Study Abroad For Dummies [Paperback]

Erin E. Sullivan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0764554573 | ISBN-13: 978-0764554575 | Edition: 1

Studying abroad can be the most memorable semester or year of your undergraduate college experience. What can be more exciting, but at the same time equally terrifying, as packing up and moving to another country? And don’t worry if you don’t know anyone or fluently speak the language or know how to find your way around the place you’re going! You can make friends ad discover everything you need to manage in your abroad destination quickly enough. Think of it as one big, exciting, and educational adventure.

Study Abroad For Dummies is for any student who wants to find out about another country’s customs, languages, and people by living in that country for an extended period of time. This easy-to-understand guide is also for those who are ready to

• Gain self-confidence, independence, and cross-cultural skills
• Change your perspective on the world
• Earn home university course credit
• Master another language or improve your existing language skills
• Increase your career opportunities in the global marketplace
• Meet some great new friends
• See places you’ve only dreamed about!

Explore the challenges and rich rewards of studying abroad, and begin to chart the course for your own academic adventure. Study Abroad For Dummies covers the following topics and more:

• Researching your program options
• Transferring credits to your home university
• Submitting applications
• Adding up the costs
• Finding a place to live
• Adjusting to a new culture
• Staying healthy and safe
• Getting ready to come home

Now, more than ever, students are heightening their awareness of the world outside the U.S. While Europe continues to be the most popular destination for U.S. students studying abroad, more students are option to explore places such as Latin America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia. Study Abroad For Dummies gives you all the information you could possibly need to plan and spend a successful semester or year abroad, wherever that may be!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Transfer credits, handle culture shock, and stay safe and healthy

Get ready to leave home and have an adventure studying in another country!

Want to study abroad? This easy-to-follow guide gives you the lowdown on the entire process, from deciding where to go and filing applications to meeting prerequisites, obtaining a visa, and finding a place to live. You get the inside scoop on getting through the paperwork, adjusting to your new environment, and studying successfully.

Discover how to:

• Find the program that’s right for you
• Apply to schools and programs abroad
• Write a successful application essay
• Obtain financial aid
• Study in non-English- speaking programs

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

About the Author

Erin Sullivan is a Research Associate at Harvard Business School and a graduate of Wellesley College, where she was a Peer Advisor in their Study Abroad Office. She is going abroad again to pursue graduate studies in business.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (October 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764554573
• ISBN-13: 978-0764554575
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Highly recommended., February 4, 2004

By 

John H. Hwung (Fair Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Study Abroad For Dummies (Paperback)

This is a very useful book. Even just some little tidbits of information can save you from wasted time, money, and a disastrous experience. For example, I am thinking about recommending my son to study abroad at Oxford, England during the fall of his junior year because Oxford is a world renowned school outside of U.S. Before reading this book, I didn't know that Oxford and most of the Great Britain and Irish schools are on a trimester system. My son's college is on a semester system. So, if he were to go to Oxford (assuming that he can get in), he would only be studying for nine weeks. The rest of his semester would be wasted.

Here is another example of a good tidbit of information: If a student were to study abroad during the spring semester, he or she should apply for financial aid (which is usually done during the spring semester) during the fall semester before going abroad.

One unique point about this book is that it also covers going to graduate school abroad. However, there were some shocking facts I didn't expect to see such as "Earning a PhD in the U.S. requires 6 to 8 years, while in other countries only 4 years are needed. One of the reasons is that students enter undergraduate universities at a higher level than Americans do. So, they are doing U.S. graduate level work by the end of their undergraduate degrees..." Wow, I used to think that our undergraduate system is at the top of the world. I didn't know that college seniors in some other countries are doing U.S. graduate level work.

I won't waste the space here and list the content or the chapters of this book. Suffice to say that this book covers all areas of studying abroad in great detail and in good logical order. There are many excellent advices in this book. They will give you a good study abroad experience as well as save you time and money! I highly recommend this book.

By the way, this book is much, much better than "Getting the Most from Study Abroad."

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd had this when I studied abroad!, March 11, 2004

By 

Molly Fitzgerald (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Study Abroad For Dummies (Paperback)

Wish I'd read this book before I studied in Konstanz, Germany for a semester! I'd have been a lot more prepared. Glad I got it in time for my grad school stint in Ireland!

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Should be called Study in Great Britain for Dummies, February 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Study Abroad For Dummies (Paperback)

Having studied for two years in a non-English speaking country, I found that this book was extremely weak in presenting issues of study abroad in very different countries. I thought the title of the chapter "Daring to be Different: The British University System" was particularly laughable. It would have been better to have a more well-rounded author, or let this author write a specialty book from her own narrow experience.