Table of
Contents
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Helpful
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Applications
Benefits
Cost
D
• Application deadlines vary, but are
• Global opportunities in more
• Program costs vary per program.
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usually about 6-8 months in
than 43 countries with 100
In general, costs fall between
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advance.
programs.
$2,500 and $6,000.
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• Program requirements vary, but a
• Enhanced job opportunities in
• More than $300,000 available in
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minimum 2.0 GPR is required.
today’s global market.
scholarships.50 percent of appli
cants receive financial assistance.
• Sign up for an interest list or list
• Learning a foreign language.
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serv online and be among the first
• Study Abroad Fellowships offer up
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to find out about applications,
• All faculty-led programs offer
to $1,000.
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scholarships and deadlines.
Texas A&M credit. Ask an aca
demic adviser to determine
• International Education Fee
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• Independent study abroad pro
grams are also available.
how courses completed can be
applied towards degree plans.
Scholarships offer up to $2,000.
(Palh^\t~ Staff
Angelique Montes
Editor
Christy Havel
- Managing Editor
Abigail Woller
Copy Editor
Jennifer Vasquez
Photo Editor
Crystal Dobson
Design Editor
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As a student who has studied abroad twice in her college career at Texas ASM, I can
not stress enough how important it is to learn about other countries and cultures. In pro
ducing Passport for a magazine editing and production class in the Fall 2003 semester,
the staff and I hope to make it easier to understand what studying abroad encompasses.
When you start planning to study in a different country, the details may be overwhelm
ing. We filled Passport with suggestions and personal experiences about being in an
unfamiliar country to help prepare you for your journey.
After reading our magazine, we hope you have been encouraged to expand your
horizons, pick a destination and go abroad. You won't regret the decision.
— Angelique Montes
2, CPo&kfr&ht'
Thinking about studying abroad?
Students offer tips for a successful international experience
Why study abroad?
Learning and living in another country is incentive to
leam a foreign language and completely immerse oneself
in culture. Studying abroad also provides the opportunity
to meet new people and make life-long friendships.
Alicia Gamble, a senior speech communications major,
studied abroad in Spain for six weeks last summer. She
said the group she went with became like family.
“Now that we are back at school we still hang out two
or three times a week,” she said.
Study abroad is a great way to get credit hours without
sitting in a classroom, said Grant Speer, a senior rangeland
ecology and management major who went to South Africa last
summer.
“You get to leam by experiencing new things and not just
reading about them in a book,” he said.
Tina Oggero, a senior psychology major, said her experi
ence in Mexico two summers ago was the chance of a life
time.
“It was a great opportunity to get close to people that I may
not otherwise have met,” she said. “Studying abroad is a price
less experience, one that will stay with me forever.”
Rachel Coleman, who graduated in August of 2003, said
visiting Italy gave her a different per
spective on life.
“Being in a foreign country takes
you out of your comfort zone,”
Coleman said. “You get to see the
American culture from the outside and
look at it from a different perspective.
Seeing the way people from America act in a foreign country
is quite different from how we would act at home in the
United States.”
What should you
pack?
Some students recommend making
room in one's suitcase for two thermoses.
Always fill a bottle of water before head
ing out the door, because it’s good to stay
hydrated. Study abroad students will be
walking a lot and not having to stop for
water will help the journey.
Another suggestion is that if one will
be switching beds often, it is good to
bring a cover for the mattress.
“Someone on my trip sewed two sheets
together and used it as a slip cover to put
over the mattress,” Coleman said. “It made it easy to take it on and off, and it
packed well too.”
Another item not to forget is Febreze, Gamble said.
“I didn’t have anywhere to wash my clothes for 10 days, so I had to wear
several things over again. As far as clothes go,” she said, “I really only need
ed a couple pairs of jeans, a T-shirt to wear each day of the week, and a few
outfits for going out at night.”
Packing will also be influenced by the climate
one will encounter, so students advise knowing
weather conditions and average temperatures to
help guide clothes selection.
Coleman said students will wear the same things
over and over again so she suggests packing light
and choosing one’s most comfortable and versatile
clothing.
Over-packing can be a problem, so that once students get to their desti
nation they may regret bringing too much along.
“I had to leave clothes in Spain because I didn’t have enough room in
my suitcase for all of the new stuff I bought while I was there,” Gamble said.
Speer also wanted to bring home more than he could fit in his suitcase. “I
wish I had packed another bag so I could have brought home more things
from South Africa,” he said.
"I had to leave daffies
in Spain because I
didn't have enough
room in my
suitcase...."
Who should
you talk to?
You’re not in College
Station anymore. Saying
“howdy” to someone on the
street in Spain may not go
over as well as it does at
Texas A&M.
part though,
the same
basic rules
apply: If one
For the most
"Most people were
willing to help us
when we got lost."
is nice to foreigners, they usually return the favor.
Coleman remembers Italians being quite helpful when she and her
friends were lost.
“When you are the one who is lost in a foreign country you really learn
to appreciate them helping you find your way,” she said. “It made me real
ize how much more I should try to help people who are visiting the United
States and are not familiar with the area.”
Gamble said the people of Spain accept and aid tourists.
“Most people were willing to help us when we got lost,” she said. “The
only time I had a problem was when I tried to order french fries at a restau
rant. I said the wrong word for ’potato’ and the waiter went off on me.”
When should you start saving?
Studying abroad can put a dent in a bank account. But don’t
be discouraged, because many scholarships and grants are
offered, and students can also receive loans. To find out more
about funding opportunities, visit the study abroad office on
campus or the study abroad Web site at
http://studyabroad.tamu.edu. More than 50 percent of applicants
who apply for scholarships at Texas A&M receive financial
assistance.
Students suggest bringing more money than one thinks he
will need. There are ATMs almost everywhere, making it con
venient to withdraw needed cash, though an exchange rate and
a possible bank fee are charged. Ask the
local bank which is the cheapest way to
withdraw money abroad.
Also, be familiar with the exchange rate
for traveler's checks.
“At first, you tend to spend more money
until you kind of get used to everything,”
Coleman said. “Then you start to slow down on the spending and
budget your money so that it will last you the whole trip.” Count
on spending some money, especially if it’s in the plan to buy sou
venirs and do a little shopping in the markets of the world.
— Stories by Sara Bezner
HOWTO