A lot of prospective students are attracted to Lewis & Clark because of the fantastic study abroad programs are offered and let me tell you, that's a great reason the be interested in LC and an amazing offering. If you're not familiar with LC's study abroad programs, the general overview is that the school offers more than 30 programs and they're constantly updating them and adding new ones. Some of the programs are lead by LC faculty, and some are partnerships with other universities abroad, and you can choose language intensives, cultural surveys, or major-specific programs.
So with all those options, the real issue is: How do you choose a program???? I knew for sure I wanted to study abroad, and probably for two semesters, but it took me really a full year of contemplation and investigation to decide what I wanted.
Step one: overthink things way too far in advance
Fall of my sophomore year I got it into my head that maybe I should study abroad fall of my sophomore year (I would be abroad right now if I had done that). Thankfully after a great conversation with the advising staff at the Overseas Office, they convinced me that there was no rush and I would probably really appreciate being on campus fall my sophomore year. I'm so glad they convinced me of that because they were right and I'm so happy to be back home at LC this year.
Step two: a full year away or two-semester?
For me personally, I knew I wanted to study abroad for more than just a semester. The difficult question though was whether I wanted to do a full year in one place, two semesters in different places back to back in one year, or two semesters in different school years. Firstly I decided I didn't want to only have half my sophomore year and half my junior years on campus because it's harder to get invested in campus life if you're only there half the year. Then it was a really tough choice between getting the deeper emersion and cultural experience of one full year somewhere or having the experience of visiting two countries that I might not get to visit in any other situation. Eventually, I decided to do two programs, both in my junior year. Both programs are Spanish language programs though so I get to work on improving my Spanish the whole time. And part of my decision was influenced by the fact that I decided I wanted to do a faculty lead program with LC students and an LC professor so that I could still have a stronger connection to the school.
Step three: over-analyze every program
Maybe Taiwan or Senegal?? even though I don't speak those languages nor am I very interested in the regions. The overseas office has a great website with details on each program, which is very helpful and I'm grateful for it, but sometimes I can get a little too invested in reading every program description to really decide if it was for me. I knew I had to to a high-level Spanish intensive as a requirement for my Hispanic Studies major, so that helped narrow down at least one program. And eventually, it helped that I decided I wanted to do Spanish for two semesters. So then I just carefully considered my options.
Step Four: Talk to everyone I can
Once I had it narrowed down a bit I had a couple meetings with the study abroad office to ask some specific questions about different programs and what kind of gen ed requirements I might be able to fill in different programs. I also talked to program alums, the faculty leading trips I was interested in, and the college advising center to make sure whatever I chose would fit my majors and graduation requirements. This helped me decide even further and really solidify my plans.
Step Five: Decide and apply
After all of this I finally decided to study abroad in Ailcante, Spain and Havana, Cuba. But just so I'm clear, not everyone is this crazy about how they choose a program. I have a friend who decided to study abroad in Thailand next year only a few weeks before applications were do. So the road to study abroad is different for everyone.
Step six: be excited
At this point, I've done all my over analyzing and decision making, and I can just enjoy being able to tell people my plans. 'What are you doing for study abroad?' Is a common question at LC, since so many people study abroad. And now I get to excitedly share what my plans are with everyone. Part of me is also a little sad that I'll be missing out on a full year at LC with all my friends and proffessors who I've really grown to enjoy. But overall my excited at the opportunity to live abroad in Spain and Cuba outweighs how much I'll miss LC. I know for sure though that coming back for my senior year will feel like coming home.
Visit the Study abroad page here
If you have any questions, my name is Quentin Gaul and you can contact me at quentingaul@lclark.edu, please don't hesitate!