On September 14, some of my friends and I attended the study abroad fair because we all were interested in going out of the country for a semester. It was a nice opportunity to explore all the options we have. Since I am considering majoring in International Business, I wanted to gain experience of studying in at least one other country so I can be comfortable with my major. The study abroad fair helped me understand the application process and cleared up my confusion.
One thing I was concerned about was my financial aid. I wasn’t sure if I would receive any and I didn’t want to spend too much money to study abroad. I learned that Baruch covers the tuition fee and all we have to pay is the living costs, which can also be expensive. However, we can apply for scholarships for up to thousands of dollars. We can use this money to cover our living and food costs, which is very beneficial.
I personally don’t know which country I want to go to yet. I’m confused between a country in Europe or Sydney, Australia. The fair helped me learn about each country and its advantages. For example, London has a great program for my intended major and covers full tuition. There are also many colleges in one country and students have the opportunity to apply to most. So, if I don’t gain admission into one, I might have the chance to get admitted into another one. I also got to know about the personal experiences of previous study abroad students, which gives a little insight on how it’s like to be an international student.
There are also many benefits of being a study abroad student at Baruch because it’s a CUNY school. Reason being, Baruch doesn’t have a study abroad program in all the countries in the world. So, if you want to go to a country that Baruch doesn’t have, you can go to that country through any of the other CUNY schools that provide it. For example, if Baruch doesn’t have a program in Austria, but Queens College does, a student can apply through Queens College and study in Austria. I think this is a great opportunity because not all colleges have this advantage. The study abroad fair taught me many things and persuaded me to try it out, which I hope to at least once in my college experience.
~ Sudipa Datta
Hi Sudipa!
This is such a cute selfie!! 🙂
It’s great that you’re already thinking about studying abroad as a first year! It can definitely be intimidating at first but if you go the Center for International Business (next to lib building), they can help you a lot!!! It really is a great experience and will definitely help differentiate you from others when applying to internships or jobs so hopefully, you’ll be able to study abroad one day.
Just a tip: It’s better to go in the spring semester so you don’t miss the recruiting season in the fall/winter semester!
Also, I’m an International Business major so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I know it can seem a bit confusing since it has more requirements than the other majors but it’s really not that bad.
Thanks for sharing!
-Lea 🙂