A Year in the Life: Pre-Departure Orientation

So, word finally came from the study abroad office with information about approvals and next steps for studying abroad! Congratulations on being approved! I am so excited to be moving forward with my application to study abroad in Dublin this fall! 

I read through the notification letter that was attached to our approval emails. The very first thing I need to start working on is my secondary application to UCD. Most of us have to also apply to our host program or university. For me, I have to submit the study abroad application directly to UCD. (I know other people may have to complete the CIEE, SIT, IES or IFSA-Butler application, or even a different application. This part is definitely specific to each of us so if you're not sure and can't find the information on your program brochure page, check in with the Office of Study Abroad!). 

In addition to the secondary application, we also have to go back in to our study abroad portal (http://studyabroad.tulane.edu) and complete a whole bunch of additional questions, like emergency contact information, health insurance selection, and others.


I'm so excited to start getting ready for next semester, which is why I'm pumped for the General Pre-Departure Orientation this week! I signed up for Saturday but every session has the same super-useful information about Tulane policies and procedures that apply to study abroad! At the PDO's, advisors and returned study abroad students will offer logistical information about everything we need to do leading up to our departure, as well as some intercultural skills that can better equip us for the big move. The orientation leaders will walk us through the in's and out's of academics, finances, health, safety, communication, and technology planning. They'll also provide us with tons of resources on campus to properly prepare us for things like culture shock while abroad. There's no better way to get ready to study abroad than attending one of the pre-departure orientation - I can't wait to meet all of you and learn more about what my upcoming months will be like. 

You can RSVP for the Saturday Orientation on OrgSync here.

See you all there!

A Year in the Life of A Study Abroad Application Part IX: Deadline Coming!

Hi there, Tulane!! 

Only 4 DAYS until applications are due for Fall 2017 study abroad! I know that around this time, we all start feeling a little panicky because it feels like there is So. Much. To. Do. and just So. Little Time. But, I’m here to tell you: don’t worry! Let’s walk through the final steps to complete the application. 

Take a deep breath and remind yourself: we got this!

Throughout this series, I’ve talked about the program-specific items on the app, like my Application Statement, learning goals, and the courses I want to take while I’m studying at the University College Dublin. As I mentioned last time, the same advice applies to pretty much wherever you plan on going! For this post, I’m basically going talk about my experience wrapping up my application and making sure everything is in check to hand it over to the Office of Study Abroad by the deadline.

If you haven’t finished your essay, or you aren’t ready to submit it just yet, schedule an appointment with the Writing Center. The tutors there will gladly help edit your statement and polish it perfectly so that it is ready to submit! Another good idea is to swap essays with a friend to get another set of eyes on it. You definitely don’t want to submit anything with a lot of typos, and you should make sure that you are answering the questions in the prompt! Don’t just talk about how excited you are to travel; try to write about all of the amazing cultural and educational experiences you’re hoping to have!

Beyond that, it's important to remember the bottom line: Don’t worry too much about what’s not in your hands. Just keep the OSA in the loop about pieces of the application you may still be waiting for. Whether it’s watching out for your new passport or following up with your professors to get those recommendations in, just make sure to finish everything that you can (as well as you can) and keep the office informed about anything that you’re still waiting on. 

If you have questions about this process and can’t make an appointment with an advisor, just call the office at (504) 865-5339 and we can answer your questions.

Once you’ve submitted your application, celebrate! Read a little bit more about your host country! Watch some interesting films or listen to music from the place where you may be living for six months! And then, relax. Focus on mid-terms. Enjoy Mardi Gras (and read our weekly feature on this blog about Mardi Gras celebrations around the world)! In the meantime, the OSA will be facilitating the review of applications. Notification letters will go out to all applicants on March 6 to your Tulane email address!

Going through the application process has been a crazy experience. It’s been so much fun to imagine myself living somewhere completely new, out of the country, for a whole year! I can’t wait to start the next phase, when I begin actually planning my move abroad!

Talk to you after March 6!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Fat Tuesday around the world! From left: Venice, Rio, Trinidad & Tobago, Belgium.

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part VIII: I am a Study Abroad Application Completion Machine!

Hi everyone!

If you’re anything like me, you probably arrived back on campus with the best of intentions to get your study abroad application submitted as soon as you could! Well, I certainly didn’t, since I got swept up in seeing friends, starting classes and getting involved again in soccer and the other things I do around campus. But something about this cold weather makes me want to just hang out inside and work on my application! So, I thought I would loop you in as I work my way through it!

Last time I wrote, I went over the time-sensitive, logistical parts of the application, like the passport, advisor and faculty recommendations, and the transcript. This week, I’m working on the more program-specific items like my Academic Statement, learning goals and the courses I want to take. I’m going to keep up my application to University College Dublin, but don’t worry, wherever you plan to go, the same advice applies pretty much!

Once you are logged in to your application, over on the right-hand side, you’ll find a list of application questionnaires. Here is where I need to spend some time and, while I do, I’ll go over each one so we can get to the nuts and bolts of what we need to do.

First off, the Academic Statement is basically just your application essay, in which you explain why you want to study abroad on your selected program, and how the program will help you achieve your academic goals. You should definitely plan to talk about the academic connections between your field of study at Tulane and what you can do on the program when writing this essay! Does it give you a new perspective on your major that you couldn’t otherwise get? Or is it something that you can’t study at Tulane because of the constraints of your major? How have you prepared for the program and courses you will take?

When writing this essay, it’s also really important to make it clear that you understand what the program offers – whether the courses are in English or the local language, what type of support services are or aren’t available, etc. Don’t write about learning French on your program if that isn’t actually an option available to you! Finally, you should write a little bit about how your study abroad experience will help make your entire time at Tulane more “international.” How will you continue to engage in global issues when you come back to New Orleans?

The second part of this statement asks you to write down three questions that you might have about your host country that you can try to answer while you’re studying abroad. You can think about these questions as part of your learning goals. Then, write a brief essay about how you will answer these questions. For example, for me, I want to know how Dubliners carry on the literary legacy of such famous Irish writers as James Joyce. One way that I will try to answer that question is by taking courses at UCD like “Reading the Story of Ireland” and “Reading Joyce.”

But truth be told, I could also take similar courses at Tulane, so I want to make sure and list some additional ways that I can learn about Joyce that I could only do in Dublin. I would definitely plan to visit the James Joyce Centre, home to many of Joyce’s writings, and the host of the annual Bloomsday festival. They also offer walking tours all year that visit many of the places he frequented or put into his books. I’ll write about those two opportunities and explain how they will help me answer my question about Joyce.

The purpose of this essay is to give us an opportunity to really show that we have some plans for learning about our host country’s history and culture while we’re there! And it’s a good way to do some research about it before we go!

All of this research, by the way, has gotten me really excited about all the Dublin eye candy I’ll get to see. Here’s a sneak peek.

In and around Dublin...SO gorgeous!

OK, enough of that! Back to work!

The last part of the application I’m going to talk about in detail is your proposed course schedule. To answer this question, you have to be able to navigate to your program’s web page and find courses that may be available for you to take when you’re there. It’s okay if these courses don’t end up being the ones you ultimately enroll in once you’re on site. The important thing is that you’re able to find course listings and get an idea of how those courses might translate back to Tulane. That’s why the application asks you to list the course at your host institution AND list the Tulane department equivalent! 

It’s also really important that you demonstrate that you understand which courses you can and can’t take. For example, at UCD, I’ll take five or six courses during the semester I’m there. But, I have to take at least four of them within my major. So if I list 4 courses outside of my major, then the Office of Study Abroad might say, “Hey, wait a minute,” when reading my application! So before completing this part of the application, make sure you know the courses you can take and the rules and restrictions that you may have to think about!

One other, minor thing. The “Backup Study Abroad Program” questionnaire was added this year because some programs fill up or have too many applicants. So in the rare case that not every student can be accommodated on a program, the OSA has a space for you to put your second choice, just in case. This way, we can all act very quickly to make sure you still study abroad, if not on your first choice program. You’re not required to fill this out, but it doesn’t hurt anything if you do!

You’ll notice that, as you complete these items, a check mark will appear in the “Received” column on your application. This way, you’ll be able to track your progress!

Remember, the application deadline is not until February 17^th, so you have plenty of time to get it in, even if you haven’t started looking! For those of you who know where you’re going, check out the Study Abroad Facebook page because we regularly post scholarship opportunities that our students should be looking into!  

If you have any questions, just send an email to osa (at) tulane (dot) edu.

I’ll be back soon so we can do one final review of all aspects of the Tulane application! 

In the meantime, keep an eye out for our weekly newsletter, posted every Friday right here on our blog. Every week until Mardi Gras, we’ll be featuring Fat Tuesday traditions from around the world! Make sure and check it out!

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part VII: Starting my Application to Study Abroad

Hi everyone!

(Almost) welcome back for the spring semester! I know class is still one week away, but I’m already thinking about the things I need to do when I get back to campus. This semester will get off to a busy start for me – and all of my fellow Tulane students out there who are planning to study abroad in the fall – because our Tulane applications are due on February 17th! The application is online on the OSA website – basically, when you are visiting the program brochure page of the program you’d like to apply for (as an example, here is the University College Dublin program brochure), you can just click the “Apply Now” button on the top right-hand side of the page. Then you log in to the site using your Tulane username and password, select the term and, voila, you have created an application!

Before I get into the weeds here, I want to make sure that everyone understands the difference between the Tulane application and the secondary application. In order to study on a Tulane-approved program, you have to apply through Tulane on the OSA website. This post will go into a lot of detail explaining that application! Many other programs have what we call a “secondary” application as well that you will have to complete. For example, to go to UCD (University College Dublin), you have to fill out the Tulane application and the University College Dublin application, which is available on their website. These applications are not due by Tulane’s deadline, you can fill them out in advance of their deadline. It’s always a good idea to look at the secondary application while you’re filling out the Tulane application in case the secondary app requires something like a faculty recommendation or language evaluation – you can get them at the same time that you’re talking to your professors and advisors for the Tulane app! You can determine if your program has a secondary application by looking at the top part of the program brochure.

OK, back to the Tulane application: Make sure that you select the program you’re really interested in when you start your application! (If you decide to switch to a different program before the deadline, you should email the study abroad office to let them know instead of creating a new application. They’ll be happy to switch it over for you.)

Once you log in, there are two different places that are really useful to look. One is the Applicant Home. (I put a screenshot below – it’s one made by a staff member in the office, so it doesn’t have any of my info on it! She has a few more program applications out there, so ours won’t look exactly the same…) You can get there by clicking the little house icon on the left side of the toolbar. The applicant homepage is nice because you are able to see all of the messages that have been sent to you through the online system. It’s really important to check on those every now and then, in case the actual messages don’t make it through your spam filter…These emails usually contain really important information like deadlines and visa info and official letters…don’t ignore them so you don’t miss anything important!

Click here for a larger version of this image

The second place where I will be spending a lot of time is the actual application portal. You get there by clicking on the program name on the left-hand side of the screen, under application! Once you click on the program name, you get to the application itself, which has a number of boxes on the right hand side. Basically, you should just click through each of the boxes and read the instructions. I’ll point out some of the things I think are really important for us to think about.

First off, there are some application requirements that we can control, time-wise, like our academic statement, the list of courses we plan to take, and our signatures on a bunch of the forms. They’ll be finished as soon as we finish them. On the other hand, we also have to rely on other people to complete the application! So, I’ll focus on those items today and in my next post, I’ll talk about the other requirements.

The big one: the passport! If you don’t have a passport yet, get one ASAP. Why? Well, first of all, you need to submit a copy of your passport as part of your study abroad application. If your passport application is being processed, you can write that and your study abroad application will still be considered, but I’d advise everyone to get their passports as soon as possible. Your passport should be valid for at least six months after the end of your study abroad program. So, if you’re going to Dublin until May of 2018, your passport should expire in December 2018 or later. (Seems like forever from now!) The reason for this is also the reason that you should get your passport ASAP: Visas and Customs!

Most of us will need to apply for a visa in order to study in our host country. (More details on that later.) Both, the staff who process visas and the officials that work in customs want to see that your passport is valid for at least six months after your program ends, so start doing that math and if you need to get a new passport, go ahead and apply before the semester gets too crazy.

The other part of the application that will require you to rely on other folks are all of the advisor approvals and a faculty recommendation! Since somewhere between 300 and 400 Tulane students study abroad each fall, professors and advisors have a lot of requests, so I think it’s a really good idea to ask them as early as possible. Most programs only require that a professor “approve” that you are a good candidate to study abroad. They don’t really even need to write a letter. With your academic advisor and major advisor, you’re expected to meet with them and go over the classes you plan to take and how you think they’ll fulfill your requirements at Tulane. (I did this at the end of the fall semester.) Then, just ask them if they’d sign off on your application. If they agree, you’ll type in their email address and the application system will automatically send them an email!

If your secondary application also requires faculty recommendations, language evaluations, or any other approvals, you can get all of this at the same time, or at least talk to your professors all at once. It’s definitely a good idea to know what your secondary application requires when you start the Tulane approval process

The last thing I will do is order an official transcript so that I can upload it to the application system. Ordering a transcript is super-easy and free, if you just walk over to the registrar’s office to get it. You can get one free transcript per week, and just keep in mind that it takes 3 days to process, so try to go get one as soon as you get back to campus. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, you can also order them through. If you don’t mind spending a few bucks, you can also order them through your Gibson account online. The transcript should contain all of my grades from up to the fall semester, so just be sure that you request that the transcript is held until all of your fall grades are posted.  

OK, for those of us that don’t like big, thick paragraphs, here is a very concise pictograph to explain what I’ve just written!

Click here for a larger version of this image

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part VI: Registration for the upcoming semester before study abroad!

Hey Tulane! 

Happy start to the holiday season! It’s already nearing the end of the semester, which means that everyone is starting to plan their schedules for the spring as registration approaches. For me, spring registration means that I need to start thinking seriously about what classes I want to take before, during, and after my time abroad. According to my advisors, I should plan carefully because it’s possible that some of my major or minor requirements will not be available where I study. So, even if a course is normally taken during junior year, I might need to see if I can take it this spring or even senior year after I get back. I also don’t want to schedule something this spring at Tulane if I can find a version of it abroad…if you're planning to study abroad, you might be thinking what I'm thinking...

How do I even begin?

Well, good news! I've talked to everyone in the know to come up with some pretty basic steps that can get you (and me!) started. 

Based on some advice from different advisors, I began by using an exploratory degree audit (available to all of us in trusty Gibson) to look at my major and minor requirements. By identifying what classes I still need to take, I can analyze what should be taken next semester before I go abroad. I know that I want to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, and I saw that Tulane requires students to enroll in a Spanish class the semester prior to going abroad, so I’ll definitely prioritize fitting that in.

My next step was to identify the classes that I could potentially get credit for while abroad. I’ve heard that many students take their elective courses during this time, because it is easier to get transfer credit. Most university websites provide listings of what classes they offer, and you can always email the professors for sample syllabi. However, the best indication of what you can get credit for is by talking to your major advisor. I just had a meeting with my major advisor this week, and she told me that my department will only accept two classes worth of credit from abroad. Good to know!

The study abroad office also updates the courses that students have taken in the past on their website. If you are having a hard time finding courses on the foreign university site, just go to the program brochure page on Tulane’s OSA site and look for the link, “Courses students have taken.” For example, here is a list of all the courses students have taken at the University of Sydney, just to give you an idea.  

Also, don’t forget your Newcomb-Tulane College requirements! Tulane has a 120 credit hour requirement for all students, which will probably be more than what is required for your majors/minors. In addition, before you study abroad, you have to complete the first tier of your core curriculum requirements. You should be able to see your progress in your degree audit and, if not, you can definitely ask an advisor. If you still have some of those to get out of the way, it might be a good idea to sign up for them this spring!

You want to make sure that you can study abroad when it works for you and graduate on time, so it is ESSENTIAL to plan these things beforehand.

I definitely used some of the resources here on campus – the people! I met with my academic advisor, study abroad advisor and major advisor to plan for next semester’s registration. Here’s a breakdown of what kinds of questions you can ask these folks: 

Academic Advisor: Your academic advisor is your go-to person for all schedule-planning. They help you when picking your classes, and are the people who make sure you graduate when you plan to. Academic advisors must also sign off that they approve of your study abroad plans, so it is important to meet with them before you apply.

Study Abroad Advisor: This advisor’s role is to assist you throughout your entire study-abroad process. From helping you to understand the policies and procedures for study abroad, finding a program or helping you set achievable goals for your international experience (and preparing you to go!), the folks in the study abroad office are ready to help!

Major Advisor: Like I said before, your major advisor can help you figure out which classes you should take abroad, and also explain the process for getting major credit for the classes that you take abroad. Once you have narrowed down which program you are interested in applying for, you can look at the classes you are interested in, and then ask your advisor about the potential of getting credit.

I'm also planning to take a course offered by the study abroad office, COLQ-3050: Global Cultural Awareness, to help me capitalize on study abroad and even set up an internship while I'm abroad. The course takes place during the last eight weeks of the semester, and connects study abroad students who are going all over the world. If you might be interested but aren't sure, just send an email to the professor, Annie Gibson. 

Soooo, as I begin to plan my schedule for the spring, these are the things I’ve been thinking about and working on. Back in August, this whole thing seemed so far away, but now I’m realizing that I can start filling out the application as soon as I’ve finished my schedule for next semester. It’s so exciting to think that in less than one year, I’ll be taking my classes in Spanish on the other side of the world! 

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part V: Debriefing after the Study Abroad Fair

Hey everyone! 

I hope that you all enjoyed this past weekend as much as I did! Having Homecoming, Parents Weekend and Halloween all at the same time is a lot to take in, but I had a great time. In between all of the concerts and other events taking place last week, I found some time to think about my experience at the Study Abroad Fair, and figure out how to go forward with what I’ll plan to do my junior year. I know it seems early, since the deadlines aren’t until the spring, but with registration for classes next semester coming up, I want to make sure I meet any program prerequisites! Here are some of my thoughts:

I had the opportunity to see the fair from both sides – as a student worker, manning the Summer in Senegal table, and as an interested student. Although I did spend a lot of time working at the fair, I was also able to walk around and talk to all of the program representatives about the places that I was interested in. It was such a great opportunity to ask questions to people who know these programs better than anyone else! I was curious to learn more about studying abroad in all South American countries, as well as looking for programs with a Spanish language-immersion focus, since becoming fluent in Spanish is one of my main goals.

My first stop was the CIEE table! CIEE is one of the biggest study abroad providers in the world, offering programs on almost every continent. They offer many great programs in different locations in South America, like Buenos Aires, Santiago and Valparaiso, and they also offer programs with a focus on Environmental Studies (my major). Unfortunately, though, they don’t offer those programs in the same place! It was still cool to talk to the CIEE representative about some opportunities they offer, like internships or research programs. They also assist students in finding homestay families that will help teach the language, so we have another place to practice!

Another university-based option, like CIEE, that is great for language-immersion is Middlebury. They require you to sign a language pledge, promising that you will only speak in that chosen language during your entire experience. But just like with CIEE, I wasn’t quite able to find exactly what I was looking for in terms of what I could study in the right location.

After talking to the CIEE and Middlebury representatives about their programs, I made my way over to the SIT table. SIT, the School for International Training, offers very interesting programs. They are designed around a theme – such as their program in Managua, Nicaragua, “Youth, Culture, Literacy and Media,” or the one in Dakar, Senegal, “National Identity and the Arts.” Students intensively study their program’s theme by having a mix of class lectures, site visits, guest speakers and then pursuing an independent research project. SIT is awesome if you want to study a particular topic. For example, if you are a Public Health major, you can definitely find an SIT program – like the one in Durban, South Africa – that focuses on Public Health in that location. Then, you could use your research project to help inform your senior thesis or even apply for a Fulbright. (I know, that’s way in the future! I am probably getting ahead of myself a bit!) The one major drawback, for me, is that SIT does not offer year-long experiences. The programs are only semester-based. So, I could potentially spend one semester on one SIT program and then switch to another. But I’m not sure if that’s something I want to do. I was really hoping to spend my whole year in the same place so that I could make really deep connections while I’m there. Am I willing to spend a semester in one place, and transfer to another? That is definitely something I have to consider.

The most important thing that I realized by walking around the fair is that the aspects of a study abroad experience that I value most, when paired together, significantly narrow down my options. I am confident that I want to study abroad for an entire year in a Spanish speaking country. Because I have decided to go for a year, I need a program where I can take upper-level courses for my major (Environmental Studies) so that I can graduate on time. Really identifying my goals and what is most important is actually really great. Even though it narrows my options, it means that I can take an in-depth look at the programs that will work so that I can make the best decision. 

On the other hand, while I was working my own table, I realized that not everyone has the same constraints or goals that I do. Your options may be totally different if you only want to go abroad for one semester. Or, depending on your major, if you want to just focus on your minor or even become fluent in another language, you may have totally different options than I do. By figuring out what your goals are for your study abroad semester or year, you can come up with your very own, personalized list of study abroad options! 

I’m still considering my options, but my current dream is to directly enroll at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. We will see what happens after some more research! I got some contact information of representatives at the fair, so I’ll make sure to reach out to them to learn more.

Until next time!

Emily

Part IV of A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant: Getting Ready for the Study Abroad Fair

Hey Tulane! 

Fall break was SO relaxing for me, and I hope it was for you too. I managed to catch up on some homework, see family, experience cold weather (since it’s still summer here…) and make a plan for the study abroad fair. Elsewhere on the blog, the Office of Study Abroad put together some super-helpful tips about how to make the most of the study abroad fair. Hundreds of students attend the fair every year, so I want to make sure I stay focused while I’m there!

Last time I posted, I had just written down my list of programs that really meet what I’m looking for in a study abroad experience: Language & Cultural immersion, Courses in my Major, & located in Latin America. Some of the programs are direct enrollment – like ITAM in Mexico City and Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. When I get to the fair, I’ll try to find out if there are students who have gone on those programs that I can talk to. Then, since the program in Havana, Cuba is actually run by Tulane, I will be able to meet with the Tulane faculty and staff that do research and programming there. The Cuba program will have its own table so I think there will be a lot of people to talk to.

Most of the programs I found, though, are run by program providers who will have representatives at the fair to talk to us about everything they offer. So, over fall break I spent a lot of time on the program provider websites: CIEE; IFSA-Butler; and Middlebury. Their websites are so comprehensive and gave me a good sense of the types of courses each offers and the universities that they are all affiliated with. ALL of these programs have one thing in common: everything is in Spanish! From coursework to housing to handling paperwork, I will be speaking Spanish all the time. This is probably one of the most important elements of my future study abroad program. Knowing that they all meet that criteria, though, I’m looking forward to the study abroad fair so I can talk to students about what it was like to actually live in all of these different cities and to take classes at the universities there.

It makes a lot of sense to talk to former students. It’s just like when I talk to high school juniors and seniors as a Green Wave Ambassador when they come to campus. They want to know what being a Tulanian is like from the perspective of someone who is living it! And why not? After all, finding the right place to spend four years is a big decision, and so is deciding where to spend an entire semester abroad. Talking to returned study abroad students is basically the same thing. I came up with a list of questions so I wouldn’t get sidetracked at the fair:

• What is the city like? Is it big and loud? How does it compare to New   Orleans
• What about the university? Do professors interact a lot with students? Could you understand their accents?
• How did you make friends? Did you join any clubs or student groups?
• How did you immerse yourself in the host country?
• Where did you travel to from that city? Was it easy to get around?
• Was there anything you wish you knew before you went?

I mostly think I’m ready and I have one more tip for those of you that are planning to attend! When you first get to the fair, you’ll receive a printed map showing where everyone is at all the different tables. So when I get that map, I’ll know exactly where to go!

Hope to see ya’ll on Wednesday and at all the other awesome International Education Week events happening all over campus!

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant - Part III: Preparing for the Study Abroad Fair

Phew! Welcome back to my series on applying for study abroad! 

This week has been crazy! I’ve been wrapping up mid-terms and getting ready to head back home for Fall Break. In the office, we’ve been busy preparing for International Education Week which, for me, means making a LOT of flyers to advertise all the different events that are going to take place after we all come back to campus. Even with everything that I’ve been doing, I managed to find the time to meet with a study abroad advisor to help me understand all of my options for study abroad. I wanted to make sure that I knew what to look for and who to talk to when I get to the Study Abroad Fair next Wednesday!

Like I said in my previous post, I really wanted to figure out which programs I am qualified for so I know what my options are. I made an appointment with my advisor, Ghazi, just by going onto the study abroad website. You just click on his name and send him a message and even see all the times that he’s available. I filled out an advising application, too, it helped us a lot in our meeting. He was able to do a little research about some of the questions I had before we met, so we were able to make the most out of our thirty minutes. In the advising application, I made it clear that one of my main goals was to become fluent in Spanish, and that on top of fluency, I wanted to make sure I was taking Environmental Studies classes that could possibly count towards my major back at Tulane. If I could also take International Development or SISE courses (my minors), that would just be icing on the cake.

When I met with Ghazi (at the study abroad office right by Willow PJs), one of the first things we talked about was the importance of taking classes in Spanish alongside local students at the university. If fluency is my main goal, he said that being around native Spanish speakers as much as possible, using the language to take tests, listen to lectures, write papers and make friends, is the absolute best way to become fluent. For me, I think that means I will probably look at one of the programs that either lets me directly enroll at a university – like at the Universidad San Francisco de Quitoin Ecuador – or one of the program providers like CIEE in Valparaiso, Chile, where they offer a few classes in Spanish for American students but then help you directly enroll at the local university, too. I think programs like this help students who are a little unsure about taking all their classes at the foreign university because they can take one or two classes that are very similar to the Spanish classes we take at Tulane.

Once I had that figured out, I realized I had a problem – I still have a LOT of options for study abroad. I know, it’s a good problem to have! So, Ghazi and I brainstormed about how to narrow down my options even further so that I could decide where I should apply. I love a good list of action items!

Step 1: Make a list of the programs I should consider.

When I made the list, I knew:

•     The courses should be all in Spanish.
•     The program should be in Latin America ideally.

I made this list as soon as I left the study abroad office!

My options - I made this list as soon as I left the office

Step 2: Research the program websites.

Ghazi gave me some tips about how to look at the program websites…they are filled with lots of information, so he explained what exactly I should be looking for:

•         What courses are available? Both, at the study center run by the program and at the local university? I’ll be able to use this list when I go to talk to my major advisor…
•         What are the housing options that are available? We talked about the benefits of living with a host family (here’s a Tulane student’s blog about her host family) and so he encouraged me to look for student perspectives about the accommodations.
•         What are the start and end dates of the program? I hadn’t even considered the fact that universities in South America start their academic year in February and end in late November or early December. So, Ghazi encouraged me to think about what I plan to do over the summer before I go, because many of those programs begin in July instead of late August. If I need my summer free for an internship or job, I might need to look at the programs in Mexico or even Spain, instead.
•         What is the city like?! This question was probably the one I had thought about the least! But, Ghazi explained that I would be living in the city for 5 or 6 months, and so it would be important that I would be comfortable there… New Orleans is a relatively small city, so it would be a transition to go from a place like NOLA to a huge city like Quito or Buenos Aires! He encouraged me to read about city life in the places I was considering to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually live there.

Step 3: Talk to people!

Lastly, I need to go talk to as many people as I can who have some experience with these different programs!

• The Study Abroad Fair is on October 19. Representatives of all the different programs will be there so I will be sure to go and chat with them. And then, Tulane students who have already gone on the program will also be there, so they can give me the skinny on what it’s like for a student!
• Since many of the faculty members in the Spanish department have some experience in one or more of these places, I think I’ll talk to them, too, because they might have some insight.
• After I get an idea of all of the different programs and locations, and a list of classes I can take, then I’ll probably meet up with my major advisor to talk about the nitty gritty of not falling behind while I’m abroad.

Basically, meeting with a study abroad advisor helped me focus on my options and figure out what, exactly, I need to do over the next few months to select the best option for me! I’m going to spend some time over fall break perusing the websites and then, hit the study abroad fair running. Or, at least, with a list of questions…

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant, Part II: Looking at all my options!

Hi Everybody! Emily again! I'm back with another installment of the saga that many of us sophomores are going through right now - deciding where we'll study abroad next year! 

Now that school is really underway, and I’ve managed to finish up my mid-terms (HOW IS IT ALREADY MID-TERMS?!), I can focus on my study abroad program search. Thankfully, the OSA website is filled with a lot of information. I may or may not have spent some time drooling over the programs I could participate in on Tulane’s website instead of studying for my mid-terms…

The Great Mosque of Córdoba, also known as the Mezquita - 
I could definitely take a weekend trip to see this if I decide to study abroad in Madrid!

When I was perusing the study abroad website, the first thing I noticed was the abundance of programs that Tulane offers. Tulane has an “approved” list of study abroad programs, which means that if you study on one of these programs, you pay Tulane tuition using the same financial aid package – including scholarships and grants – (except for housing) and get Tulane elective credit for the work done abroad. There are basically two ways to go: direct enrollment or on a study abroad program provider. Here’s some information about the two:

Direct Enrollment: On a direct enrollment program, we go as international students to a university abroad, and take all of our courses right alongside local students. Some of these programs are available in English – like in Australia, England or Singapore – or in the local language – in Spain, Argentina, France, Morocco, Senegal, China – as long as Tulane offers the language, OSA has a program in that language

Study Abroad Program Provider: Program providers, like CIEE or IES, have a study center abroad, usually housed at a local university, where they offer student services – help with housing, culture shock, etc. – and also bring in host country professors to teach courses. Then, they will help students take some courses at the local university, too, as long as their language skills are up to snuff.

(You can read more about the program models, and other policies, on the OSA website.)

The PUCP campus in Lima, Peru. This program takes place at
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and is run by a study abroad program provider, IFSA-Butler. 

When I started looking at the list of programs, my first “order of business” was to try and find programs that I’m eligible for. All programs require a 3.0 cumulative GPA, but there are more specific requirements (like prerequisite courses or language classes). I’m in Spanish 3040 now (Grammar and Composition) which means that, even though I’ve only taken 3 semesters of Spanish since I got to Tulane, this is technically my fifth semester. (Spanish 1010 is the first, and since I tested into 2030, Spanish 1010 and 1020 count as two of my five semesters.) This is important to know, since many of the study abroad programs in the Spanish-speaking world require five or six semesters! I will probably take Spanish next semester, too, since most of the programs recommend that you take the language the semester before you study abroad. I think it’s so that our skills are really sharp right before we go.

Once I figured all of that out, I was ready to see which programs are taught in Spanish since one of my main goals for study abroad is to become fluent. The OSA website has an advanced search feature that really helps narrow it down! Right now, there are sixteen different programs on the approved list that are taught in Spanish. Some of them are in Spain, and the rest are in Central and South America. Just by reading the program brochures on OSA’s website, I couldn’t decide which would be best for me. But at the top and bottom of each of the brochures is a link to the host university or program provider, so as soon as I get the time, I’m going to go onto those sites to get even more info.

Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall system in the world, forms part of the boundary between Argentina and Brazil! CIEE takes their program participants on a trip to the falls every semester. 

One thing I’ve realized, though, since I’ve been working here at OSA, is that there are two study abroad advisors that can help you whether you have no idea where to start or, like me, you’ve done a little bit of research. So, I think the next thing I’m going to do is make an appointment with an advisor so I can make sure I’m looking at all of the right websites and asking the right questions…

Check back next week to see how it went!

A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant, Part I: Introductions!

Hi Tulane! 

Welcome to our weekly feature, A Year in the Life of a Study Abroad Applicant! This fall, we have partnered with a Tulane sophomore who will be applying to one of the Office of Study Abroad international programs for her junior year! She has agreed to give everyone on campus this insider view of what it's like to search for the right study abroad program and go through the application process! We are so excited to have her sharing her experiences with you! Take it away, Emily!

_______________________________

My super-beautiful hometown,
Hampton, NH

My name is Emily Bonenfant and I am a sophomore from Hampton, New Hampshire majoring in Environmental Studies, with minors in International Development and Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. I’m also a social media intern in the Office of Study Abroad this year. One of my responsibilities will be to take you along with me as I try to figure out where I’m going to study abroad next year!

One of the main reasons I came to Tulane is because I am so passionate about Spanish and travel. I always knew I wanted to study abroad during my junior year. When I was researching colleges, I was very impressed by how many study abroad programs Tulane offers and by how I am able to use my scholarships and financial aid package to be able to afford spending a whole year living in another country! (And, I will still be able to graduate on time, even with two minors!)

When I first moved to New Orleans and campus, though, I lived like a typical freshman. I joined the Green Club, Outreach Tulane and started the process to become a Green Wave Ambassador. Yes, that is me you see walking backwards all over campus. I also got elected as Vice President of Communications for the Tulane chapter of Food for Thought and Action, a non-profit with a branch here in New Orleans. I was learning about stuff I’d never thought about before, like entrepreneurship and international development organizations. Taking college-level Spanish really challenged me, too, but I still loved it! Study abroad was kind of on my mind, but as a freshman, I was so busy getting used to campus life that I didn’t think about it too much.

After freshman year, I went home over the summer and really had a lot of time to think about what I loved about traveling. I realized how much I loved experiencing new cultures, learning languages and meeting people from all around the world. I was going to tackle planning my study abroad during my sophomore year. Now, I’m back here on campus and starting to really give it all some thought. I know I definitely want to become as fluent as possible in Spanish and I also want to study topics related to my major – Environmental Studies – but in a totally new and different place. It’s been so cool to learn about New Orleans and the different environmental issues we have to deal with down here. So, I think I can gain a totally new perspective by studying the same topics somewhere else, too. 

Here I am at the famous windmills in Consuegra, Spain,
the site of Miguel de Cervantes' inspiration to write Don Quixote!

I have a little bit of international experience already, which has only made me more excited about studying abroad. I remember the first time I ever left the country. I went to five different cities in Spain when I was in high school and even took a day trip to Tetouan, Morocco, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! I also got the chance to visit the Osa Peninsula on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.  One thing I really loved from those experiences that I hope to have again during my junior year abroad is learning about cultures that are totally new to me.

At this point, I don’t need to worry about applications yet – the deadline for studying abroad next fall is still a few months away. So for the next month or so, I’ll be researching my options on the Office of Study Abroad website and going to a bunch of different events to try and get as much information as possible so I can make a decision. Of course, I still have all of my responsibilities on campus and my classes, but I’m excited to learn about all of the places I can go!

Tetouan, Morocco

Through this blog, I hope to help my fellow Tulanians use all of the resources OSA has to offer, to find the right program for them that meets your academic goals and personal interests, and also to figure out all of the policies about study abroad that we need to know about!

Macaws in the Osa Peninsula
in Costa Rica!

Check back every Monday to see what I get up to next!