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The Daily Tar Heel

Application troubles: Study abroad process should be tweaked to allow students more options

(Study abroad process should be tweaked to allow students more options for credit programs)

The University's Study Abroad Office should allow students to apply to multiple study abroad programs.

This can be done without extensively expanding the application process.

UNC's Study Abroad Office offers more than 300 programs in 70 countries yet students rejected from their first choice will find themselves in a bind.

The process for studying abroad requires a comprehensive 10-page application. This year the Study Abroad Office only had two weeks to review 163 applications.

While applying to study abroad is a detailed and strenuous process only a small part of the application process itself is location-specific.

The application process can be tailored to allow students the ability to indicate program preferences in their application and include shorter written explanations of these choices in addition to a basic study abroad essay.

If studying abroad maintains such a high interest and UNC is as committed to study abroad programs as it claims then the University must ensure that student demand is met through proper funding and staffing of the Study Abroad Office.

Also current Study Abroad policy only allows students to receive credit for officially sanctioned UNC-Chapel Hill programs.

But UNC's study abroad programs represent a tiny portion of the opportunity for students to study abroad worldwide. And while the quality of study abroad programs must always be evaluated it is hard to imagine that UNC maintains a monopoly on these quality programs.

While students may petition the Study Abroad Office to receive credit for other programs UNC could offer a wider range of programs to complement the diversity of the world.

Studying abroad is an invaluable opportunity for all students and ought to be granted to anyone interested.


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