Recent administrative changes -- including last year's controversial sale of the Villa Spelman and subsequent suspension of the University's program there -- have spurred a 20 percent decline in the number of students who studied abroad in the fall semester. Eighty-nine students studied abroad in fall of 2005; only 71 students traveled to study in the past semester.
While this shift is largely influenced by recent program reforms, administrators also attribute other internal factors to this decline. Overall, however, students and administrators attest to an increasing interest in study abroad programs.
Although the Fall 2006 study abroad figures are slightly higher than those from Spring 2006, study abroad advisor Ruth Aranow cited spring sports and spring MCATs as forces that keep students from traveling. "Some students even want to stay for Spring Fair," Aranow added.
In the 2005-2006 academic year, Villa Spelman in Florence was home abroad for more than 10 Hopkins students each semester. Italy was closed as a study abroad option for students when the Villa was suspended this year.
Other challenges come in the way of students' plans for abroad. "The obstacles to these great experiences are usually financial or timing," John Bader, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Advising, said. Aranow has observed a more recent decline in exchanges
to England as "the value of the dollar has become very expensive."
Yet financial challenges are not difficult to resolve, Bader explains, since financial aid is rather widely accepted in the programs. "Timing is a more serious challenge, in my opinion, as we have so many natural science and engineering students who believe they cannot get away from campus for a term," Bader said.
To overcome this, students are encouraged to consider reorganizing their courses. Fulfilling specific credits over the summer has also worked wonders in making studying abroad happen. In addition, with the pre-approval from academic departments, students can earn credits while abroad in even non-Hopkins-affiliated programs. Figures from the past three semesters reveal that up to 20percent of the students abroad were science or engineering majors.
Administrators believe that the experience is well worth the planning. "Most of my best applicants for national scholarships, like the Rhodes and Marshall have studied abroad, as those foundations want to see a global perspective. Applicants for the Fulbright also benefit from having been `in country' so they know what they're doing and are more likely to succeed when returning there," says Bader.
Students' accounts testify even more to the richness of education abroad. For senior Steven Sferlazza, a political science major, his semester at Central European University at Budapest was "one of [his] finest decisions in four years of college."
"I wanted to see Communism, not just pictures. I wanted to hear stories of life under Soviet rule," Sferlazza recalls. After witnessing two Hungarian riots, he concludes that the experience was "unbelievable".
"These emotions, actions, and politics went far beyond the lecture hall," he says.
Senior Cassandra Gurgiolo spent her semester abroad in Costa Rica in the International Educational Exchange Program co-sponsored by Hopkins. Gurgiolo was not at all let down by science education outside Hopkins; more than anything, the Costa Rican setting enriched her learning.
"Most of what I learned was not in a classroom, but in various types of forest. We also studied marine life by snorkeling, which was amazing."
"The students I know retrun from study abroad experiences changed forever and for the better -- more confident, mature and sophisticated," Bader said.
Aranow also recounted being moved by a student's new maturity. "'I left to learn something about the world, but I learned something about myself'" she quoted the student.
Still, other students traveling abroad are getting back more than education. Junior Raffi Wartanian is spending this spring semester at Denmark International Study in Copenhagen.
"You start to discover what your interests are the more time you spend abroadc9 you're kind of forced to make use of your time, and what you do here reflects who you arec9 In many ways you feel like a completely new person, capable of being molded by your new surroundings," he observes.
Junior Jordan Wyndelts is preparing for her semester at Sophia University in Japan. The actual experience of being abroad may mean more than what she'll learn there. "I can be in America for the rest of my life, but this is probably the only time I can just jaunt around the world freely without having to worry about a job or anything," she explains.
"I don't want much from Japan- I just want to have a good time, and come away with some great stories. I want to be a writer, so this is straight up life experience for me, a way to see more and learn more so I have more to write about," Wyndelts says.
