Study abroad

The IU Office of Overseas Study offers more than 80 programs in 37 countries, 17 languages and nearly every field of study.

Still, approximately only 1,600 out of about 40,000 students from IU go abroad each year. That’s slightly more than 1 in 25. That’s about 4 percent.

But there’s no good reason not to study abroad.

I understand you might be afraid of homesickness or of missing out on things here in Bloomington.

But trust me, when you get back from spending a few months in another country, you will find that everyone and everything is eerily exactly the same as it was when you left.

Meanwhile, you will have had extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you will be telling stories about for the rest of your life.

And if you think you can’t afford to go abroad, you probably haven’t researched your options.

The Office of Overseas Study gives more than $100,000 in need- and merit-based scholarships each year.

Any student with a 3.3 cumulative GPA is eligible for a Hutton Honors College International Experiences grant, regardless of whether you are in the Honors College.

As an out-of-state student, spending a semester abroad ended up costing me less than spending a semester here.

When you go abroad, you will form friendships unlike any you will ever have again. You will also return home 100 percent more independent, confident, curious and adventurous than you were before you left.

You will think about life differently, and you will have a better understanding of the world in which you live. Your only regret will be not staying longer.

If you are afraid of a language barrier, you can go to an English-speaking country.

You can live with a host family, in a dorm or on your own. You can go with or without a community of other IU students. You can go over the summer if you don’t want to miss a semester.

There is something for everyone.

You can research the different programs at http://www.indiana.edu/~overseas/. You can also stop by the Overseas Study Information Center in Franklin Hall 303.

It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is staffed by advisors and peer counselors who are eager to help you find a program that fits with what you want.

It’s time to rethink anything that might be stopping you from going abroad because right now you have an opportunity that won’t come again.

And what are you more likely to regret at the end of these four years: the risks you took or the ones you didn’t?