Home University: University of Southern Maine

 

Host University: University of Queensland

 

Was there a significant difference in cost for a semester at your home university versus the university abroad? Not so much the cost of my university tuition but the cost of everything else was more expensive (living, flights, travel, food, etc).

 

Where did you look for funding options? I looked at my student loans to see if I could apply them to a semester abroad. I found out my home university study abroad office offered scholarships, GlobaLinks Learning Abroad offered scholarships, and I spoke with my family about funding my semester.

 

How much money were you eventually awarded in scholarships and loans? I was awarded around $13,600 in scholarships including $5000 International University of Southern Maine scholarship, around $7600 from GlobaLinks Learning Abroad and $1000 from the Foundation for Global Scholars.

 

Was your semester abroad worth the money you spent? Absolutely!

 

What advice do you have for students interested in going abroad? Make local friends and/or international friends. When you put the effort into meeting people who grew up and are from a completely different country than you, it’s easy to learn a lot about yourself and the world. For me, going to school abroad was just as important as making local friends and experiencing a different culture. A semester abroad really gives students the opportunity to meet people from many different cultures without having to necessarily travel to all the countries they come from.