The Application Process

Once you have decided on a study abroad program, you cannot just simply pay the fee and automatically be accepted to go on the trip. You actually have to fill out an in-depth application for most programs that reveals who you are and why you should be accepted to go on the trip. The NCSU Study Abroad program at NC State requires students to fill out a detailed personal statement as well as an essay.

For the essay section of the study abroad application, I am going to focus on why I have chose to study abroad, what I hope to gain from the experience, and why I have chosen the specific Italy program and location. I am also going to include how the study abroad experience will help achieve my educational goals, will fit into my career plans, and will stimulate my intellectual/personal growth.

For anyone studying abroad, these are really strong points to pinpoint if you are really serious about being accepted into a study abroad program at a university. You want to show the study abroad office that you truly deserve to be picked to go on the program and that you are going for the right reasons. The study abroad office wants to know that you are going to be able to adapt in a foreign environment and be flexible if things do not run as smoothly as planned. For instance, one of the questions on the Florence study abroad application is: "The nature of study abroad programs often entails unexpected changes in schedules and activities as well as changes due to unfamiliar cultural norms. As such, an individual studying abroad should possess patience, the ability to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Thinking about patience, flexibility, and adaptability, describe an example in your life where you demonstrated these qualities and discuss how it might relate to your experience abroad.

NCSU Florence Study Abroad Program

The Florence Study Abroad program through NC State gives students the opportunity to take courses at Lorenzo de Medici University, located in the heart of Florence. What is good about this University is that concentrates in the humanities. As an NC State student in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, I found it beneficial to study at a university abroad that does embrace the same concentration that I am studying. At LDM, I can take courses in communications that will further my understanding in field and also give me credit towards my degree. I will automatically have to take a history Italian Renaissance Civilization and Culture that will count towards a history credit in the humanities. I can also choose to take another course to fulfill my degree requirements or I can take an interesting course like Italian cooking. 

It is reassuring that I will be able to study abroad in a beautiful and culture rich in history, while still getting credits toward my degree at my home institution. For many of the other programs at NC State, the courses were more geared toward business majors or engineers. This Florence Study abroad program is geared toward people that have an interest in the humanities and social sciences. In the video above, a student from Sweden decided to take an interior design course at LDM. He was so pleased with the program, that he decided to purse a degree in interior design there. This shows that LDM caters to a diverse community, from all different countries around the world. I think it is imperative that as a student, I am in an environment where I am exposed to working with people from different countries. In the future, I will have a career that will probably involve working with people from all different backgrounds and places around the world. Studying abroad will give me a chance to start doing that before I enter into the workforce. 

"It was the best experience of my life!"

After reviewing through several different interesting study abroad programs that NC State had to offer, I came upon the Florence Study Abroad program. This program seemed to offer the most for your money. While many of the programs only sent you to two places within the country, this program allows you to travel to at least six different places within Italy. The program also seems to offer an extensive list of museums and other unique destinations that one could not possible plan for themselves if they wanted to study abroad without going through the NCSU study abroad program. I decided to interview another person who has actually gone on this same trip to see her perspective looking back on this trip. 

Megan Petcavich in Rome, Italy

Megan Petcavich, a junior in Communications, went on the NCSU Florence Study Abroad trip this past summer. Here is what she had to say in an interview with me:


Me: What did you think of the Florence Study Abroad trip?
Megan:  It was the best experience of my life! The Italy trip is absolutely amazing. To start the advisors are great and very helpful, its our vice chancellor who is really nice and cool and our Italian contact is Luca and he was also very helpful and made it a great experience for all of us.
Me: How costly is the trip?
Megan: The trip is expensive (all study abroad trips are) but I can say Italy is so worth it. I had friends that went on other trips and paid more and had no planned travels but we have them every weekend (friday-sunday) and they are planned to the last detail which is very nice. You'll have one free weekend (you should go to Rome b/c we don't go as a group) and thats a lot to plan in itself...it makes you appreciate all thats planned for you because it's a little intense in a foreign country.
Me: What kinds of things did you do on the weekend?
Megan: Every weekend we traveled and we stayed in very nice hotels and they were paid for as well as transportation and admission to stuff we did while we were there. Every weekend we had free time too, so that was nice to explore. I can't even tell you how nice it is to have a tour and all the important stuff planed out for you. You'll travel to all of the main cities, expect Milan, and you'll get to have the most amazing experiences at each place.
Me: It sounds like this trip has a lot to offer! The only thing that I have been concerned with is the cost of the program.
Megan: Honestly, looking at the cost, I don't know how they made it so cheap. Meals in Italy are at least 5 courses and super expensive, but they provided a lot of nice meals for us and that alone would be thousands of dollars.
Me: Well thank you Megan for sharing a little bit of information on the Florence Study Abroad program.


My interview with Megan really revealed just how good of a deal it would be to study abroad through the NCSU Florence, Italy trip. It sounds like there would be a lot of amazing trips planned at a fairly reasonable cost. This trip is definitely one I will take a deeper look into. 

Florence Study Abroad Program 

'But it's so expensive..'

One of the major factors that usually turns students off from studying abroad is how expensive these trips usually tend to be. I know the main reason why I have been apprehensive about studying abroad is because most of the trips are well over what most college students can afford right now, especially in a struggling economy. There is some good news for students who are concerned with how much it costs to study abroad. If a student wishes to study abroad for an entire semester, the student can usually pay the exact same tuition that they pay to their home institution. Many students have various reasons for desiring to study abroad over the summer however, and this does not carry over for these students. I am planning on studying abroad for 5-8 weeks over the summer and the tuition does not work out as well under this circumstance. 

After searching, I found some helpful advice from Sallie Mae for students who need to figure out ways to fund their study abroad trip. Here are some of the highlights:

1.) Much of your financial aid can probably be applied towards your trip-- check with your university's financial aid office to see if this applies to you.

2.) Scholarships are a good way to finance a study abroad program. When you find a scholarship that you qualify for, see if it can be applied to international study. Some scholarships focus exclusively on those going overseas or to certain countries.

3.)If you school is in the listed in the Federal School Code Search, you can use federal student loans — like Stafford and PLUS — to pay for your non-U.S. school.

4.) Ask your academic adviser, financial aid counselor, and study abroad office for more information on paying for study abroad and your eligibility for financial aid.

5.) Take out a loan from your bank if you are eligible

6.) Get a job and save up as much money as you can or ask family and friends to donate money to your "study abroad fund."

Here is a chart credited to The NY Times which displays information on the cost of programs and the credit students receive towards their major: