LATE IN May I was on a train through Holland on my way to Germany when I happened upon two other American students from a nearby Virginia college. I asked them what they were doing in Europe. "Studying abroad," one answered. They explained that they were two weeks into a three-week program in London with their university. One of the students admitted to having already spent $2,000 in London pubs. It was the weekend, so they were both headed to Amsterdam to sample the mushroom tea.
If students like these think they've had a valuable study abroad experience, they aren't the only ones hallucinating. Rates of study abroad have risen dramatically in recent years. Universities now compete with each other over who is sending the highest percentage of students abroad, with that number referenced in the all-important U.S. News & World Report college guide. U.Va. has set the goal to have a staggering 80 percent of students studying abroad by 2020. It's commonly accepted on college campuses that it is an unconditionally good thing for students to be overseas, but no one seems to be asking why.
For students of foreign language the reason is obvious, but for others less so. The most satisfying explanation is that students of the liberal arts are in school to learn to think about the world in unique ways. Thus there is no better environment than a foreign culture for this to take place. The reality of many study abroad programs, though, falls far short of this purpose, with some programs offering what are at best glorified month-long vacations, and at worst a tremendous waste of time and money that harms the host culture.
I spoke to one British student studying at St. Andrews University in Scotland who claimed that nearly half the students there were Americans studying abroad. "They've completely changed the culture," she lamented, adding "All the bars cater to the Americans' tastes."
British universities have done little to stem the tidal wave of students from America given that free-spending Americans provide a major source of revenue for colleges strapped for cash. What's not obvious, though, is why the Americans keep coming. Most students studying abroad say they do so in order to experience a foreign culture, rendering curious the attraction of an American cultural outpost in a land already culturally very similar.
Some of the blame may lie with the companies and college programs that have sprung up to meet the surging demand of students wanting to go abroad. From a purely logistical standpoint, it is easier for them to organize for a whole group of students and herd them overseas all at once than it is to send each student for his or her own unique experience. The result, though, are carefully planned programs that defy what the spirit of studying abroad should stand for.
It's hard to lose your cultural bearings, even in Valencia, if you attend class every day with your best American friends. Similarly, it's hard get lost at all, or discover something new about yourself, during a meticulously planned and pre-paid European tour.
America's universities should radically rethink the purpose and mission of study abroad, embracing true cultural immersion and abandoning the idea that merely transporting students to other countries is tantamount to genuine immersion.
Luckily, the University offers a unique alternative to run-of-the-mill, hand-holding study abroad options:exchange programs. In an exchange program, students pay normal U.Va. tuition and enroll as a regular student in a foreign university. The cultural immersion offered by exchange programs stands in stark contrast to the cultural incest which typifies programs centered around groups of Americans. Programs that send students abroad independently are known as "full immersion programs," and Director of International Studies Rebecca Brown says, "Our advice to students is always to go on a program that offers a full-immersion experience." Sadly, though, most students ignore opportunities like exchange programs.
In the end, the impetus must lie with today's students to take control of their study abroad experience. This may mean independently enrolling in a foreign university somewhere off the beaten track, or taking a semester off to intern or volunteer where most students wouldn't think to go.
The benefit to be gained from study abroad is directly proportional to how much you're willing to risk. Students who don't risk much might think back on study abroad as a fun vacation. But if you're willing to leap outside your comfort zone, leaving your assumptions and the masses behind, studying abroad just might change your life.
Herb Ladley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at hladley@cavalierdaily.com.
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