affordable so that many more students could take advantage of this life changing option. Whenever someone can get immersed into another country and/or culture, it expands our minds to numerous options that we may never have even considered. These new options may be related to the different architecture, the language, the natural environment or even the people themselves. Going to college exposes an individual to people from various area of the country, who may think differently from those from their hometown or the surrounding area.
Think how much more opportunities a person would have by visiting and studying in places that could be very different than our own. I think this opportunity should certainly be made easier to access, but I would not want it to be required. 161 I know of many students who would love to go overseas for this experience but they can't even start to explore the possibility due to financial reasons. If colleges and universities could reduce some of the cost of the tuition by using more advanced technology, they could shift this money into allowing students the opportunity to study abroad by reducing the outrageous cost now required for overseas study.
I plan to propose this idea to the President of our college to see if he and the other trustees will consider a plan to move in this direction.