Originally I had put my reasons for not studying abroad in How I spent only $3600 for 6 weeks in Europe (including airfare) but as I was writing them it became a bigger section than I anticipated. I decided, why not just write a separate article just about not studying abroad. So without further ado, my 4 BIG reasons I didn't study abroad.
When I applied to University of California, San Diego I stopped at the question that asked which college I wanted to be in.
*UCSD is separated into 6 different colleges that are created to have a smaller learning community within the university. Each of the colleges have different general education classes that are incorporated into the college theme. The colleges are named after a historical figure that embodies the college theme. The names of the college are: Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshal, Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sixth (which has been patiently waiting to be named) Reading about each college, I stopped at the one named in tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt. She is arguably the most influential first lady the history of the United States. She embodied compassion, hard work and desire to change the world. The motto of UCSD Eleanor Roosevelt College is, "Developing World Citizens, Through Scholarship, Leadership and Service." This is the reason I decided to rank ERC as my number one residential college to attend. It centered around international understanding and learning from our past to hopefully improve our future. Plus, it had the least amount of math requirements to graduate. ERC students has the highest percentage of students studying aboard, something I wanted to do in college. However, that never happened. What held me back? Why didn't I study abroad?
4. Commitment to Leadership
Sophomore year I was involved in multiple clubs (Kyrie Eleison, Kaibiang Pilipin@, Student Council at ERC and University Centers Advisory Board). I took up a lot of leadership positions and eventually I did have to resign from a couple because of my inability to give 100% to the position. During the rest of my college career, Kyrie Eleison (a Catholic fellowship) took a majority of my time, other than working and school. I gave it my 110% effort, being on staff, singing on their praise team and participating in weekly bible study. I'm a firm believer in giving it your all when it comes to taking up a leadership position, especially in one that you are passionate for the organization you serve. Leadership isn't for everyone and for the most part, we choose to take up the extra responsibility. I enjoyed my work, though stressful at times. I didn't want to let go helping the communities I participated in, even if it was a couple months.
3. FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out
The dreaded feeling of having FOMO! With today's popularity of social media and posting every happy moment we experience, it's easy to feel left out when you aren't included in a happy photo of your friends. UCSD is a quarter system, so it moves pretty fast and memories are made every day. I wanted to spend time with my college friends, all nighters in the library, eating snacks to keep us awake, studying until the wee hours of the morning to take a midterm in a couple hours and restarting the process for the next exam. I just felt like I wanted to experience the entirety of the college experience. 4 full years, no more and no less.
2. The Experience
If I was going to travel, I wanted to travel!
I didn't want to have to stress about school during the week. I wanted to have the convenience of hopping from one country to the next, not having to pay round trip tickets every time I was leaving my abroad university.
1. Money
I did receive financial aid but because I ruled out going during the school year (read the previous reasons) summer would be my only other option.
During summer I would get some financial aid but it didn't offset the cost that was reasonable for me. Many of the programs cost about $10,000 for 5-6 weeks without financial aid. That didn't include airfare from California to Europe and all the extra traveling costs I would have. I know with my organization, planning skills, thriftiness and research I could plan a regular trip for a fraction of the cost.
Choosing to backpack instead
Not being able to study abroad, I decided to treat myself to a graduation Europe trip. All the reasons I didn't study abroad didn't apply to traveling after graduating. I was finish with my leadership term, everyone was moving on from college, I would be able to just travel and it was a cheaper option.
I got to experience backpacking for 6 weeks! A privilege I was able to experience.
Overall
The reason I wrote this article was not to discourage studying abroad because I do believe it's a wonderful opportunity for some people, but I wanted to encourage university students or those who regret not studying abroad, that you can still see the world. Studying abroad provides a young person an opportunity to live in another country. Nowadays, people can find jobs that allow you to work remotely. You can be a digital nomad! I've had friends who decided to get their masters in another country to teach English in places like South Korea and Spain. The options are endless when it comes to temporarily living somewhere else. You never know, it can even be permanent.
» Last Updated: April 21, 2017 «
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Have you studied abroad? If, not why didn't you? Have you backpacked through another country?
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