The Process of Studying Aboard
Studying aboard is something that didn’t cross my mind when thinking about my college experience. The person who opened my eyes to studying aboard at Loyola was my academic adviser. Being a nursing major, I have a strict outline of my four year plan and the only time I can study aboard is the fall semester of 2016, so I had to look into it. My academic adviser told me to start off by making an appointment with the study aboard office to get more information about the different places I can study aboard. There are many places you can study aboard from Australia to the Middle East to Europe and many more. The location was going to be a hard decision because I could go anywhere. First, I decided to see what universities would accept my Federal and state grants and Loyola scholarships. That narrowed it down to about 9 universities. After that, I decided to see what universities offer courses aboard that will count towards my graduation requirements. That really narrowed it down to two places: The John Felice Rome Center and Saint Louis University at Madrid. Deciding between the two was tough because they both offer great programs and different experiences, but Madrid stood out to me because I would be able to live with a host family. This will really help me experience life in Madrid and get to better know the culture.
Now I just needed to talk to my parents. I had to convince them why studying aboard would be a great opportunity so I brought many brochures from the study aboard office to show them. To my surprise, they were actually open to the idea because they didn’t want to stop me from doing something I was really excited about. The next step was applying to study aboard. First, I had to do an application for Loyola and then a second application for Saint Louis University. The application for Loyola was short and simple. It asked more details about where I was going and what semester I would be abroad. However, for Saint Louis University, their application required a bit more. I needed an essay, a resume, and two letters of recommendation to submit along with my application. I recently was able to secure all of those documents and now all I have to is wait to hear back! Hopefully it will be a yes!