[PhoenixAzul]

Wow, timeliness!

Last year I spent two quarters living in Northern Ireland. It was singlehandedly the greatest thing I could have done. I miss it so much now that I'm home. So what was my solution? To get accepted to graduate school in Scotland. So I'm moving back to the UK in September to do my masters degree.

My program in Belfast was through my university, so all of my financial aid transfered, which meant that I only had to pay for my housing/travel/living expenses when I was abroad and pay my tuition to Otterbein. Worked out really well. The way it works at my school is that if you go through an Otterbein program, all your financial aid comes with you. If you design your own program, only $3,000 of it goes with you. Your school may have some sort of similar arrangement (you didn't mention where you went?).

Your parents are right, grades are extremely important to studying abroad. It doesn't mean that you have to have a 4.0, but they want to see some commitment to study. Remember that you're representing your university, so they want to send someone who will be a good representation of the school. This also means attendance!

The program I went on had a strange selection process. OC had to pick 2 applicants out of the pool, rank them 1 and 2, and then send the applications to a national board who would then check your qualifications, references and grades and then assign you a university. So references are extremely, extremely important. You should talk to your adviser right now about your desire to go abroad and see if they'll support you or if they know of someone who has advised study abroad students.

When I was applying, one of the things the director of foreign programs told me was the most important was OPENNESS TO NEW CULTURES, and CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. Not sure how you can demonstrate this on a resume or an application, but in your interview, be prepared to answer questions about how you'll handle culture shock and strange customs/food/etc.

There's so much more information..geez! if you've got any questions, please feel free to PM me and I'll answer the best I can.