Stanislaus State student Katelin Foster (senior, Anthropology) studied abroad at Maastricht University in the Netherlands from fall 2018 through spring 2019. At Maastricht University, Foster studied neuroscience, arts and culture.
When Foster was asked what made her want to study abroad she said, “I had never traveled abroad before and I had rarely left California. I wanted a change of scenery and a break from school. I hoped that studying abroad would help me figure out what I wanted to do for a career and figure out what I wanted to major in.”
“When I first began studying abroad, I was a psychology major, but I wasn’t happy with the major,” Foster continued. “After studying abroad, I decided I wanted to major in Anthropology, specifically, cultural anthropology. I wanted a career that would allow me to travel, experience new cultures, and live outside of the country.”
CSU Stanislaus student Trevor Reeves (senior, History) will be attending Charles University in Prague within the Czech Republic. Reeves will be in Prague for just over four months before he comes home to graduate in the spring of 2022.
“European history is all I need to graduate. I wanted to be somewhere where I could visit multiple countries on my trip, and it’s a beautiful city with a rich history.” Reeves explained when asked why he choose to study in Prague.
Foster was similarly asked why she chose to study in the Netherlands.
“The location of the country made it easy and convenient for traveling around Europe,” she said. “I also wanted to go somewhere people’s native language was not English, but the majority of the people spoke it. I thought this would give me more of an international experience.”
Foster added that Maastricht being the oldest city in the Netherlands was also appealed to her.
When Foster was asked if there was anything, in particular, she misses from the time she spent abroad she said, “I miss my using public transportation and riding my bike. I miss being able to walk anywhere I wanted to go and not need to have a car. I miss hearing the different European languages in the cafes and walking down the cobblestone streets in Maastricht.”
Foster explained that she began looking into programs two years before she ultimately left abroad.
“I believe I signed up about 10 months before I left the country,” she said. “I also had a Zoom meeting with an academic advisor from my host university to pick out classes five months before the program began.”
Reeves was able to elaborate on the process of studying as it relates to Stanislaus State.
“The first two things I decided was which program I would go through and where I wanted to go. Stan State offers a few programs, but with my circumstances, only two international programs were a good fit: Universities Study Abroad Consortium (USAC) and CSU International Program (CSUIP). This process was fairly easy and the least stressful part,” Reeves explained.
“The time-consuming part of the process comes with applying for a visa. I had to collect around 20 documents, put them in order, and then get most of them notarized. After completing these stages of the process, a few more signatures on some forms are needed, and then you’re ready to go,” he continued.
Reeves was also able to speak on the cost of traveling abroad and the resources offered at Stan State.
“For a full semester, the total cost of the program which just includes your visa, courses and housing is about $12,000,” he said.
“Stan State along with USAC offers multiple scholarships in which applying is highly recommended. Writing a short essay along with a reference letter can go a long way,” he continued.
When Foster was asked what advice she had for students that were planning to go abroad, she advised that they get a few debit and prepaid gift cards to bring with them.
Some additional advice Foster gave was to consider the cost of each program.
“I chose one of the most expensive programs and countries to live in. It would have been better for me financially to choose a country like Thailand. Because the Netherlands is so expensive, I didn’t have money to eat out at restaurants and do other unnecessary things that cost money.” Foster added, “If I had gone to Thailand, I could have gone out with my friends more.”
All in all, there are several pros and cons to studying abroad, it just takes a little research to know which country and which plan is best for you.
