11 Reasons Not to Miss Spring Semester Study Abroad

Spring study abroad is pure magic

There’s irony in the notion that the same document declaring your identity is also what grants permission to burst out of your comfort zone and across borders.

Committing to study abroad as a late-teen-early-twenty-something was a brilliant first step in growing your academic pursuits as well as testing out the travel bug. Now you’re inundated with dozens of choices and to do lists, foremost: 

When are you going?

Types of study abroad programs aside, seasonality is indicative of how the adventure will unfold. Fall, spring, summer, a two-week intersession over winter break, half a semester here and the other at your home university—This is unexpectedly easy, probably the most intuitive decision you’ll have to make once the “where” is covered.

SPRING. That’s when your dream experience will ideally commence, on the heels of a winter break spent soaking up time at home while glowing over the days ticking down on your countdown app. 

A million reasons make up the rationale behind spring being the perfect semester to go abroad, but you’re probably procrastinating on a paper or pretending that test is going to study for itself, so here are the top eleven:

Why spring semester study abroad is the right call

Spring study abroad is the option for you because… 

1. Six Months > Four

The majority of spring terms last four months at minimum, and six months plus if you’re lucky! Not feeling as intense of a time constraint on cramming an overload of travels and memories in before your looming departure date home makes for scenes that are savored rather than rushed. 

Nothing says “Let’s get outside!” like warmer temps

An extra eight to ten weeks provides a treasured buffer zone that allows for at least some rest and recovery between exams and escapades, as well as bonus days to tack onto a trip or accommodate new travel plans entirely. Especially once you get going—that initial index of ‘must see and experience’ will only double when your cohort is back in class on Monday raving about cities and bucket list-level things to do that were never even a consideration beforehand. 

Researching TripAdvisor lists and hours spent pouring over Pinterest photos absolutely pales in comparison to IRL suggestions. While it’s unlikely you’ll cross off every location and activity on your list, it doesn’t hurt to try—especially when you planned ahead to snag an extra month or two. 

This stage of your life is a sliver of magic that cannot be replaced or re-lived—never again will you traipse off to another continent without a single care in the world or laundry list of adulting waiting upon return. There are light years between worrying about fulfilling requirements for your major vs. arranging payments for a mortgage. 

2. “Over-preparation” is Not a Thing

Over-preparation is next to impossible when it comes to moving overseas for any length of time. 

There’s no such thing as saving up too much money—if the currency exchange rate doesn’t get ya, the food and non-stop exploring will. Penny pinching all summer is a fantastic start, but the extra few months in the fall really add the cushion your bank account.

The faculty and staff at the study abroad office has seen it all, and are happy to answer your questions. You’ll need an international phone plan or SIM card, cash in the local currency, and credit cards that are optimized for foreign transactions (preferably without any service fees!)—before you even step foot on your new stomping grounds. 

They’re aware of how many factors play into a successful experience and have helpful tips and tricks of the trade to pass along. They’ll also issue several warnings regarding how quickly deadlines and departure dates approach, and yet both will still take you by surprise. 

After the initial applications are submitted comes the painstaking process of comparing your home university’s course catalog to your host school’s offerings and ensuring credits transfer. It’s much easier to do this in the fall having tentatively mapped out a year’s worth of classes and enrolled in several already.Actually booking these necessary classes, either in advance or once you’ve arrived on your new campus per the institution’s requirements, is another hurdle to factor in. 

Having done spring semester study abroad, you’ll receive exam results back before the summer term at your home school and can make up any credits there if needed. Otherwise, you can plan to squeeze them in come fall, it’s far less stressful to reconcile discrepancies from one course load when you aren’t balancing another!

3. Sneak Away & Stay On Track to Graduate

Experience the liveliness of spring semester abroad all across your school campus.

Rest assured that jetting off to another continent for several months is possible to enjoy without sacrificing a semester or otherwise falling behind. Many institutions smooth this interlude by establishing partnerships and direct exchange programs, where tuition is paid to your bursar as usual rather than hiking up and classes are already equated in advance so as to transfer equitably. 

It’s 2019-studying abroad isn’t just suggested, it’s advocated for amongst faculty and friends alike. Universities caught on and chose to do the legwork of establishing close ties with other schools in order to deliver the opportunity without delaying your diploma (and thus negatively impacting their retention or graduation rates while driving up debt: win-win for all involved). 

Spring semester affords a lengthier amount of time to cram yourself into a library for actual study purposes rather than for the sole motive of viewing a famed manuscript, although that’s a bonus you don’t find as often in the States. Deciding to test out higher education overseas may arise as an excuse to finally travel, but plays an integral role in balancing fun with mastering the fundamentals needed to secure the idyllic future you envision after graduation.

4. Ask Around & Account for Your Field

Stroll into any international programs office and there’s a landslide of pamphlets and course catalogs available for perusal, even before you’ve fully embraced the prospect of venturing outside your home country.

Several majors and concentrations are accounted for, which extends the opportunity for spring semester study abroad to as many students as are willing to be creative in meeting academic regulations. Saving up electives wherever possible is a known trick of the trade to fit in credit hours while avoiding extra stress in completing degree requirements, but there’s also notable merit in choosing to be challenged by a multinational approach to core principles. 

While direct exchange programs are the most convenient, it’s always an option to request consideration of a new curriculum. If you stumble upon an obscure class or unfamiliar (yet still accredited) institution that provides incredible material while also fulfilling degree essentials, ASK! However stringent your field or area of focus, arrangements can nearly always be finagled to allow an international emphasis while still sliding out the door in four years. 

With spring semesters extending into the summer if need be thanks to exam protocols, fluctuating schedules and agendas prove feasible rather than fatal to your graduation plans. There are many avenues to receive an education overseas, and it’s imperative that whichever you select fits your own particulars and preferences. 

Limits are arbitrary at best when it comes to complementing your higher education-where there’s a will there’s a way, and a variety of programs to accommodate your ambitions!

5. Save Money & Still See the Sights

Booking a plane, train, or bus ticket is infinitely more exciting when it doesn’t eat up half your budget. 

If you’re up against the clock, this type of predicament can be unavoidable; torn between spending an extra $150 or not seeing the Amalfi Coast, it’s pretty obvious which option is preferable. This in turn limits the number of excursions you can feasibly take, as the general rule of thumb is booking further in advance lands better prices. Tossing the coin on which country out of seven to visit the upcoming weekend inspires both anticipation and FOMO. 

Experience the liveliness of spring semester abroad all across your school campus.

With four months or less to study abroad, you see what you can as quickly as you can lest the trek home be made having missed out on a lifelong dream of a tour. Sitting down during month one to list out and begin planning trips over the course of four months, with an extra few weeks at the end as a buffer, entails researching the most economical forms of transportation, accommodation, timing, and ways to afford desired activities.

How to have it all, so to speak. Make a note that allocating money for food should be one of those priorities– it does no good skipping breakfast to afford a legendary excursion if you then spend the entire time too hangry to enjoy it.

College is not generally an era of sustainable cash flow. The ability to stretch your travel funds as far and effectively as humanly possible, by way of having longer frames of time in which to do so, is invaluable. 

6. Extra Time with Instant Family

 There’s nothing like a completely foreign experience to bind together a group of people who may not otherwise have anything in common. For many, studying abroad is the first extended period of time away from where they’ve spent their entire existence-much less flown out of the country. To say uncertainty and discomfort accompany that is an understatement, particularly when culture shock sets in.  

Then you meet them. 

It might be in class, at an icebreaker event, a café, a dorm, a club, on a plane. One by one, or in sets of threes and fours, your second family—fellow spring study abroad comrades—assembles and your home away from home is born of serendipitous circumstance.  

They will see you at your most jubilant, when the adrenaline of we’re HERE, it’s HAPPENING! is full throttle and you’re all immersed in equal measures of amazement and gratitude. They will wearily eye you during a meltdown over how you chose to climb a tower and then look down despite knowing full well you’re terrified of heights, or the time you thought you lost (maybe actually did misplace) your passport in city three out of a scheduled journey of nine.

This motley crew will come to depend on and take care of one another throughout every adventure and mishap possible, revealing hilarious quirks and profound details each day that endear them even more to the rest of the friend group. 

You will grow to love them and become uncannily used to this alternate universe you all live in—and you will wish there were more miles left to traverse together than be separated by. Even six months will not have been adequate.

Bloom and grow as the flowers do!

7. Weather & Wonder

Keukenhof gardens, Trooping the Colour, Rio Carnival, cherry blossoms in Tokyo, the Cape Town Jazz Festival—beguiling events overlay every continent from January to June. From elegant displays of patriotism to festivities that preserve historic and cultural significance, these moments are a highlight reel of what composes a nation.

Rolling out of bed, on what would be an average day during your regular life, to be instantly swept up in a celebration of epic proportions is nothing short of remarkable during spring semester study abroad. The food, music, colors, and languages whirling around are enough to give you whiplash amidst the wonder.  

 The natural grandeur of your host territory cannot be understated either. There’s an even more captivating element to something that grew of its own accord, perhaps lovingly maintained, and has transcended past millions of spectators such as yourself. 

Climates are of course dependent on which country you’re studying in, but usually remain temperate throughout Europe. Moderate fluctuations are nothing short of lovely, who wants to melt while scaling centuries old steps or freeze during a guided tour?!

If you are looking to warm up, South America stays the 70s and 80s (F) range while Asia runs the gamut but can reach the 90s at some points. Africa starts out warm and then graduates to beautiful yet blisteringly hot the closer it moves towards May. Australia is another story entirely as they work from summer into winter—that’s the antithesis of what you’re used to, which is just another layer of contrast and novelty!

Weather patterns aside, your wanderlust will steer you into the midst of occasions and phenomenon that make the most of spring semester.

8. Hold Off On Homesickness

Homesickness can strike for several reasons, and the holidays are a common catalyst. Wishing your family and friends were present to share in particular moments and memories is natural—how could you not love and miss them terribly even while having the time of your life?! 

This is especially applicable during times of the year when you’re traditionally reunited and celebrating that togetherness. Fall obviously hosts two of the most popular occasions, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and while terms end before Christmas actually takes place there are some institutions that only finish up a week or so in advance.

It puts a damper on the season to have missed out on the fun and festivities leading up to the main day, particularly if you’re also overcoming jet lag and the reverse culture shock of coming home. 

Time to switch to iced coffee! <3

Easter is the most commonly mentioned holiday that occurs in springtime, but seems to draw less concern and disappointment over losing out on family time than the others. While it’s certainly a personal preference, studying abroad in the spring entails missing fewer celebrations back home!

9. Appreciate the Academics

Week one of every semester is a learning curve. Mapping classroom locations, discovering whether you were strategic enough to factor in a lunch break, and gaining a feel for how course materials and assignments break down dissolves into one big blur. This is doubly true when acclimatizing to the layout of a new campus and educational structure while navigating cultural intricacies (especially with a language barrier). 

Academics are approached far differently around the world than what we’re used to--classes vary in length, approach, and occurrence. Your professors may come from countries other than the one you newly reside in, factoring in their own teaching styles, outlooks, and subject preferences. The backgrounds of the peers sitting around you in lecture hall are equally varied, which makes for highly engaging discussions and seminars. 

The adjustment period for school-related idiosyncrasies is long but immeasurably important for learning about people and cultural norms, in addition to the stuff you’ll be tested on later. That’s another point—some institutions test often, as we do, others roll into one extensive ‘make it or break it’ exam at the end. 

Spring semester is broken apart more gently than fall: the formal break is often weeks at a time, local holidays affect scheduling, and assignment cadences lull as a result. The slower pace means essays and studying can be prioritized and completed well, not just passably in order to make a flight. A longer stint also allows you to develop bonds with your classmates as well as professors; they make good friends and even better connections for future endeavors down the line.

You never know, what began as taking a few classes for a more globalized perspective can transition seamlessly into working overseas once it’s all said and done!

10. Live Like A Local

Ace your exam then head out for the weekend.

 A priceless element of the study abroad experience is embracing the concept that you are living in another country, not just visiting! There are hundreds of profound quotes about ‘immersing yourself in another culture’ that are absolutely on point, yet the true significance is in the details. 

Prior to taking off, visions of insta-worthy vacations edge out the vital but mundane tasks such as vetting the amenities at your accommodation, setting up Wifi, figuring out where to do laundry, learning what stores sell food vs. toiletries, etc. Just as there’s a mad scramble to acquire all of the little things you don’t think of until the very second they’re needed when first arriving at college, studying abroad is round two, on steroids, with a language barrier to it top off.  

Once that first week is over, a sense of normalcy creeps in. Not long ago you were over the moon to be going abroad and now you’re there: with a preferred food market, weekly dinner spot with your roommates, and a friendly shop owner who knows your face if not your name. 

While the sense of being slightly out of place doesn’t entirely fade, you will be startled at the way it lessens and evolves. If not a home, at least a home base, this new city sinks into your blood and will always feel infinitely more familiar than the casual weekend locales. The longer you spend there, the more deeply you appreciate the notion that a sense of belonging is not exclusively rooted in ‘where you’re from’.  

11. Steal a Segue Back to Reality

Returning home is bittersweet.

You’ve just crammed more in a six-month span than some do in a lifetime. It’s all changed-your sense of self, measure of experience, perspective. Beyond the scroll of unbelievable photos and a hopefully decent transcript, you’re coming back to family and friends having cultivated an entirely separate existence thousands of miles away.

Stories come pouring out but it’s hard for them to relate to the highs, lows, and miraculous web of an odyssey they have no connection with aside from your involvement. Even stepping into a grocery store or driving a car will be strange, much less being face to face with people you’ve needed a phone to reach for half of the year. 

Their interest in your spring semester study abroad will wane quicker than you expect, and the reconciliation of what you’ve missed as well as the onslaught of catching up hits like a train. You are different, yet the way of life left behind remains static. There is both comfort and dissatisfaction in this epiphany. 

All of these musings transpire yet there’s no established timeline on how long it’ll take to re-adjust to being home (weird concept, right?). A summer to decompress and reconnect is sorely needed in order to undertake the following, perhaps final, year of higher education with a clear headspace.

There’s always been something otherworldly about summertime, anyway-an interval between now and next that soothes the segue back to real life. Two or three weeks of winter break before entering the chaos of another round doesn’t hold a candle to that kind of sequential grace. 

Next steps to spring semester abroad

Epic photo ops await.

Don't pack your raincoat and galoshes for spring study abroad juuuust yet. There are a few items on your study abroad to do list you should check off first.

• Decide where to go. Figuring out where to study abroad isn’t easy. Somewhere rural and remote? An island? Why not spend a spring semester in London? Don't let anything hold you back—choose a place that's right for you.
• Your major courses or something more fun and experiential? You don't only have to take classes that pertain to your major back home (though it never hurts to knock out some credits towards graduation). Look at your course options and decide what combination of required classes and just-for-fun-or-because-you-want-to-learn-it classes are out there. Choose from literature, the sciences, education, psychology, and more!
• Choose from the best study abroad programs. Pay attention to past participants’ reviews, program/university reputation, location, and your ease of getting credits. Some schools or providers may even provide contact info for student ambassadors or past international students if you want the REAL dirt. Here’s our guide to choosing between study abroad programs. 
• Plan your finances. Sort out funding before you go to afford daily essentials and splurge in travel (in addition to program costs and airfare). Do your research to have an idea of how much your study abroad program will cost. Check out scholarships for study abroad in Australia too!
• Talk to your home university. Getting all your ducks in a row is largely dependent on what your home university requires. Talk to a study abroad advisor or the equivalent at your university to see what choices are available to you.

Pack your bags next spring for study abroad!

Let’s do this! Spring study abroad rules

Spring semester study abroad is a good fit for all kinds of students:

• Perhaps you’re an enlightened thinker: gravitating towards prose, philosophy, and philanthropic pursuits.
• A leader, natural-born or self-made: embracing the inevitable fusion of all fields and disciplines and seeking to emerge as an expert honed by exposure in your chosen profession.
• Exceptional member of the arts: a sculptor or graphic designer, architect or photographer drawn to shapes, phases, and angles. You never tire of capturing the radiant as well as raw elements on portraits and pavements alike. 
• A hopeful wanderer: lost in the habitual commotion of everyday life and eager to divine a passion or purpose through a proverbial ‘burning of the boat.’

Or you’ve sought to study abroad of an entirely different volition; something lighter, like you’ve been dying to see the Australian outback or try schnitzel. Nonetheless, you’ve chanced upon why and when. It’s no coincidence that spring is the season of newness and revival. 

Your study abroad saga is now set to unfold—safe travels!

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