Can I study abroad during my last year of college?

When I applied to study abroad, I was a senior at my university and to be honest, it made me a little nervous. Your senior year is usually the time when you start prepping for your life outside of university and as such can be a very busy time in life. This put some stress on my decision in a way that brought up some questions. How will my final year be affected? Will I be behind in my studies? What will this look like for graduation? Each of these are valid questions and worth exploring.

Your senior year is often busy and stressful but a highly rewarding time for spending time with friends, networking for jobs, and deciding on future options for your life. Many people think that you cannot study abroad during this time and that it would cause disorientation and a lack in one of these departments. Now, to say that you can't have any of these things if you study abroad in your last year would be simply not true.

Studying abroad opens up a whole new world of possibilities and can broaden your horizons in ways you never thought of before. It sounds cheesy, I know. But I mean it earnestly. The friends you make and the things you do together truly bond you with the people you spend time with, turning them into lifelong friends. You can also utilize the resources the study abroad university you attend has to network and branch your options. The world is a vast place!

Studying abroad is also a great way to break away from what you consider normal in your life. In doing this you have the potential to reevaluate your life and what you find important. Studying abroad has more benefits for your future life than you ever thought possible.

As for the question of graduation, the answer is no, it doesn't have to be affected. There is a misconception that studying abroad can impact your credits and therefore possibly graduation dates. Study abroad is a fabulous opportunity to fit in a variety of courses that need to be fulfilled to graduate. In the case that you do not have any elective credits left, there are bound to be plenty of classes that are transferrable back to your home university, as long as you verify first with your advisor.

Your provider also helps with getting transcripts from the study abroad school to your home university. All of that to say, your graduation date is not in danger from studying abroad, so if you are in your last year now is your opportunity. Take the chance and explore another corner of the world! Life will still be waiting for you when you come back so take the chance now to live somewhere new and break out of the norm. It is well worth the opportunity.

Blog by Selah Felty, Grand Canyon University
Semester in Scotland - University of Stirling