How did I find the right program for me?
Here is a breakdown of questions I asked myself when choosing my program using the UA Study Abroad Program Search!
- When (Semester, Summer, Winter, May Interim)
- UA Faculty Led or Affiliate
- Where (if you have preference)
- Classroom or Internship
- Cost
The Program Search page has filters available for each of these categories. Personally, I chose May Interim, Faculty Led, and the countries I was interested in. After that, I went through each program that fit those perimeters and (eventually) led me to the one I liked best- UA in Thessaloniki, Greece!
Preparation
There are many things that go into preparing for study abroad such as flights, course registration, payments, passports/visas, and packing. There is no one way to go about all of this, but my recommendation is to start far earlier than you think. I started thinking about study abroad almost a year in advance. Another thing I found helpful was to use your resources! I consulted friends who had already done study abroad, talked with my parents, and did advising with UA’s Study Abroad Office. Doing this helped make this whole process a lot smoother and less confusing.
The biggest part of my prep started approximately 6 months in advance. Here is my timeline for my May Interim abroad:
- December- Make first deposit and meet professors
- January- Make my first payment, get passport
- February- Book my flights, start talking to other students
- March/April- payments, start buying necessary items like adapters/travel stuff, researching the area
- May- packing, more researching, coordination with students, and flying there!
I had 3 flights (two lay-overs of 1 hour each). It took about 17 hours to get from Nashville, TN to Thessaloniki, Greece. After landing, my flight buddy and I waited for our professor to meet us and take us to our hotel.
Here is my first picture of Thessaloniki! After going to the hotel my professor helped us find lunch and explore.