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By: Richard Menard

Why Study Abroad

You finally got them to college and now they have expressed a desire to study abroad in a foreign country. You may be new to the idea of study abroad or international travel, or you might be alumni of study abroad or an expert world traveler and know all about study abroad. We want to show why study abroad is more important today than ever before, we want you to see the value of study abroad and that study abroad isn’t just a travel experience or added expense but a critical part of student’s college experience.

Study abroad is a strategic resume builder. We live in a global society and today’s employers are seeking out culturally diverse and experienced personal who can work effectively in an increasingly global work place. You could be thinking as a parent is that my students is interested in an field like education, engineering, or nursing and you don’t see how study abroad can help them. But nothing stops at the boarders of the United States. Our educators are educating our future and that future looks more and more global. Engineering is outside of business one of the most global fields, there colleagues will more than likely be from some place outside of the United States and they may end up working abroad themselves at some point. There is a huge demand for nurses in the United States, however, we are also seeing an explosion in diverse populations in the United States and are students who have studied abroad are better able to serve these individuals. It also doesn’t hurt that nurses who study languages abroad are more like to receive a higher salary. The same goes for engineer and educators.

Secondly, less than 2% of all students studying in United States are studying abroad. When a student includes this on their resume it really helps them standout, and with all-time applications for medical school, law school and other post-graduate experience students need everything that can get to help them differentiate themselves from the competition.   For instance the University of Washington only accepts 4% (220 first year medical students out of 5000 applicants) of all students who apply the Medical School.  The student who does a study abroad program with an emphasis on medicine can differentiate themselves from other candidates and give themselves a greater chance to be accepted to Medical School.

Currently, Gonzaga sends about 43% of its students on a study abroad experience, with 537 students studying abroad last year. This ranks Gonzaga in the top 20 Master’s Institutions and the top 10 Jesuit Universities in the United States, top 2 Jesuit University on the West Coast of United States.

This is the first in an 11 part series on study abroad, we will talk about how to choose your program, budgeting, safety aboard, internships, service learning, Gonzaga-in-Florence, Gonzaga-in-Paris, Faculty-Led, Sponsored Programs, and Returning from Study Abroad.

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