I am in college in Texas and I am about to study abroad. My college has an extensive Study Abroad Department…. but I am not sure about all Universities. The first place I started was searching my Universities’ website. Then, I contacted a Study Abroad Advisor (we had several…based on where you were interested in studying) and went to talk to her. I told her what language I wanted to study, any additional classes that I would want to study while abroad, and the specific country that I was thinking about studying in. She then told me about her experiences, and pulled out 3 brochures for specific Universities. We talked about the pros and cons with each of them and I went home to review and research each of them. I chose my university based on the fact that they had specialized medical vocabulary classes in addition to all the normal classes. I went back in and she gave me all the paperwork. It was all downhill from there.

Because I picked a program that was Pre-approved from my University, everything was really simple. I am able to use my home University scholarships and apply them to my study abroad program. I applied for a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, and I applied for and received Study Abroad Scholarships from my home University. Needless to say, I have my 3 month Study Abroad Program completely paid for!

There were not a whole lot of requirements. I had to be in good academic and financial standing with my home University. I needed a certain GPA and I had to attend all the meetings and fill out all the documents on time.

Start researching early and fill out scholarships early… it’s really competitive!

Good luck and I hope this helps!