7 Tips to Help Students Pay for Study Abroad

by Lara Garanzuay, Communications Specialist

With the school year starting up for most higher education institutions, students are once again thinking about study abroad programs. If you were to ask any current student why they don’t take part in study abroad, most will say because the programs tend to come at a high cost. Only about 16% of all undergraduate students study abroad every year. However, most institutions offer hundreds and thousands of dollars in scholarships, it’s just a matter of learning about the opportunities and applying. Along with that, there are many study abroad programs that are deemed more affordable, including short-term faculty-led programs and virtual international education options. 

Here are some tips on making study abroad more affordable:

Apply financial aid to the cost of studying abroad

• Check if you qualify for financial aid at the Federal Office of Financial Aid

• Research your study abroad options early on to include the cost in the financial aid application for the year.

• Going on a faculty-led program as part of a course taken during the semester is a great option.

Apply for study abroad scholarships

• Check with your study abroad office about the amounts, the process, and deadlines for internal scholarships

• Explore external scholarships online, here are just some of the many opportunities

• Many Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs and other community organizations and foundations also offer scholarships for international study and travel. Ask your financial aid office and research online!

Opt for a shorter program

• Because faculty-led and other short-term programs involve only a limited time overseas, they usually have the advantage of being considerably less expensive.

• Take a look at our sample faculty-led programs to get a sense of what’s involved

Consider a virtual study abroad

• Virtual study abroad programs range in length, therefore, faculty can find the perfect fit for their students

• These programs cost a fraction of the cost of traditional study abroad, require much less time, and are more accessible for all

Check with the government of the country you want to study abroad in

• Many countries give financial support to international students studying abroad

• Some scholarships are country specific. CollegeScholarships.org is a great resource if you know which country you want to travel to. Here is a sample list of opportunities for Peru 

Browse the web!

• IIE Passport is a comprehensive search engine for all study abroad programs registered with the Institute for International Education.

• Scholarship Portal provides a comprehensive search system for scholarships available throughout Europe; you can search by region, country, and discipline.

Check with your department or college

• Most universities are aware of how the cost of studying abroad can be the number one reason why students don’t participate, therefore, they allocate certain money specifically for students in specific majors to study abroad

• Schedule a time to meet with your department chair or academic advisor about scholarships for study abroad

Don’t let money get in your way of studying abroad! When you have the funds secured, check out another blog of ours for a student’s perspective on choosing and planning a study abroad trip. 

Study Abroad from the Safety of Your Home

by Lara Garanzuay, Communications Specialist

Learn From Travel is working with Agnes Scott College to offer seven virtual study abroad programs this Spring. Both organizations value providing students with an education that pushes them to think deeply, engage in their communities and have an international perspective. The Agnes Scott College SUMMIT Program is a eight-day faculty-led global immersion experience where students study a non-English language, and get involved in activities to better understand identity and culture in an interconnected world. 

SUMMIT ensures that thinking globally begins with learning globally. Students will be more than a tourist, they will build cultural competencies that will serve them in work and in life.

With safe travel not possible in the Spring of 2021, Learn from Travel reformatted several existing Global Journey’s programs and developed several new virtual programs to meet the objectives of the SUMMIT Program at Agnes Scott College. The programs described below are innovative in their approach and powerful in their content. 

Featured Study Abroad Virtual Programs

• Astronomy and Discovery in Central Florida

• Marine Ecosystems in the Florida Keys and Belize

• Marronage, Freedom and Resistance in the African Diaspora in Sierra Leone

• Diversity and Health in Ecuador and Miami

• Identity, Globalization and Social Change in Bulgaria and Chicago 

• Industrialization and Scientific Progress, Benefits and Costs in Chicago

• The Presence of the Past in Germany and the U.S. in Washington D.C.

Astronomy and Discovery in Central Florida

This program located in Central Florida includes virtual reality visits to the Kennedy Space Center and other space related sites using VR viewers and 360 degree videos and photos. Students will also explore the connection between Central Florida and Puerto Rico, where the recently decommissioned Arecibo Observatory is located, and learn about the Puerto Rican community in Central Florida. Through conversations with environmental and disaster managers, nonprofit leaders, and Puerto Rican hurricane refugees, students will learn about the coastal impact of hurricanes on Central Florida and on Puerto Rico and its people, many of whom have moved to Central Florida since Hurricane Maria in 2017. 

During the four-day program, Agnes Scott College Students will also meet with University of Central Florida faculty and student experts, have discussions with historians and city officials, and learn about Environmental Protection in Central Florida. 

Marine Ecosystems in the Florida Keys and Belize

The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands stretching about 120 miles off the southern tip of Florida. They are an international destination for diving and other marine activities, and are located in a protected marine sanctuary. The Keys are similar to the Cayes (Keys) of Belize, including Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye, two of the most visited locations in Belize due to their abundance of marine life and international fame for diving and snorkeling.  

In this weeklong virtual program, which was initially designed to be a travel program to Belize, students will learn about the various marine ecosystems, their threats, and efforts to protect and restore them in both locations. The group will learn about coral research and restoration, hear from scientists and knowledgeable tour guides, and experience the underwater world through 360° 3D videos. Among many other activities, students will meet their Belizean peers to share culture and knowledge.  

Marronage, Freedom and Resistance in the African Diaspora in Sierra Leone

This four-day virtual international education program is designed to explore the connection between the Gullah-Geechee communities in the United States and Sierra Leone, the departure point for thousands of enslaved people during the colonial era. Students will learn about the resistance to slavery, its abolition, and the establishment of a free society in Sierra Leone, including the settlement by African Americans who returned to Sierra Leone after generations in bondage. 

Participating students and faculty will experience virtual tours of slave castles and sites of resistance to slavery, visit villages, and watch skits in the Krio language. The program also allows the students to experience Sierra Leone culture by conversing with Sierra Leonean students and political leaders. They will deepen their exploration of the cultural, economic, and ethnic connection between Western Africa and the United States.

By Erik Cleves Kristensen - Freetown street, CC BY 2.0

This virtual study abroad program draws on the support of local partners and features prominent guest speakers and subject matter experts. Live virtual experiences and interactions with Sierra Leonean students are among the highlights of this immersive virtual program.  

Diversity and Health in Ecuador and Miami

Students will compare South Florida and Ecuador in a variety of factors that influence health outcomes while learning about cultural diversity, differences between public and private healthcare, and environmental elements.

Students will learn about health and healthcare in Ecuador through numerous lectures by University of the Americas in Quito faculty. They will also learn about alternative and rural medicine and hear from a group of women in the Chota Valley, a historically Afro-Ecuadorian community,  who are starting a tourism initiative. 

In Miami  students will gain an understanding of social determinants of health through conversations with the medical director of a community health clinic network, a young leader from the Miccosukee Tribe who will share his thoughts on spiritual and herbal medicine, and volunteers at a community garden located in a food desert.

Identity, Globalization and Social Change in Bulgaria and Chicago

Chicago is home to the largest Bulgarian community in the United States. In this virtual education program participants will learn about the past and present day experience of the Bulgarian community in Chicago.

Through virtual visits to Chicago and its suburbs, students will take part in conversations with local leaders, cultural activities, and historical site visits. Additionally, they will visit the Jane Addams Hull House and other iconic Chicago locations to better understand the context of the city. Students will experience unique events by conversing with Bulgarian artist and community leader Kina Bogovska, attending panels on immigrant identity, touring Bulgarian community and cultural centers, visiting the Bulgarian Embassy and touring the Jane Addams Hull-House museum.

Industrialization and Scientific Progress, Benefits and Costs in Chicago

Chicago is the birthplace of the first refrigerated rail car and the car radio, and is home to Willis Tower - the second tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. During the 20th Century, Chicago became the world's largest rail hub, and one of its busiest ports.

The city’s impressive growth and industrialization did not come without costs. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed the mostly wooden city in 1871, leaving 100,000 people without homes. After rapid industrialization and population growth in the early 20th Century, Lake Michigan was polluted by sewage and industrial waste. Each time, however, the city’s engineers found a way out and up. Today, Chicago is ranked as one of the United States’ most diverse cities with a bustling economy. 

During their virtual travel to Chicago, through virtual site visits and conversations with innovators, historians, local students, and scientists, Agnes Scott College students will learn about the past and present of the greatest city in the Midwest and have a chance to take a critical look at the costs of its progress. Throughout the week-long experience, students will also tour the 1983 World Fair and Argonne National Lab, take part in diversity panels, and virtually visit a comedy club.

The Presence of the Past in Germany and the U.S. in Washington D.C.

This virtual program, based in the capital of the United States, is intended to help students struggle with the complexities of memory and identity as they relate to the atrocities of the Nazi regime in Germany and slavery in the U.S. The program will allow students to compare and contrast the U.S. and Germany.

Students will embark on virtual visits and discussions by museum guides to the National Mall, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Participating faculty and students will deepen their understanding through conversation with topic experts and present day activists. Students will finish the program with few concrete answers, but having explored a number of universal questions that many nations around the world, including the U.S., face today.    

Learn from Travel can create customized virtual programs on any subject matter anywhere in the world. For more information, please visit our virtual programs page.

Our Top 5 Favorite Things about Chile

Chile is one of the most unique countries in the world. This narrow stretch of land, more than 3,500 miles from north to south, but only 350 from the Pacific Ocean to the Andes, has all of the major climates of the world, some of its tastiest fruits, and some of its most dramatic, and I mean DRAMATIC, landscapes. Here are our top five favorite things about Chile. 

5. Valparaiso
San Francisco of the south, Valparaiso has the grit of a port and the art of a capital. With some of the finest street art in the world, it is a great place to walk if you can stand the hills. Tired of walking? No worries, dozens of elevators throughout the city will take you to splendid views of this colorful sea side town that was once home to Chile's greatest poet: Pablo Neruda. 

4. Vineyards
Chile's climate and soil are perfect for growing grapes. It's rich agricultural tradition is perfect for making those grapes into world-famous wine. The latest trend is producing organic wine throughout Chile's three main wine-growing regions. 

3. Empanadas
With dozens of options for ingredients, including seafood, the Chilean version of this popular Latin America filled pastry is simply the best. Olives and eggs are usually added to the ground beef or another main ingredient. Empanadas are available road-side and in the finest restaurants in Chile.

2. Camelids
New World relatives of the camel, or camelids, are common in Patagonia. You might see a guanaco (pictured here with some penguins), or a vicuña, an alpaca, or even a llama. But don't confuse these four-leggeds with the huemul, the Andean dear, endemic to the region and sadly endangered. 

1. Glaciers
Chile has some of the largest glaciers in the world. In some cases one can navigate iceberg clogged lakes or bays to approach the tongue of a river of ice stretching for hundreds of miles. Glaciers around the world are receding, so don't wait to see them, they might not be there when you get around to it. 
 

Ready to experience Chile for yourself? 

Learn from Travel brings you an educational and culturally-immersive adventure that will stimulate your mind and your palate: Culture, Wine, and Glaciers in Chile November 17th to 27th. You'll experience the seaside charm of Valparaiso, slush organic wine around your tasting glass, walk the woods with an Indigenous Mapuche guide, and hike through some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth. Take advantage of discount pricing before April 30th.

We specialize in responsible, culturally-immersive, educational travel. You'll meet amazing people, go way off the beaten path, and never forget this travel experience. Go! Learn!

Other group travel experiences coming up...

Nature's Medicine in Nicaragua: July 28 - Aug 4

Top 5 Best Reasons to Go to Panama

Panama is one of our favorite countries. It is literally the crossroads of the world, has both Pacific and Caribbean beaches, and, compared to it's neighbor to the north, is relatively undiscovered. Here are just five of the things that make it a really special place to visit. 

5. Old Quarter
Panama  City is one of the oldest colonial cities in the West, dating back to 1519. The colonial heart of the city was recently renovated, featuring incredible world cuisine, nightly live music, craft beer, and of course stunning colonial architecture. It is one of the most pleasant places to go for a stroll, day or night. 
 

4. Panama Hats
The heart of Panamanian culture is in Los Santos Province, located on the Azuero Peninsula. The largely agricultural area hosts Panama's biggest Carnaval parade and features authentic rural fashion, like these hats. They are made from grass painstakingly woven together into thread and then sewn, all by hand. One hat can take up to two months to make and costs about $300!   

3. Sea food
With so much ocean around it, no wonder sea food is a real treat in Panama. Whole fried or grilled red snapper is a common dinner menu find, while ceviche, raw fish cooked in lemon juice and mixed with vegetables, is a healthy lunch option available at all convenience stores. By the way do you like octopus? That's pretty common too!    

2. Surfing
Warm water, frequent off-shore wind, almost no hazards like rocks or current, and year-round waves make Panama one of the best places to learn to surf. Some of the best breaks are in the Azuero Peninsula in the Los Santos Province. 

1. Monkeys
Panama is home to a variety of species including an endemic spider monkey and the howler monkey, pictured here. Howlers eat leaves but when you first hear them, that's not what you think. Somewhere between a bark and a roar, the howler monkey will make you shake in your socks just by saying hello. 

Ready to experience Panama for yourself? 

Learn from Travel brings you an educational adventure like no other: Fish School in Panama June 30 - July 7. Learn to surf, fish, and prepare local recipes in one of Panama's most stunning locations: the Azuero Peninsula. You'll be surrounded by howler monkeys, practice yoga, and stay in an environmentally friendly eco-lodge with a permaculture farm and a reforestation project. Take advantage of discount pricing before April 15th. 

We specialize in responsible, culturally-immersive, educational travel. You'll meet amazing people, go way off the beaten path, and never forget this travel experience. Go! Learn!

Other group travel experiences coming up...

Nature's Medicine in Nicaragua: July 28 - Aug 4
Culture, Wine, and Glaciers in Chile: Nov 17 - 27