Day by day, you can usually be found living your life in three different places: in class or at work, in your home, and in … one other place. When classes are in session, your hangout spot might be the quad, the gym, or your favorite cafe in town.
Is that getting a little played out?
Ask yourself, where else could your “third place” be next year? Since it will be a new semester/term, maybe it’s time for a new you? Could you be the person that everyone knows is sipping a mate on the boardwalk — known as “The Rambla” — in Montevideo, Uruguay? Would you rather be the person who is always sharing photos of the craziest plant life from their hikes around Stellenbosch, South Africa?
Here’s a thought: when you study abroad, your third place next year is somewhere overseas.
Study abroad provides a multitude of meaningful experiences beyond what you will encounter this year in the U.S. It often involves community, connection, and culturally immersive experiences with diverse groups of people from around the world.
Being a resident of another location, rather than just a tourist, offers you the opportunity to discover new third places. It’s exciting. There is room for you to be yourself somewhere else.
If you’ve heard of study abroad, you may also have the misconception that “it’s too expensive” or “I won’t be able to find my major abroad.” That’s an old rumor, and with the cost of higher education, it’s simply not the case anymore.
University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), a nonprofit organization focused on providing the most affordable and immersive study abroad experiences, recently introduced studyabroadusac.com, an interactive site to help you learn what study abroad is, figure out how to budget and plan your trip, and determine which programs may best fit you.
Come meet us at a study abroad fair on campus to learn more about USAC study abroad! We’re heading to more than 200 campuses this fall semester, and we’d love to help.
At USAC, we say, “not all classrooms have four walls,” where learning is often much more meaningful and profound when it’s happening within the community you live in. Most alumni reflect that while study abroad required them to step outside of their comfort zone, it was exactly what they needed for their personal goals and self-purpose. They often say the connections formed during their time abroad last throughout their lifetime.
Study abroad doesn’t have to be intimidating. Students can go anywhere from three weeks to one year, and even in the winter, such as USAC’s Chengdu Winter Term. Discover if a summer or semester program is right for you and start exploring at studyabroadusac.com to see if your third place, and the new you, exist somewhere across the great pond.
Explore your options
- Academic areas:
Business, Management, and Marketing
Communications, Media, and Journalism
Culture, Identity, and Society
Education and Human Services
Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics
Environment, Natural Science, and Biotechnology
Fine Arts, Music, and Film
World Language Skills
Health Sciences, Psychology, and Public Health
History, Politics, and Law
