Beginning early June more than 35,000 students worldwide embark on their trip abroad according to the CIEE website. Whether it’s to connect with an already known culture and language or explore a new one, on a yearly basis thousands of students have the opportunity to touch new soil. For many this will be a life changing experience full of excitement and new opportunities, according to the various raving reviews seen on CIEEs website.

French teacher David Silverstein supported this collection of positive reviews, believing study abroad to increase global awareness and allow a student to explore their identity and what’s significant to them. 

“Studying abroad is an eye opening experience. It gives the student a chance to learn about a topic of interest in another country while discovering more about their own identity,” said Silvertein, on one of the main benefits of taking this international trip.

While studying abroad does have its pros, cost is a big factor that may hinder some families’ abilities to send their children abroad. For CIEE the cheapest trip can start at $4200, not including the cost of flights, which depending on the country can be upwards of $2000. However this burden may be alleviated by the financial aid and partial to full scholarships offered by the program. 

¨Yes, there are need-based and academic scholarships awarded by the CIEE. These scholarships are based on an essay portion of the application. It is important to take the application process seriously,¨ Silverstein said.

Senior Justin Choe, who runs the CIEE club, aids students who want to study abroad with a chance to get the maximum amount of money with merit and financial need based scholarships. 

“So with our club we generally promote study abroad here, but we’re also helping students fill out applications to go study abroad themselves, both through the financial aid process and the merit based scholarship process,” Choe said.

However once the financial barrier that may be present for some is gone, studying abroad opens up a completely new world, according to senior Daniel Gavazzi.

“In my experience, what I actually did going to Berlin, finding a way to leave the country where a lot of us have never left and we´ve all grown up in, is something that completely changes someone’s worldview,” Gavazzi said. 

CIEE offers a range of different opportunities in one’s chosen country. From the studying of reproductive health in Ghana to the language and culture program in Tokyo and engineering in Berlin, there are a range of programs meant to fit a variety of students’ interests, according to the CIEE website. Due to the large span of programs and their different areas of focus, every student can take away a different thing from their trip. 

“I do think you can learn a lot about the language because you will be immersed in all of the new things that are available,” Choe, who participated in the language and culture program in Tokyo, said. 

Another way CIEE may promote immersion into a country is through their offering of a homestay in many programs. Depending on the country and program a student is placed in, they may have their choice of homestay, dormitory stay, or a mixture of both, each different living accommodation offering different benefits. 

“You get a ton of immersion when you’re staying at a homestay, especially if you want to learn the language, you get to learn so much from being in that homestay and talking to your host parents,” Choe said, stating that despite the language that may occur, host families are overall there to make you feel comfortable and invite you into their culture and home.

“She would cook us some of the best meals which is probably one of my favorite experiences of the program, like studying abroad and staying with my host family,” Choe said, also adding on that an extra benefit to homestay was being able to practice his language skills with native speakers. 

While studying abroad may not be for everyone, it can be a wonderful experience for many. 

“I feel like a lot of the things that determine whether someone should or should not do the experience is how they live on their own, and if you plan to be independent and can be independent then I definitely recommend it,” Gavazzi said.