Is it worth it to study abroad? Yes. I’ve worked in study abroad, and basically, the only students with regrets are those who do not do it . Most everyone gains a new sense of themselves, new confidence in their abilities and so on from going abroad, but I think the key factor is gaining a better sense of the range of human experience and human possibility and really learning about the place you go. It is a really eye-opening experience to really see different parts of the world first-hand.
Any study abroad experience will probably be worth it, but there are ways to maximize the value of the experience by minimizing cost and increasing what you gain from the experience.
Minimize cost by going somewhere more affordable, like Eastern Europe, Africa and much of Asia. Also, I think for Americans, these destinations also result in higher impact experiences because they are developing countries with cultures less closely related to Western Europe and the U.S.
There are some ways to maximize the time abroad and make it even more worthwhile: -go some where you can improve or start learning a foreign language. -go for a longer period of time rather than shorter.
A year abroad might not cost significantly more than three-weeks since to some places the airfare is the primary expense over staying home. -immerse yourself in the place. Don’t spend your time visiting other countries or hanging out with other students from your home country or on Facebook. Okay, do a little of this, but a lot of value comes from being there.
Really being there and getting to know locals, and preferably locals of different ages and walks of life. (Tip: locals includes minorities and immigrants, so don’t overlook Poles in Ireland, or Uygurs in China.) -Observe without judgement. You lose a lot of value of time time abroad if you don’t notice what is happening around you, record it, and think about it.
It is also important to think about why things are the way they are and question your own stereotypes and knee-jerk judgments. If you go and just reinforce your pre-conceptions about the world, then you have not gained nearly as much as you could.
This is one place where a study abroad program can provide you with really good mentors and teachers who can help do this that you might not get if you enroll on exchange or directly in a foreign institution.