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Does Anyone Regret Studying Abroad?

I interned abroad which actually did amazing things for my resume since I ended up with a sick internship through my program, EUSA (pretty much every interview I've ever been on asked/was impressed by it) while simultaneously getting to travel/experience life abroad. This did mean that I was tied to a M-F 9-5 schedule, but luckily my employers at the time were really flexible and let me have a few Fridays off so I could travel. If anything, I regret not going back and actually taking classes abroad since apparently it might have helped my gpa :)
 
I loved it so much that I studied abroad again in grad school.

Yes there is a lot of romanticizing the time spent abroad, but a lot of what makes it difficult (meeting new people, adapting to a new culture, finding your way around somewhere you are unfamiliar with) are also what makes it such a great learning experience. I can say the same for my time at Wake, I had a lot of rough moments where I didn't want to be there at the time, but when asked about my college experience now, I rave over how amazing it was.

That being said, I'm glad I only went for one semester. It was the perfect break from Wake at a time when it was starting to feel like every week was the same as the one before, and I went back excited to enjoy my last year of college.

palmab03 said:
What % of wake students go abroad. I never really considered doing it when I was there, don't think the thought crossed my mind, probably mainly because none of my friends did or anything. Did business majors not really do it?
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At least when I was there, Callaway wouldn't accept more than two classes from other schools. So a lot of business majors didn't study abroad. I saved some of my core requirements to take abroad and took two summer school classes when I got back to make it work.
 
I think it was either the class of 2008 or the semester I went abroad (can't remember which) that was the last time they actually averaged GPA from abroad into your Wake GPA.
 
tintinisahottie said:
Talking with some of my friends during their study abroad on Skype, and then a few months after, people definitely only remember the awesome moments of their study abroad and forget about the sucky parts, hence study abroad always sounding like the single most perfect experience of all time
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This is true. If I try to think honestly about it, I spent a ton of my time abroad either bored or stressed about classwork (I was of the last class not to get the auto p/f on abroad coursework, and the grading scale conversion from the Chilean system was ridiculous, leading to my worst semester GPA-wise, FTL). Also, as in any 3rd world country, the infrastructure kinda sucked, leading to frequent frustration (e.g., the computers would just stop working when it rained, Chileans protest/strike/riot all the time, etc.). And I missed the entire OB season, and couldn't watch by Internet (see: sucky infrastructure). Even so, none of this even comes close to a regret. It was one of the best things I've ever done.

That said, I am glad I didn't spend an entire year abroad. I know several friends who did, and it seemed to me that their overall Wake experience was diminished because of it. Missing out on one semester didn't do too much damage. It was easy to get back in the same social circles 2nd semester junior year, not to mention being able to see my family over Christmas, attend my grandma's 100th birthday, etc. The people who stayed abroad for a whole year said goodbye at the end of sophomore year and didn't come back until we were seniors. It just felt like a much bigger sacrifice, and I'm glad I didn't do it.
 
ProfessorDeac said:
This is true. If I try to think honestly about it, I spent a ton of my time abroad either bored or stressed about classwork (I was of the last class not to get the auto p/f on abroad coursework, and the grading scale conversion from the Chilean system was ridiculous, leading to my worst semester GPA-wise, FTL). Also, as in any 3rd world country, the infrastructure kinda sucked, leading to frequent frustration (e.g., the computers would just stop working when it rained, Chileans protest/strike/riot all the time, etc.). And I missed the entire OB season, and couldn't watch by Internet (see: sucky infrastructure). Even so, none of this even comes close to a regret. It was one of the best things I've ever done.

That said, I am glad I didn't spend an entire year abroad. I know several friends who did, and it seemed to me that their overall Wake experience was diminished because of it. Missing out on one semester didn't do too much damage. It was easy to get back in the same social circles 2nd semester junior year, not to mention being able to see my family over Christmas, attend my grandma's 100th birthday, etc. The people who stayed abroad for a whole year said goodbye at the end of sophomore year and didn't come back until we were seniors. It just felt like a much bigger sacrifice, and I'm glad I didn't do it.
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Ha, this is a funny post to follow mine and see the perspectives on grades counting from abroad. I thought most people view it as "we were the last class that GOT to average their grades in" since most people have such good grades abroad.
 
WFU03 said:
I'm not sure I agree with your premise. Canada might be too similar to the US to warrant such praise, but Mexico surely isn't. And it isn't just Europe that people say this about. I've talked to people who studied abroad in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Australia, Japan, China, etc. and almost everyone says it. The common factor is not Europe, but living outside the US bubble (which is why Canada might or might not work).
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i feel like this is likely true of most people. but i think for me (and i would imagine there are at least a few like me), what i really regret is not studying abroad in europe. for me it wasn't the "getting out of wake bubble," because i worked internationally for 3 different summers. i also spent my last summer after the 5 year program hiking in australia. so i have spent significant amounts of time outside of the US for extended periods (the australia trip was the shortest of them all, and was 2 months). but there was one semester during college when ALL of my friends were abroad, and they were all experiencing the same things. i don't have any of those experiences. even though people all studied in different cities, they all visited the same places, so it's like everybody has had the same experiences, and i just don't have any of those.

i wouldn't trade my work experience or hiking trips for anything in the world. i'm glad that i did them (and the work experience precluded me from doing a summer study-abroad). but i hate that i missed out on a semester in europe.
 
seventwofour said:
Chile's not a third-world country, bro.
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Based on the actual definition of a third world country, yes it is.

Third world country is a cold war phrase:

First world: US and allies during the cold war
Second world: Soviet Union, China, and their allies
Third world: Non-aligned nations
 
So did most of you study abroad through a Wake program? I studied in Geneva through a Kent State program, but all of the credits transferred and counted, and my internship abroad counted as well.

Oh, and to answer the title of the thread, no regrets at all. It was amazing.
 
I love Chile. One of my favorite countries in the world. Santiago is a tremendously underrated city.
 
I had a great time but I was friends with this one chick who totes hated it and couldn't wait to get home.

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I loved my time abroad, and it was by far my lowest GPA. I went to Dublin (Irish was there at the same time but a different university). We took classes with Irish students and their average GPA is 2.0 there. My 2.7 looked pretty good except when it came back with me.

My ONLY regret is that I might have chosen a different country. I loved Ireland, but I did a lot of traveling which was very expensive from Ireland. I think being able to take advantage of Eurorail would have been awesome.
 
DeaconCav06 said:
I loved my time abroad, and it was by far my lowest GPA. I went to Dublin (Irish was there at the same time but a different university). We took classes with Irish students and their average GPA is 2.0 there. My 2.7 looked pretty good except when it came back with me.

My ONLY regret is that I might have chosen a different country. I loved Ireland, but I did a lot of traveling which was very expensive from Ireland. I think being able to take advantage of Eurorail would have been awesome.
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well as we have established on many occassions the next island over (great britain) is superior in many ways...
 
I regret not staying in one of the Wake Houses when I studied abroad. I did a wake program that had a homestay and then when I went with Wake abroad in grad school we stayed in the Flow House which was much better than being secluded in a house with host parents who I think were primarily housing me for the financial benefits of it.
 
I wish I had studied abroad - there's no question in my mind.

When it comes to college, the two things that I will brand on my kid(s) brains whenever the moment arrives:

1. Don't go into debt for college. Its not worth it.
2. Do whatever is necessary to study abroad for at least a semester.
 
PhilliesDeacs said:
When it comes to college, the two things that I will brand on my kid(s) brains whenever the moment arrives:

1. Don't go into debt for college. Its not worth it.
2. Do whatever is necessary to study abroad for at least a semester.
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Totally agree on both points.
 
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