You have probably seen countless blog posts and testimonies about how great studying abroad is, and many students probably will go on to study abroad. There always seems to be those students, however, who have something seriously holding them back from it. Before I studied abroad in London this past spring semester, I never felt nervous about it. I knew since before I came to college that I wanted to study abroad. However, I do sympathize with students who are fearful of, because it is a big undertaking. The thing is though, it is more than worth it. Any hassle you might have in order to get yourself abroad will seem minor compared to the experience you will get out of it.
Maybe you are nervous that none of your friends would be going with you. You might arrive alone to study abroad, but I highly doubt you will leave feeling alone. My roommate actually studied abroad with me in London, and we were in the minority. Most people came alone, but we all bonded very fast over wanting to get out and experience London. I actually found myself having to make an effort to get some alone time while I was there. Also, we did a program that was not directly through USC. If you do one of the exchanges which sends USC students to an affiliated school, you will be among other USC students and be able to make friends that you can actually remain friends with once you arrive back in the States.
Money is another issue in studying abroad, but the exchanges I just mentioned are the same price as paying in-state tuition at USC. This applies even if you usually pay out of state tuition. You could even save money by doing an exchange abroad. I would definitely recommend having a cushion of spending money so you don’t have to worry about running out while you are aboard, but putting aside savings from a summer job will again, be more than worth it.
Many students who have never been far from home before may worry about homesickness. I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but there was not one day in London that I felt like I wanted to leave. Coming to South Carolina as a freshman, I did experience intense homesickness, and it crossed my mind that I may experience it again in London. But as much as I love South Carolina, the places you will be going abroad are so much more culturally exciting and unique that you won’t even have time to think about home with all of the sight seeing you will be doing. You have to go into it with a certain mentality: I am here for only one semester, no matter what I have a plane ticket home in a few months and who knows when I’ll have an opportunity like this after that. With this reality, you don’t feel pressure to fit in or create a life in the city you study in; you are simply there as a sponge to soak it all in. I really fell in love with London, and I didn’t find much that I didn’t like there, but even when I did find something strange I did not spend any time thinking about how home was better, I just took it all as a learning experience.
I would one hundred percent honestly say that the worst part of studying abroad was coming home. There’s really no telling what waits for you out there, what you could be seeing & experiencing, who you could meet. I encourage anyone who is hesitant about studying abroad to go for it and not look back!
