Honey, are you sure we can afford this vacation? by Walker

Honey, are you sure we can afford this vacation? by Walker - March 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Hey you! I need you to drop anything you’re involved with where you live, pay a rather large sum of money, and choose one of the few options I provide. And you have to enjoy it!” Studying abroad can be a truly enriching experience, and I believe students should definitely take advantage of such an opportunity—if they want to. With the cost of higher education soaring and college curriculum demanding attention, many students are incapable of making a semester abroad possible. To avoid these downfalls, studying abroad should not be mandated.
Please do not take my last sentence the wrong way, a semester abroad would be absolutely awesome. Personally, I have never had the opportunity to engage in foreign travel (unless you count a 25 minute drive to Canada), but it is something I plan on doing later in my life. Seeing the world is something that everyone should make an attempt to embark upon at some point in their lives. Learning about differing cultures holds a lot of importance; the real experience offers far more value than just learning about a culture in a classroom. However, as excited as I am for this, I will not be completing this journey during my collegiate career. Additionally, if it was a requirement for students, I would have to take a second look at whether not I could afford to attend college at all.
College is expensive. Everyone knows this. If a semester of study abroad was tacked on top of that mountain, it would be completely unscalable. If your parents have the funds, by all means, go. See the world. But, many students will be in the same situation as me. I cannot fully cover tuition as of now, how would I be able to dish out another $17,000 for one semester abroad.
Lastly, some students would rather not go through with the hassle of studying abroad. They would rather get the most out of college by attending that same institution for all four years. If these students were required to complete this task, I doubt they would reap the full benefits of an overseas trip. Since they would be forced into this situation, many students would enter their semester abroad with a closed-mind, preventing themselves from truly taking advantage of such an exciting excursion.
Ultimately, solely due to the complications of what a required abroad experience would be, the choice of foreign studies should remain in the control of the student. However, there are undoubtedly very distinct values found in cultural enrichment opportunities that you just cannot find anywhere else. Everyone should seriously consider world travel once they get a good career underway, but during college, sometimes it just isn’t plausible (unfortunately). I ask two things of those who cannot access a foreign studies program. First, see you college. Go there, learn, enjoy the best four years of your life. Secondly, go see the world. There’s a lot out there.