Study abroad down, economy a suspect

By Kelsey Dornfeld

If Renee Huset, a junior at the University of St. Thomas, hadn’t gone on a study abroad trip to South Africa, she wouldn’t have had a huge herd of zebras surround her on a safari.

“If that wasn’t cool enough, my friend Rachael told me to look to my left and I saw what looked like a scene from ‘The Lion King.’ Around a big watering hole were zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, and likely more animals I didn’t recognize running around carefree. It was amazing,” Huset said.

Huset could have had more experiences like that if she had gone on a longer study abroad trip, but she couldn’t afford it. She went on a J-term trip — a study abroad option in January that runs for about 3-4 weeks during winter break.

“I would have liked to go to a semester or year-long program,” but the economy caused her to settle on J-term, she said.

With a challenging economy, many college students wanting to study abroad are having more difficulty affording the trips.

According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors in spring 2009, 52 percent of programs surveyed are seeing an affect on study abroad by the economy. Of that 52 percent, 18 percent are seeing a slight decline while 10 percent are seeing a drop of 10-20 percent.

Paul Nelson, the study abroad coordinator of the International Center at Macalester College, isn’t sure the economy is responsible. “We think so, but we don’t know so,” Nelson said.

At Macalester College, students studying abroad dropped from 98 to 74 students, or about 25 percent, from fall 2008 to fall 2009, Nelson said.

An increase of a certain kind of trip at Macalester College may contain another hint. According to Nelson, study abroad during January term at Macalester College has increased in popularity because of its cheaper cost. In January 2008, 33 students went abroad, and this past January 2009, 77 students went abroad during J-term.

Not all colleges have had such a big drop in the number of students studying abroad. Sarah Huesing, a study abroad advisor in International Education at the University of St. Thomas, said the numbers at the University of St. Thomas haven’t really been affected by the economy.

“Numbers dipped a little bit during the 2008-2009 year,” Huesing said, but when it comes to the most recent statistics and the coming school year it’s “too soon to tell,” she said.

Like the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota hasn’t had much of a drop in study abroad numbers either. According to Martha Johnson, director of the Learning Abroad Center at the University of Minnesota, the school has seen consistent numbers, even during this economic downturn.

While the responses from the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota may be surprising considering the current economy, the reason may be that colleges in Minnesota have strong study abroad programs, Huesing said.

The benefits students experience during study abroad can have a lasting influence on students. Suzanne Lentz, who graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May, studied abroad in two programs for a total of 11 months in Ireland.

“Studying abroad made a huge impact on me,” Lentz said. “I discovered a new sense of independence while abroad.”

Lentz said that she believes longer trips are better than shorter trips because she thinks it takes a semester to get used a new culture, and if you leave after a semester, you’re leaving when you’re just starting to understand it.

Huset and Lentz both ended up getting some type of financial help to go on their study abroad programs. “The whole course got billed to my student account,” Huset said, which made it much easier to afford because it was similar to normal tuition costs.

Huset also worked a job and got some help from her parents to cover her South Africa trip, while Lentz took out a loan in order to pay for her living expenses while in Ireland.

“I would definitely encourage studying abroad to anyone who is interested in the experience. You can learn a lot from books and pictures and lectures in the (United States), but to actually visit the historical sites and experience the culture and context in which the events you’re studying took place is incredibly beneficial,” Huset said.

The trip South Africa was expensive, but it was worth it and students can look into scholarships and loans to help afford study abroad trips, Huset said.