Which program do I chose? Studying Abroad...

Edinburgh, Scotland photo by @paige_shoots

Now that you've ultimately decided to study abroad... what program do you chose?

When researching there were so many options, it was overwhelming! That's why I'm here to help and why I started this blog. I felt like there were not a ton of resources telling me things I wanted to know so hopefully my advice helps!

Personally, I chose CIEE, a non-affiliate program.

What is an affiliate vs non affiliate program?

An affiliate program is a study abroad program that goes through your school. For example, I was going to study abroad all semester in the UK. This option was an affiliate which meant it was through my home University, Colorado State University. This means that your home school helps you before you go abroad with classes, housing, etc. But once you go abroad there's no one from your home school to help you. That was a big reason I didn't chose that option. Not saying it's a bad choice to pick but I had never been abroad before and I wanted to be able to have help while I was there.

A non-affiliate program is the exact opposite. This is an option that is not through your home school. This is what I picked. Basically with this option your home school doesn't help you much in the signing up process. I had to sign up to do study abroad through my home school as well as go on CIEE's website and sign up through them separately. This is a more tedious process but I feel is much more worth it in the end. It may just be CIEE specifically, but I felt they helped me out a lot while being abroad. There was a lot more resources when I got there which I liked.

Split, Croatia photo by @paige_shoots

Now deciding what program to do...

There are so many options so thats why it is important to research! (hyperlink)

With affiliate programs it allows you to study abroad all semester or year through your home school. For example, I had a friend study abroad all year in Edinburgh, Scotland with a program called SAI, but through her home school.

Personally, I did a program CIEE that allows you to study abroad in three different countries or even continents. That was the main reason I chose it was because I would travel a lot. However, this was a non-affiliate which means I applied separately and had to figure out classes and housing on my own.

I feel that choosing a semester long abroad program allows you to fully immerse yourself in the culture and country, whereas my program doesn't as much. However, with my program I felt that it made it was easier to travel and see a bunch of different countries.

Overall, there are pros and cons to any program so choosing one that fits your interests best is key.

Thanks for reading!

xx - book0fpaige