Students travel and study abroad

Pornmanus Saetae

The vast diversity of Sacramento State is easily seen and heard when walking through the campus. Students of different ethnic backgrounds can be seen conversing in many different languages, wearing clothing from other cultures and interacting in different forms of manners and body language.

Part of this diversity can be credited to the university’s Study Abroad Program.

Every semester Sac State exchanges its students with students from all over the world.

Through this program, the students from Sac State are able to choose which country they wish to experience for a semester or a year. The choices vary from South Korea, Ghana, England, Japan, Australia and many more.

The program provides lists and brochures of how much the expenses and tuition in each of the countries will be, whether higher or lower than Sac State. The student must choose and submit an application a year in advance; the deadline is usually March 2. Other requirements are a GPA of 3.0 or above, an essay and two recommendation letters.

The student must be accepted by the university’s Study Abroad Program as well as the country of choice’s program. Once accepted, the student must appear before a panel and explain their motivation in studying abroad, as well as answer questions concerning how one might adapt to a different culture.

During the one year period, the student is encouraged to look and apply for financial aid, as well as save as much money as possible.

Lauren Wacker, senior geography major, just returned to Sacramento a little over a month ago after spending a semester in England at Leeds Beckett University.

“Save,” said Wacker. “The currency difference in the country you choose will impact how much money you spend.”

At workshops that introduce and promote the program, the counselors make sure to advise and emphasize the importance of financial aid but also promise to help students as much as possible.

Janet Cano, senior Asian studies major, spent a year in Japan at Waseda University as a junior and currently works for the program’s office.

“They were really helpful in helping me fill out the paperwork that I didn’t understand and answering all of my questions,” said Cano.

One of the main concerns of those who consider applying to study abroad is if units will transfer back.

“You can choose whether you want to take classes that will transfer back for your major or you can choose classes that you want to take for the experience,” said Alyssa Neumann, senior English major, who also attended Leeds Beckett University last semester.

The universities in each country offer different requirements and flexibility when choosing a class.

“My class had more writing but no tests or quizzes and focused more on discussions in class,” said Neumann. “There were only 10 students per class, there was no worrying that you won’t get into that class.”

Depending on the country of choice, a student may be required to first take a semester or a year of that language at Sac State.

“Half of my classes were in English but you’re also required to take 6 to 8 units in a Japanese speaking class,” said Cano.

Despite the year wait and required patience to save money and acquire enough financial aid, those who choose to study abroad said they gained one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.

Senior history major Amy Ingoglia also spent a year at Waseda University.

“More people should study abroad, we got to travel all over Japan and make friends with people from all over the world,” said Ingoglia. “I have friends in almost every continent now.”

Traveling to a foreign country encourages students to expand outside of their comfort zone and explore what other parts of the world have to offer.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of the difference in language, most people can normally speak English, you just have to ask them,” said Cano.

Taking the opportunity to study abroad encourages students to not only receive an education at a different school but also an education in different cultures.

“We got to backpack around Europe and visited Venice, Prague, Amsterdam, Wales,” said Neumann, who spent winter break traveling with Wacker.

Choosing to travel to an entirely different country may seem scary at first but the experience, knowledge and personal growth a student can gain is truly undeniable.

“I really feel like I improved as a person,” said Cano. “I had to learn to look out for myself, to take care of my own health, and to find my way when I got lost.”

The Study Abroad Program hopes to add more countries to their list of exchange choices for students. For any questions or more information, the program’s office is located in Lassen Hall, Room 2304.