So...You're Going Abroad

Well here it is, what we have all been barreling towards, the end of the semester is finally here! I sure hope finals week has treated you well! With the end of the semester being here that also means the departure date for many of University of Wisconsin-Platteville's study abroad students. Whether you are studying abroad in Winterim or the Spring semester, the dates are quickly approaching! First off can I ask, will you put me in your suitcase and take me with you? Just kidding, kind of. You may be filled with nerves, are bursting with excitement and definitely have questions. I remember the first time I studied abroad, I was a wreck the entire week before I left.  I can assume you are feeling so excited because you are leaving the United States possibly for the first time on your own or you could be feeling like you might be sick for the very same reason. I just want you to know you are not alone in the way you are feeling, it is completely normal. To comfort yourself, think of what a great accomplishment this is going to be and how independent you are going to become after the journey you take with Education Abroad. Think of all the friends you are going to make and how many different parts of the world you are going to see. Think of all the amazing memories you are going to make that you are going to cherish for a lifetime.

I can tell you in that week before I left there were points where I got so nervous I thought maybe I shouldn't go, but then I realized how utterly ridiculous I was being and going abroad is a once in a lifetime kind of experience. I was that girl who came from a very small Iowan town, surrounded by very small-minded people. It's crazy the things that going abroad does to a person. I never like to think I was small-minded because I always had such a desire to see the world and experience other cultures, but I can't help but admit before I went abroad I probably also had some of those same small-minded Midwestern beliefs and studying abroad widened my perspective and opened my mind to so many possibilities. I could never go back to the way I was before I left. Only 5% of students go abroad in the United States, wouldn't you just love to say you are part of that 5%, that you took this leap into the complete unknown and had an experience that changed your life forever? I know I would love to study abroad again and if possible, I will before I graduate! Let me tell you a few tips that might ease your nerves a little about going abroad or just to reassure you that you have made the right decision.

Home will always be there.
Opportunities like Education Abroad won't always be available to you. Take comfort in the fact the home will always be home and you can always go back. You can't however always see other parts of the world. The older you get, the more commitments you start to have. The more commitments you have, the more difficult it is to just take off and travel , that's why college is the perfect time to travel and if you have taken the leap and applied to Education Abroad I am so happy for you.

You will not be gone forever.
Some of you may be going abroad for just a few weeks, months or even a year, but let me just solidify this, YOU WILL NOT BE GONE FOREVER. Time passes so quickly and in the grand scheme of things the time you will be away from home studying abroad is just such a small fraction of your life. Also, I know from experience how quickly time passes when you are abroad, mainly because you are having the time of your life. I was abroad for 4 months, but it really felt like two weeks, and although part of me was ready to see home, the other part of me felt like I was leaving what had become home to me in those 4 months.

Family and friends can come visit. 
I know, I know. You can't help but think how much you will miss all your closest loved ones and how will you go without them for that long. The plus side is they can come visit! That possibility is always present. There is also always Skype, Face time, Facebook and other endless ways to stay in touch and see each other via the internet. Plus you will make many new friends who will become your little study abroad family.

Do not pack your entire closet.  
I know you're thinking how is this tip supposed to help calm my nerves? Well let me tell you, I know you are probably packing and repacking your suitcase like crazy. You're probably thinking, oh I need this and that, but you don't. I'm sure this is only adding to your nerves and really isn't helping the situation. Although people have probably told you this a million times, don't over pack. Only take what is necessary. You can and will want to buy so many things while you are abroad, you will want that extra room to bring them home with you. Let me tell ya, shipping packages home is not cheap! Plus, buying clothes abroad and dressing like the locals is part of the way you can immerse yourself in their culture in just one more way!

Studying abroad just changes so many things in your life, it's hard to put it all into words. The more you travel, the more places you find that feel like they could be home. You begin to leave your heart in so many places and with beautiful people that will forever hold a part of your heart. In some ways you won't ever truly feel at home again because of this. Although that seems like a terrifying fact, you will love it because it makes you feel so alive, so free. I hope after reading this you feel a little less stressed and now the excitement is more present then the nerves about going abroad. When you first step onto that plane remember that step is the first step of your new adventure, the first step to the rest of your life.

Now go on, have an amazing journey. Your adventure awaits!

Education Abroad in YOUR Residence Hall!

One of our intern initiatives this semester at the Education Abroad office has been to share our experiences with fellow students about study abroad by visiting the residence halls. AJ, our fabulous Marketing and Outreach Intern who came up with the idea, discusses below the experience at Pickard Hall in March.

Next Education Abroad night: May 30th at McGregor Hall

"Tuesday, March 4th 2014 was the first night we introduced Education Abroad into a residence hall setting. The idea was to bring Education Abroad to the students, rather than students having to come to us. I found this to be a more effective approach. In doing so, we had to figure out a way for the night to be attractive for students. We had to make students leave their dorm room after a long day of classes to come to the basement and get involved in an activity. How could we possibly do this?

Food! Food is a huge motivator, especially for college students. This was not one of those pick up a trey of cheese and crackers from Walmart and bring that along. No, it was cultural food that we brought. Since we are representing Education Abroad, I found it to be unique and corresponding to the theme to bring in food from another culture. Staying true to this idea, I made a Dutch appetizer referred to as bitterballen. Bitterballen was one of my favorite Dutch snacks, and was served at almost every occasion while I was overseas.

The night began with an introduction of our goal, and mission behind being there. Then we mentioned to them there was going to be food passed out shortly....everyone’s ears perked up and we knew it was a great start. Once the food was passed out, and prior to them taking their first bites, I read some background information on the famous “bitterballen.” This information included how it got started, and how it has been transformed from its early history to now. Then they were given some time to converse and try the snack. During this time my fellow intern, Hannah, and Derek, an Education Abroad Ambassador who studied in Fiji, and I began to figure out the final details of the activity we were going do with them.

Playing Barnga at Pickard

Once the food was finished and the activity was finalized, we were ready to get the night started. Each table was spread out across the room as far apart as we could get them. Then we played a game referred to as Barnga. In Barnga, nobody is allowed to talk. Each table has a deck of cards and a rule sheet. After giving people a minute to read through their rules, we take the rule sheets away. Once the game begins, we rotate players between tables depending on who wins and who loses. Even when you change tables, though, you’re not allowed to talk. The thing is, when we passed out the rule sheets, each table was given a different set of rules. We played a few rounds of Barnga until everyone got the gist of what was happening.

After a few rounds we asked the students a few follow up questions on what they experienced during the game, and how it made them feel. Then I explained why the game was chosen for an activity, and linked it to the experience individuals can gain while studying in another country. Lastly, I asked the students if they enjoyed the night and then left the floor open to any general questions. After this we stuck around cleaning up the place a bit, and students actually approached us informally with questions. This was an excellent twist that I didn’t expect, but it was a great learning experience for students. Overall, the night was very successful. It was good to get the faces of people in the abroad office out in this type of setting. Interacting with the student population like we did will hopefully make them feel more comfortable about approaching or emailing us here in the office."

A few weeks later, Bridgeway also had a night featuring Education Abroad. This time, we played trivia including many questions about countries around the world. A few were easy, most were difficult, but everyone learned something! For example, did you know that in Iceland Dominos offers a pizza with reindeer sausage? 

A big thank you to the RA's at both Pickard and Bridgeway for setting these nights up! The next evening will be in McGregor on May 30th. We hope to see you there!

Meet our Education Abroad Ambassadors!

Time flies when you're having fun. Or if you're running from class to class trying to keep up with this semester! But, if you are considering studying abroad at some point in the near future, take a moment to slow down and begin learning about the different programs available to you. In her post "25 Things I Wish I Had Done Differently When I Studied Abroad", post author Rachael Taft says that she wishes she would have researched programs more extensively before choosing. While we at the Education Abroad office want you to research programs extensively, we also encourage you to use the people resources available to you! UW-P program alumni can provide invaluable information on culture, costs, classes, what to seek out, what to avoid, what to expect and much more. This semester we have several fabulous student interns and ambassadors who are specifically interested in sharing their experiences and happy to answer questions about what it is like to study abroad!

Derek Harmann is studying software engineering and spent a semester at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva, Fiji on the UW-Platteville Education Abroad program. Derek plans to keep traveling in the future with plans to go to Asia, Europe, and South America once he has the money to sustain himself. He loves Chinese food and dancing till he hits the ground, and  his favorite travel experience was learning to scuba dive in the beautiful coral reefs of Fiji.

Holly Sutcliffe was one of our excellent student interns last fall. She is an animal science major with minors in international studies and German who studied abroad twice.  Her first experience was on the UW-Platteville Renewable Energy Best Practices short-term faculty-led program to Germany and was followed by a semester at the Dronten University of Applied Sciences in Dronten, Netherlands on the UW-Platteville Exchange program.  Her favorite travel experiences to date were in Germany, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, France, and the US, and in addition to returning to Europe, her travel goals include experiencing Asia.

 Kayann Johansson is studying business administration major with emphases in marketing and international business, previously interned in the Education Abroad office, and is currently a tour guide on campus.  Kayann has studied abroad three times:  on the UW-Platteville Chinese Business Practices and Culture short-term faculty-led program, on the UW-Platteville History of Science and Technology in Europe short-term faculty-led program, and for a semester at Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany through UW-Platteville’s affiliate CCIS. She loved getting to explore the Heidelberg Castle where she lived in Germany and thought it was really cool to learn about the history and how a family feud had part of the castle being blown up by a hundred pounds of gun powder.



Kayla Steffel grew up just north of Oconto Falls, Wisconsin on a small dairy farm, where she also owns a small herd of Brown Swiss dairy cows, which inspired her animal science major with a dairy science emphasis.  Kayla participated on the UW-Platteville Agriculture and Cultural Exchange short-term faculty-led program to the Netherlands where she was able to tour multiple farms, gain a new perspective on agriculture and experience a new culture.

Nate Frentzel is a senior studying Business Administration with an emphasis on International Business and a minor in International Studies. Nate spent a semester at the Mahidol Univeristy International College just outside of Bangkok, Thailand through UW-Platteville’s affiliate GlobaLinks Learning Abroad. He is currently studying Chinese, Thai and Khmer (Cambodian).







Katy Lang is senior history major and political science minor.  Katy studied abroad twice: on the UW-Platteville Chinese Business Practices and Culture short-term faculty-led program and for a semester on the UW-Platteville Exchange program at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, Netherlands.


There are many on campus organizations and events that also allow you to meet study abroad alumni, as well as international students. Check out International Cafe on Monday nights at 6 p.m. in the Oasis in Brigham Hall, International Students Club on Thursdays at 5 p.m. (next meeting on the 17th!) in Doudna 143, or Global Lunch Hour at 11:30 a.m. every Friday in the Pioneer Room of the PSC.

Interns AJ, Hannah and Nichole are also here to help answer questions and share experiences from a student's perspective. Stop in at Royce, or check out our website for more information! 

Increase your overall

Life is interesting. There are many decisions that must be made, decisions that could impact your future. We are constantly wrestling with decisions to ensure we gain the best possible outcome. One of the most important decisions is "how do I spend my money?" Growing up in my family, I learned at an early age to show what you have for your money. Buying those expensive cars and big houses was the best way to spend money. This seems like the typical American approach. Growing up was all about changing money over to assets. Further down the road I began to envision my own view on spending money. This vision was a complete 360 from what the house norm was. I began thinking that the money I spend should in some way enhance me as an individual, help make me that much better as a person. I can relate my thought process to a basketball video game. During a video game player creation, the ultimate goal is to get your player to 99 overall. This means the player will be the the best player on the court. How do you get your player to be 99 overall? Do you put some awesome looking shoes on them? Do you give them a headband to catch the sweat easier? Or do you give him a sleeve to keep warm his shooting arm? When you do each one of these, the overall of your player does not increase. Their skills stay the same. The only way to get your player to be the desired 99 overall is to practice with him. Shoot with him to increase his shooting skills. Run with him to increase his conditioning skills. Performance over appearance will move him closer to 99 overall. 

This idea can relate directly to real life. If you go out and purchase a brand new car opposed to your old car that you had previously, how is this going to make you as an individual better? Will your personal overall increase? Your last car was not as nice as the one you just purchased, but it still got you from point A to point B on a regular basis. This weekend you go to the mall to purchase a pair of new Nike shoes, which you thought looked awesome. Your overall once again as a person won't increase. BUT if you use that money to travel to another country, you will be learning about another culture and experiencing new things. These experiences are going to change the way you think about that particular culture, and possibly how you think about the world in general. That is the aspect that is going to help you get to that 99 overall during your lifetime. For these reasons I have a whole different outlook than the one I grew up with as a child. I believe strongly in this analogy, and will continue to better myself as an individual by traveling and encountering these new experiences. Reach the goal of 99 overall, and do it in effective ways. Those experiences that you have nothing to show for, but are forever ingrained in your memory are going to be the experiences that help you reach your highest potential. So get out there! Travel the world! Increase your overall!

What is Pálinka, and is it for Americans?

What is Pálinka, and is it for Americans?

 Hungary was one of the best experiences of my life! There were no poor experiences I can associate with my time in Hungary, oh wait there is one...Pálinka! Pálinka is Hungary's national drink. The reason I had the opportunity to try such a drink was because my roommate, Benu in Netherlands was from Hungary. He had brought me back to his home village on the Austrian-Hungarian border. The master of the Pálinka was non other than Benu's father. The reason I say master of Pálinka is because his father makes it from their home. Jugs, jugs, and more jugs of Pálinka were located around the property. This man absolutely loved his Hungarian drink. During dinner there were about six rounds of food that were served to the table. We happened to visit around the time of Benu's birthday; therefore, it was even a bigger occasion than normal. Plus, they really wanted to give their American guests a great experience...since there hadn't been an American at their village since World War II, says his father. This was the joke his father played around with the entire time we were there. This joke was translated to us by Benu, because his father spoke no English. The language barrier was an experience on its own. Never had I ever been so reliant on non-verbal language to communicate. A lot of my non-verbal communication was valuable to me when we visited the Buda Castle. There were things we could do, and couldn't do within the castle which I would have never known if I didn't pick up on non-verbal ques. 

Visited this castle in Budapest -Buda Castle

 Anyways, back to the rounds of food, after each round of food came out Benu's father expected us to take a shot of Pálinka prior to eating the food. It was kind of like when you pray before eating a meal, except the prayer was replaced with Pálinka. After the first round, I realized it was not for me. I kept my face straight and pretended to like it for cultural acceptance. Following dinner I told Benu "that is one drink I will never taste again." Benu responded to me by laughing very hard, saying the drink was for men. Regardless, the experience was a great one and I would not have changed one aspect of it. We were even lucky enough when we left, because his dad thought we liked Pálinka so much that he gave us two bottles each to go! This was very appreciated by my friends back in Wisconsin, I can tell you they enjoyed it just about as much as I did. :).
In conclusion, Pálinka is not for Americans or at least not for this American.

Funny Story, Bro

Since it is Friday and we’re feeling a bit silly in the office today, we thought that there’s no better way to enjoy the day than to reminisce over a few odd or interesting stories from our time abroad. Now, not all these stories are our own and I am not going to label who said what (though I’m sure a few are quite obvious), but hopefully you enjoy a few of our tales from abroad. Here it goes, from Hannah, Holly and few others we won’t disclose. 

                While studying abroad in the Netherlands, I was given the opportunity to work on an organic, pure graze Dutch dairy. It was the highlight of my trip and taught me so much, but one of the most essential lessons I learned there came during one of my daily chores. You see, it was my task to trudge out across the fields to the very back pastures where the heifer cattle and beef steers were kept. I would go out every morning to move their fence lines, offering them new grazing options. My boss had painstakingly showed me the correct paths to follow so I wouldn’t get lost in the tall grass. One morning I decided to make my own path and marched across the field in grass easily a foot above my head. All of a sudden, the ground beneath my feet turned to water, and I was thrashing violently in one of the murky canals as some of my charges watched mockingly from across the way. No harm done, I climbed out soaking wet and quickly found my way back to the correct path, finished my chores and got to endure the nickname Kromowidjojo (a Dutch Olympic swimmer) for the next 24 hours. #SticktothePath

a few of my Dutch bovine charges

When I was living in Frankfurt, Germany, there was this bridge that we hung out under. So here’s the bridge, right, and then beneath it is this small overhang and beneath that is the train tracks. Occasionally, I would find myself sitting on that overhang enjoying the view. One morning I had just enjoyed watching a gorgeous sunrise, and was on my way back home when I came across an older gent.  I had just come back across the bridge after ducking back from the overhang when we crossed paths. He started out the conversation with this statement: “I can tell you’re not from Germany because you look like you don’t have a cold heart.”  That initial remark about my foreigner status was just the beginning of big long tale about his supposed life story that to this day I am not sure was true. Regardless, at the end of his gallant tale he then proclaimed that if I should ever need assistance, he would kindly become my mentor. He even gave me his name, phone number and email address. To this day I have yet to contact him, but I have always wondered what he might say if I ever did. What other excellent advice might he offer up? #OddConvo

Frankfurt, Germany

Generally, students are required to get a special VISA in order to study abroad. Some countries don’t mandate it based on length of stay or other concerns, and occasionally there are other loop holes students can use to avoid paying that special fee. Well, being a poor college kid, myself and my fellow American friends decided we would wait to complete our VISA payments. Word to the wise, that’s never a good idea. Feeling a bit homesick, we decided to spend our Thanksgiving holiday in London in search of a turkey dinner (we found it). There wasn’t much issue leaving our host country, but upon our return we encountered a “slight glitch.” Our passports lacked a special VISA stamp, and so the customs officer pulled us aside, spent ten minutes scanning our documents, and then finally sat us down on a row of plastic chairs while he called in back up. That’s right folks, we had just got detained.

 Now, our detainment wasn’t really too terrifying if you ignore our individual panic attacks (and my obnoxious sarcastic version). In fact, the cute, yes cute, male officer who was handling our case even offered us tea or coffee to ensure we were comfortable during our 2 ½ hours of waiting. To make matters worse, it was a Sunday afternoon. Now, if you’ve ever traveled in Europe, you know what that means. Everything is shut down. So, as the officers attempted to contact our host school to confirm our identities, all that replied was a voicemail. After a couple hours of trying phones without luck, one of the officers took one of my friends aside and talked to her privately in another room. At that point, we were all thinking this was the “individual interrogation” part of our crisis and were sitting huddling getting our story straight while she went first. Luckily for us, the officer simply wanted to know if she had access to any proof of our intents. God bless her, she had saved our acceptance letters in her email. After advising we pay our fees and stamping our passports with the government seal, they sent us off to continue the journey home to our host school. #DutchDetainment

a glimpse out of the Schipol Airport where we were detained

When I was in Switzerland, I had these two splendid best friends. One was a fellow American girl named Kristina who was studying in Bern, just 30 minutes away from my location. The other was a Swiss girl name Evi who I went to school with during that whole year abroad. Now, the two only met once during that year.  At my birthday or something, I can’t recall. Anyway, earlier in year before they met, Christina went to the Czech Republic and stayed with girl there named Mara. After Kristina and I left Switzerland, Evi, the Swiss girl went to Spain on study abroad to improve her Spanish. Needless to say, she ended up living with a girl by the name of Mara from the Czech. Turns out the girl who my friend Kristina stayed with in the Czech Republic was my other friend Evi’s new roommate during her study abroad in Spain. #SmallWorld

                Over winter holidays, my friend and I decided to spend two weeks country jumping with our first destination being Ireland. Wanting to hit up all the “hot spots,” we decided to stay in Dublin, and then take a tour bus to Galway and other locations. The day we spent in Galway was wonderful, of course, except for one detail. While wandering down shop street (the main and best street by far) we ended up in another random back alley. Out of nowhere, an old Irish man appeared and asked me to take a picture of him. At that point, realizing that he wanted me to take his picture with my camera, I should have caught on to the plot at hand, but being the naïve American tourist, I dutifully pulled out my P&S camera for his photo op. As I was about to snap his photo, he abruptly pulled down his trousers and laughed loudly. I was blushing so profusely and in such shock that I completely failed to take the photo then simply thanked him awkwardly and dashed off back to the main road. #IrishEncounter

Shop Street, Galway, Ireland

My friend and I were staying in a hostel in Dublin one night in preparation for our flight to London the next day. Well, unfortunately, my friend suffered food poisoning and stayed behind an extra day while I went on to London (through Ryan Air of course, since that’s how we college kids do). In hostels, you generally are placed with other 20-30 year olds in a room full of bunk beds. Well, there was a guy in the bunk underneath me and although I never spoke to him, my friend managed to strike up a conversation with him the next day after I had left. Turns out he was a student from UW-Platteville. #Smaller World

#Nate
#Edit
#BargingInUninvited
#Didn'tWantToBeLeftOut:(
When I was studying abroad in Thailand, I met a Thai student who was a representative of my host university's drama club. I never joined that club, as they met on weekends and I needed to keep my weekends open for responsible good times. He asked me where I was from. I replied the United States, as those from outside the US and Canada typically aren't aware of where Wisconsin is located. He asked which state, at which point I of course replied Wisconsin. He asked where in Wisconsin. I didn't expect him to know the area, but I told him that I studied in Platteville. To my surprise, he was aware of Platteville and its amazingly large M, due it part to its proximity to Dubuque, which he had been to. #AlsoASmallWorldIncident

One weekend we went to the (in)famous beach city of Pattaya. On Friday evening we had dinner at a local restaurant, visited some nightlife establishments in a responsible manner, and came back to our hotel room to sleep. Except for two of our friends (anonymous members of the "Green Park Gang"), who decided to stay out all night. We had been scheduled that next morning to go on an official excursion provided by GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, an official Affiliate partner of UW-Platteville. The excursion was taking a boat to a small island off the coast and spending the afternoon on the beach. Unfortunately for our two friends, they were nowhere to be found, and unable to be contacted by cellular phone. We immediately formed a search party for the two, and put their faces up on bulletins for the entire city to see. Just kidding! We assumed they were adults that could handle themselves, and that it was their fault they missed the boat. After a few hours of beaching it up, I grew bored, and decided to explore the rest of the island. I found a small bike trail, and walked up it for a short while. After turning around and arriving back at the start, I saw to my amazement our two lost friends speed past me on a single moped. They managed to make it to the island after all, and after catching up on where they'd been, we all hopped back on the bike, and the three of us rode that tiny bike all around that island, including up and down some scary hills. #VerySketchy

Sanuk mak! (Very fun!)

Financial Woes

After Nate’s most recent and supremely fabulous blog post, I was sorely tempted to follow the same trend today and do a piece on the Eurovision song contest just for giggles. However, after much debate (cough, ten minutes, cough) I decided to take a more serious note and focus on something that concerns every student in regards to education abroad: cost.

We’ve all heard (and most likely used) the phrase, “I’m just a poor college student". Yes, that’s accurate, considering that most of us are striving to make ends meet between paying our tuition, utility bills, rent, monthly food bill and more. It doesn’t help that over the last 20 years the cost of tuition has been steadily on the rise across the nation and yet salaries are decreasing across the board. For more on that fun topic check out this video. But that doesn't mean you cannot afford to study abroad.

Generally, advising appointments in the education abroad office go something like this: student is excited and thrilled to learn about adviser’s experiences, becomes even more ecstatic when we have narrowed down their program opportunities to two-three options, and then his/her facial expression reverts into one of consternation/terror when we show them a cost comparison sheet. Well, it’s my job next to wipe that sorrowful look off their face by informing them about all the grants, programs and scholarship opportunities available to students intending to study abroad.

                                                                                            (I know, repeat usage, but it's so accurate!)

First off, check out the Financial Resources page on the UW-Platteville education abroad site.

On that page you will find a gateway to get to program specific scholarships such as these following items!

The first item you should look into on that page is actually at the very bottom: the UW-Platteville Study Abroad Grant. Only for UW-Platteville students, this grant awards $300 to short term study abroad students and between $725-$1800. Now, you’re probably wondering where the catch is? The catch is, there isn’t one. All you have to do for this grant is meet the criteria, fill out a piece of paper, and assist at a few education abroad events upon your return. Easiest money you’ll ever earn, considering all those events are just opportunities to share your study abroad stories with fellow students. For more information on that grant check out this link.

 

I’m sure that while you were on the Financial Resources page you probably decided to terrify yourself and clicked open the Cost Comparison sheet. Don’t panic. Yes, those numbers are accurate, but no that does not mean you’ll spend $4,000 out of pocket during your study abroad program. Notice first that I specified by saying “out of pocket” and secondly realize that in that comparison sheet it only lists the UW-Platteville $1800 grant and financial aid as deductions. There is no mention of all the other possible scholarship opportunities targeted towards or looking for education abroad students.

Firstly, there are scholarships out there specifically targeted towards education abroad participants. I am going to name a few you should check out ASAP, but feel free to explore the internet and find other opportunities since the actual list is much, much longer. 

1)      The Gilman: Have you received a Pell Grant for the next academic year, are a student looking to develop yourself and others, and want a little extra monetary help doing so? Apply for the Gilman. They give out approximately 2,300 scholarships of $4000 each year, so as long as you fill in all the information and follow the program, you will most likely receive their assistance. For more details, check out this link.

2)      If you’re intending to study abroad in a more unusual country outside the Europe/Australia mix, then you should definitely apply for a Boren Scholarship. They will award up to $20,000 to each student based on his or her criteria and needs. For more information on that opportunity go to here.

3)      There is a fabulous site called studyabroad.com that has a “short list” of education abroad focused scholarships that can be found here.

Secondly, all the scholarships you would generally apply for regardless of whether you’re studying abroad or not will generally be more willing to award you money once they realize you’re studying abroad. Since we are living in a global economy, most of the companies that fund those scholarships want students to get familiar with intercultural communication and global learning. How better to do that than to study abroad?            

1)      As usual, I first recommend going to PASS all you UW-Platteville students and filling out the scholarships on there like normal. If you haven’t got that scheme down, check out this helpful list from the Financial Aid office.

2)      Next, if you didn’t know yet, there are complete search engines online dedicated to helping you find all those unusual scholarships put on by companies around the US and internationally that you’ve never heard of such as this lovely website.

3)      Lastly, stop into the Financial Aid Office in Brigham Hall since they have all sorts of tips, tricks and advice regarding not only how to find the best scholarships, but also how to successfully write your scholarship essays in order to receive all the fabulous free support.

There is still one more highly successful way to accumulate more funds towards your study abroad program: your family and community. No, I am not advising you to run around your home town with a your study abroad flyer and a coin cup begging for money, but countless students have approached their hometown companies, churches and interest groups requesting support towards their study abroad. Usually, the students present about their program before the trip and inform the supporters how the experiences will help the student improve as an individual, and then when they return they do another presentation on the how it all went and what they learned. I know I was personally too nervous to request support from my community, but if you have a comfortable relationship and are willing to give a few presentations, then I’m sure you’ll get that extra backing.

P.S.- Generally part of the Gilman Scholarship is some sort of community awareness project. Hint hint, that community outreach for support would most likely qualify.

Applying for all these grants and scholarships may seem daunting, but they will greatly help relieve your stress when you’re abroad because you won’t have to concern yourself with where you next rent bill will come from. So stay committed, fill out all the paperwork, and be prepared to accept everyone’s support. You’ll be surprised by how many people believe in and want to support you. They see what a success you currently are and how much greater you can become through education abroad. So let them help you.

Lastly, I just need you to promise me one thing now that we’ve discussed financial concerns at length. Never forget that although money is a key factor in your life, it should never deter you from living.