5 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad

Last Updated on April 13, 2024 by Adam Watts

My time studying abroad – many years ago now – was one of the most invaluable experiences of my life. To help guide anyone at college thinking of doing it, there are 3 reasons why you should study abroad:

1: Studying abroad is one of the best ways to travel!

Studying abroad isn’t like spending a weekend in Rome. Instead, you’re living in that place for several months or a year. You learn the price of milk and learn to spot a bargain in the thrift stores and can join in the complaints about the price of “gas” even when you know back home it’s three times as expensive and it’s called “petrol”.

Every new person you meet treats you as the foreigner but by the time you leave you’re basically a local: you know about the coupons to save a quarter on buck twenty five pizzas. Your average tourist won’t know that stuff.

Studying abroad will really immerse you in the culture wherever you go, and that’s the best thing about travel. Sure, seeing Iguazu Falls for a day or two is breathtaking, but travel is more satisfying if you have the time to take your time. And being able to do that is one reason why you should study abroad if you get the chance.

2: Don’t be stuck with the same friends forever

Sorry, Sally-Ann and Mary-Beth, I know you think they’re great and all, but give Ricardo or Chidi or even Brad a chance. By meeting new people from cultures different to your own you’ll learn something about yourself, learn something about other people, and you’ll become a more rounded, open-minded person.

And don’t worry about being homesick. Never before has communication been so easy. Unless you’re studying in a rural village in Sudan, you’re most likely going to have a reliable Internet connection. You can call and message people back home as much as you want, until they’re sick of hearing how much fun you’re having while they’re stuck in whatever little town you call home. If you do get homesick, calling home often isn’t always the best advice. Instead, there are plenty of things you can try that might help.

When you study abroad, though, I would also recommend trying to be friendly with locals, rather than other international students. That was just my experience. I had more fun when I studied abroad at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, in, err, Charlotte, North Carolina, because I was living with Americans, than I did at the University of Windsor, in Canada, living with a Brazilian, a Dutchman, a few Brits, a Venezuelan, and a few others.

My housemates in Canada had something in common in that we all had no idea what life as a Canadian was like, but I never learnt, because I didn’t mingle much with Canadians. Whereas in America I played the coupon game at Walmart like a pro because my housemate was into it.

One fun example , I’ll never forget the time I asked my housemate to borrow his “saucepan.”

My housemate looked at me like I was having a stroke. “What? I missed that.”

“Can I borrow your sorsepn?”

“Dude, I literally have no idea what you just said.”

In the end I pointed it out in his cupboard. He then said, “Oh, a saaaauce-paan.”

And there were other activities that were quintessentially American that I got involved with, with Americans:

— Watching the Superbowl (I was a Packers fan that year (2011)).

— Weekly trips to Walmart with one of my housemates

— College basketball games

— Not to mention the stays with my housemates families and family friends in Asheville and a tiny redneck town in Tennessee.

That last one is the big one. Studying abroad, however you do it, gives you a chance to get out and explore different cities but if you don’t know  people, you’ll probably stay in hostels with other backpackers. I stayed with real Americans and with local people I’d become good friends with.

Let me shout it once more: MAKING NEW FRIENDS IS ONE OF THE BEST REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD STUDY ABROAD!

3: It’ll make you a more confident person

Confidence is something I possess in spades. No, sorry, what’s the opposite of that saying? I possess confidence in whatever that is. But travel forces you to be confident, and there’s no better way of producing that confidence than by studying abroad. You’ll be independent, possibly thousands of miles away from your parents, but with a support network provided by your host college. You have to figure some things – but not too many things – out for yourself.

If you want an extra confidence boost, go backpacking by yourself at the end of your semester/year. Head down to South America or go Inter-Railing around Europe where you’ll really have to figure things out for yourself, and build your confidence in life that way.

4: Your host university will probably be better than your home one

In addition to all of that, your host university will invariably be better than your home one, at least in some way. It’ll either be prettier (like mine; see pics below), or more interesting, or just plain cooler, or maybe all three! Here are some photos of UNCC (my American university):

I’ll spare you photos of Kingston University, which isn’t ugly exactly (which would make it interesting), it’s just quite remarkably dull.

5: You probably won’t have this chance again

I’m updating this post now that I’m 30. I have a full-time job, a wife, and commitments, and I’m one of the lucky ones. It’s actually not unreasonable for us to think that we could quit our jobs and travel for several months or take residency somewhere with no specific plans, but even in our circumstance, it’s much more difficult than when I was in college. In college, someone literally said, “do you want to study abroad? Oh, by the way, we’ll reduce your tuition 50% and organize all of your visas and paperwork for you too.” YOU’RE CRAZY IF YOU DON’T ACCEPT THAT OFFER!!!

So there you have it. 5 reasons why you should study abroad. If you’re trying to make the decision about whether to do it or not, I urge you to accept. I promise you won’t regret it. Studying abroad was one of the best experiences of my life, and I did it twice, spending a semester in two different places. Get out there and explore the world!