Yearly Archives: 2014

Abroad101 Advisors Newsletter – Back to School, Fall 2014

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Abroad101-reviews-logo-webNow Live: Abroad101’s Search by Subject

Abroad101 is pleased to announce its latest enhancement, the ability to search for programs by academic subject area. Originating from advisor and student feedback, we pushed providers to update their listings to include subject area and we have now released “search by subject” in our Advanced Search option: http://www.studyabroad101.com/programs Students can now search 238 different fields of study, then select other criteria such as program length, country and city. As we soft-launch this new feature, look for the functionality to expand to other areas of the site in the coming months.

Abroad101 is More than a Pretty Website, it is an Education Abroad Program Evaluation Platform
Abroad101 is promoted publicly as the first and largest study abroad review website; but behind the scenes, more than 30 colleges and universities require their students to complete evaluations in order to receive credit for their education abroad experience. Think of Abroad101 as software, to manage all your international program evaluation needs, an add-on to your enrollment management system and a gateway to your university course evaluation system. In addition to the comprehensive directory of third-party programs, Abroad101 is also an effective platform for evaluating exchanges, faculty-led and consortia programs, along with service learning/volunteer and internship-for-credit programs.

Abroad101 works off a standard 37-question set survey that draws a student through a series of questions to get them to think critically, be reflective and then be forward thinking as they step through the review. Each review is then published with its own unique web page to showcase this experience to the world. Using Abroad101 gives advisors a tool to compile the ratings by program, provider, and city then compare the results to other universities. University administrators can have a single place for all education abroad data and reporting.

It is important for universities in this age of transparency to be forthcoming in the reporting of education abroad experiences. Publishing reviews is a big step in this direction. As the field’s first and largest review platform, using Abroad101 can quickly and effectively align your institution to these expectations. The software is cloud-based and is provided free of charge thanks to the support of leading program providers who advertise on Abroad101.

To request a free account with Abroad101, simply email your name, department and job title to support@Abroad101.com We’ll create an account for you and then work with you to make sure all your endorsed programs are in our directory and provide you with ongoing support in using the system. In addition to the existing third-party programs already in Abroad101, we can also include your faculty-led and home student only programs as well as tie your exchange partners to your account on Abroad101.

Not ready to jump in, but want to learn more? Contact us to schedule an online demo of the back-end tools for our program evaluation and review platform. Send preferred times to: sales@abroad101.com

Give Your Students “The Study Abroad Advantage”
Abroad101 has launched an initiative called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” Designed to help study abroad alumni gain an edge in the job market, the project aims to connect students and employers. Students start their advantage with a capstone summary of their education abroad published on Abroad101, which will then be shared with prospective employers who have indicated a bias toward those with an international education experience.

The core of the project is a group on Linkedin called “The Study Abroad Advantage.” The group was created at the beginning of September and was joined by over 250 students in the first 5 days. Students in the group link their study abroad review from their Linkedin profile. Employers and job recruiters are invited to join the group and to network with these globally minded students. Discussions and announcements further help students with their search and showcase their talents and abilities.

We encourage education abroad and career advisors to highlight “The Study Abroad Advantage” as yet another benefit of completing a well-crafted, thoughtful review on Abroad101. For students, the review should be a point-of-pride and a showcase of what they experienced and how they were affected and how they matured. More and more, employers are checking backgrounds on students and a linked, published education abroad review is a positive way to demonstrate the benefits of study abroad and to help jump start a student’s career.

Abroad101 on the Road
Abroad101 will attend, exhibit and present sessions at a number of conferences this fall. We hope to see you at:

NAFSA X-XI in Albany, NY
NAFSA III in Fort Worth, TX
NAFSA VI in Lexington, KY
ISEP Conference in Arlington VA
CIEE Conference in Baltimore, MD.

Postcards for your On-Campus Fairs
For those of you having study abroad fairs and workshops, we hope you will include Abroad101 in your plans. We have postcards and brochures available as handouts for your events and reference libraries, please email support@abroad101.com and let us know how many to send and a mailing address.

Don’t forget the Abroad101 Blog:
If you hadn’t noticed, the Abroad101 blog has come back to life. There you will see guest postings from professionals in the field, our crowd funding initiative called “the Abroad101 Student of the Week” plus additional news and numbers from Abroad101. Where else can you find news like this?

• Emily is the most common first name of students who study abroad
• University College London is the 2nd most popular direct enrollment institution
• CEA is the 4th most popular provider.

With 2-3 postings in an average week, its worth a visit to http://oldblog.studyabroad101.com for some engaging reading.

Here are some of our more popular blog posts (some remain timeless):
• Using your study abroad experience beyond college
• Finding the perfect Host Family gift
• Parents: What to do before your son or daughter leaves to study abroad

Abroad101 on Social Media:
Abroad101 is syndicating content now more than ever. 4-8 times per day we are feeding a recently reviewed program, notable review, blog post or popular directory page into our social media networks. Our campaigns for “Cool Program of the Week” and the “Jump Into Study Abroad” photo gallery help spread the word of the positive aspects of study abroad to a growing audience of parents, students and advisors. Our Pinterest boards are picking up some of the best photos and sharing them and now we’re also on Instagram. For alumni we’re using social media to help foster positive outcomes through initiatives like “The Study Abroad Advantage” and we need you to help spread the word. To make the Social in Social Media work, we ask that you bring our initiatives to the attention of your student office workers and student ambassadors and have them connect to us to help us share the good news about education abroad. Please connect to:

http://www.Facebook.com/abroad101
https://twitter.com/studyabroad101
http://www.pinterest.com/studyabroad101/
http://instagram.com/studyabroad101
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Study-Abroad-Advantage-8159424/about

And of course, please don’t forget to add a good old fashion link to StudyAbroad101.com from your advising web page.

As always, we’re here to help. Please feel free to send comments, suggestions and your general feedback direct to me:

Mark Shay, CEO
Abroad101
mark@abroad101.com
+1-212-321-0928

 

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Abroad101 Student of the Week #0018 – Sam Smith

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Sam Smith – Abroad101’s Student of the Week

This weeks Abroad101 Student of the Week Honor is given to Sam Smith, who is a third year student at Ohio State University.  Sam is majoring in Strategic Communication and minoring in Spanish for Business.  Her future plans involve an international career in public relations, so perfecting her spanish speaking skills is very important to her!  To help her reach this goal – Sam will be studying abroad next spring in Madrid, Spain to study in a Spanish Language, Liberal Arts, and Business program at the Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. Sam has been studying Spanish for almost 9 years and can’t wait for the opportunity to test her fluency and experience the culture.

The Abroad101 Student of the Week initiative awards a student who created a Mission for a study abroad program on GoEnnounce with a donation to their fundraiser. Learn more about this partnership from Abroad101 CEO Mark Shay and GoEnnounce co-founder Melissa Davis here.

We’re making weekly donations to #studyabroad fundraisers! We hope you can help us assist these students in reaching their goals to make their travel dreams a reality. To find out more about Sam’s study abroad program in Madrid, Spain, visit here.

Stay tuned for our next Abroad101 Student of the Week!

– See more at: http://blog.goennounce.com/abroad101-student-of-the-week-0018-sam-smith/#sthash.xmUoU2Se.dpuf

Study abroad advice from the talking picture box.

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Image of a man on a TV looking for a study abroad program

 

ADVICE FROM THE TALKING PICTURE BOX

Studying abroad is about more than just picking a cool place to bed down for a semester. It’s also about what you get from the whole experience. But you don’t want to be caught in such a culture shock that the trip ends up being a bad time. If baguettes and wine make you queasy than you can cross France right off your list of choices. If kangaroos are a source of torment and anxiety than perhaps Australia isn’t for you. But as the Aussies would say, ‘no worries.’ I would be a bad American if I turned to anything other than television shows to tell me what to do. Thus, here are a few shows to help facilitate your choice of Study Abroad destinations.

Parts Unknown

If you didn’t think Anthony Bourdain was going to be on this list then shame on you. This guy has made the better half of his living on the Travel Channel’s No Reservations but now has an even more compelling program on CNN titled Parts Unknown. The two shows are like a PC and a Mac; mostly the same except they are not.

Parts Unknown follows the familiar voice of Bourdain throughout many exotic locations. Some notable mentions include Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Spain, and more. Unlike his previous TV stint, Bourdain takes a little bit of a back seat in this series and lets locals squire him about town. What? You don’t like the idea of watching a famous celebrity chef and entrepreneur eat at Sizzler in L.A.’s Koreatown? The food on the show is stellar and takes the stage while witty humor, local flavor, and an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity make this show perfect for a preliminary dissection of your potential host city.

PBS Nature

Yes I said it. PBS. Please, hold your cries of boredom back because public broadcasting can do you a lot of good. It’s surprising how many fellow 20-somethings I know don’t indulge in the wealth of material available through the Public Broadcasting Service.

Nature could actually be what reveals some of the most enticing beauty about where you’ll be studying. I had a friend go to Africa for a while and his instagram turned into a tangible form of all that stuff you see during “The Circle of Life.” Here’s the lowdown on the PBS nature docs. First of all, they are spectacular and have a fair amount of production value. They’re shot beautifully. Second, they are free to watch so for those of us (raise your hand) Netflix junkies will have no problem watching them online.

These docs have gorgeous pictures of the landscapes and wildlife in the regions they’re filmed. I already know that if possible you are all going to Snapchat everyone with the obligatory shot of the plane’s wing when you’re airborne but how about when you actually land? If aesthetics are important to your vibe and you need an idea of what the rainforest really looks and feels like then you can turn to PBS and the Nature series for a helpful preview.

Music Voyager

This show is more of a bonus because as far as I know it’s only available on Amazon Instant Video. You can probably score the service for free temporarily if you haven’t exhausted an Amazon Student account (free Prime and Instant Video). Music Voyager features Ethnomusicologist Jacob Edgar around the world as he explores foreign beats. The slogan is ‘Tune in to the World.” Sounds “Study Abroad” enough for me.

The locations he’s covered include the West Indies, India and East Asia, Louisiana, and beyond. Music is a spectacular way to explore a region and culture due to the fact that even instruments are location based objects. The rhymes and rhythm of another country can tell you the history of its people, and its future. For those of us that want to capture the true essence of a specific region and culture Music Voyager is there to offer some guidance.

 

– Mark Melchior

image of mark melchiorMark Melchior is a recent graduate of the Park school of Communications, Ithaca College. 

Connect with Mark through LinkedIn. 

 

 

Abroad101 Student of the Week #0017 – Veronica Sniezek

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Abroad101 Student of the Week is going to London!

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Abroad101 Student of the Week – Veronica Sniezek

This week, our Abroad101 “Student of the Week” winner is Veronica Sniezek. Veronica is a junior at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and is majoring in theatre (theatrical design). She wants to go abroad to London, England to study theatre at what could be considered one of the best places for it in the world! This study abroad trip to London is such a great experience for Veronica because it will be a monumental first step to achieving her dream of becoming a costume designer in London.

The Abroad101 Student of the Week initiative awards a student who created a Mission for a study abroad program on GoEnnounce with a donation to their fundraiser. Learn more about this partnership from Abroad101 CEO Mark Shay and GoEnnounce co-founder Melissa Davis here.

We’re making weekly donations to #studyabroad fundraisers! We hope you can help us assist these students in reaching their goals to make their travel dreams a reality. To find out more about Veronica’s study abroad program in London, visit here.

Stay tuned for our next Abroad101 Student of the Week!

– See more at: http://blog.goennounce.com/abroad101-student-of-the-week-0017-veronica-sniezek/#sthash.1Plr3zT4.dpuf

Abroad101 Student of the Week #0016 – Ally Glickman

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studyabroad101.com Student of the Week is going to Thailand

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Abroad101.com Student of the Week – Ally Glickman

This weeks Abroad 101 Student of the Week is Ally Glickman currently a junior at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She is a physiology/education major who was

accepted to the CIS study abroad program in Thailand. She wants to be able to use the experiences she gains while abroad to her teaching career in the future. Another awesome fact –  Ally wants to volunteer at a rescue shelter for elephants while in Thailand! Check out her Mission here!

The Abroad101 Student of the Week initiative awards a student who created a Mission for a study abroad program on GoEnnounce with a donation to their fundraiser. Learn more about this partnership from Abroad101 CEO Mark Shay and GoEnnounce co-founder Melissa Davis here.

We’re making weekly donations to #studyabroad fundraisers! We hope you can help us assist these students in reaching their goals to make their travel dreams a reality. Visit here to help with this mission. To find out more about Ally’s study abroad program in Thailand, visit here.

Stay tuned for our next Abroad101 Student of the Week!

– See more at: http://blog.goennounce.com/abroad101-student-of-the-week-0016-ally-glickman/#sthash.mPSdKXdM.dpuf

Worldwide Cities with the most Study Abroad Programs

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From Aachen, Germany to Zhuhai, China and everywhere in between, opportunities to study abroad seem countless.  The good news is that Abroad101 has counted –  there are study abroad programs in 1,568 different cities worldwide.  This graphic shows the cities with the most programs.  Lots of programs means lots of choices, we welcome you to explore your options and read the “Thousands of Life Changing Stories” on Abroad101.

 

Graphic chart of most study abroad cities

Most number of study abroad programs per city

 

Study Abroad Student Tip: Easy way to practice your foreign language skills

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image of chef holding a platterStudent Review Tip –

ABROAD101:

Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?

STUDENT (from Brandeis University on trip with IES Abroad):

Start by ordering food and asking for directions in German. Then, try to converse with your host family on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to speak, even if you aren’t sure you are saying everything perfectly. Germans may or may not correct you if you are wrong, but they generally don’t care so much; they’ll get the gist of what you’re saying.

At Home in Berlin

Student reviews on Abroad101 cover many areas of the study abroad program. For more information on this student’s review of their trip to Berlin, Germany please read the full review at: http://www.studyabroad101.com/programs/ies-abroad-berlin-ies-abroad-in-berlin-summer/reviews/26073

Abroad101 Student of the Week #0015 – Ronald Hobbs

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Ronald Hobbs, Abroad101 Student of the Week

This weeks Abroad101 Student of the Week Honor is given to Ronald Hobbs who is a rising senior at Purdue University Calumet. Ronald is a history major who aspires to become a curator or a preservation technician. He will be in France for the entire fall semester and will be studying the French language, cultures, and history. This is Ronald’s first time out of the United States!

The Abroad101 Student of the Week initiative awards a student who created a Mission for a study abroad program on GoEnnounce with a donation to their fundraiser. Learn more about this partnership from Abroad101 CEO Mark Shay and GoEnnounce co-founder Melissa Davis here.

We’re making weekly donations to #studyabroad fundraisers! We hope you can help us assist these students in reaching their goals to make their travel dreams a reality.  To find out more about Ronald’s study abroad program in France, visit here.

Stay tuned for our next Abroad101 Student of the Week!

 

– See more at: http://blog.goennounce.com/abroad101-student-of-the-week-0015-ronald-hobbs/

 

Strategies For The Directionally Challenged

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image of signpostBy guest author: Mark Melchior

Remember going to the grocery store with Mom as a kid? She wanted to get paper towels and lunch meat but the only reason you went was to try your hand at snagging the Reese’s Puffs. Then all of the sudden, everything changes. What was once a glorious, colorful, and enticing environment of snacking perfection became a carnival of madness the second you realized you’d strayed away from Mom. Traveling abroad can have a similar feeling of desperation. With time changes, jet lag, strange languages, and that guy that is way too persistent in selling you a botched painting, Abroad 101 understands how being a little ‘Directionally Challenged’ can affect both your experience and willingness to travel over seas.

Not to worry because we’ve decided to come up with a few tips to make getting lost on your adventures a little less stressful.

Travel Light

You’re moving temporarily, yes. Do you need that industrial strength hair drier? No. Traveling light will save you both time and energy when it comes to moving about the globe. Try to visualize your daily routine abroad and ask yourself, “What do I need now and what can I get when I’m there?” Generally I’d say that a French toothbrush works just as good as an American version. Essentially this tip makes our list because traveling light means traveling easy. No extra weight to lug about and no need to find space for all the bags.

Sometimes you can fit more things into smaller spaces. Youtube has plenty of packing techniques like the Bundle Fold or the Army Ranger T-Shirt Roll. You’ll be glad you packed well in the event you get truly stuck on your journey abroad.

#2 Write It Down

For this tip I call once more on a beloved childhood memory when Mom, Dad, & family go on a little trip. Somewhere along the way the car strays into the, “Oh no, I just realized I have no clue where anything and everything is and I’m lost,” zone.

This is the main ingredient in the Nobody Gets To Have Fun cocktail.

So let it be known simply as WRITE IT DOWN. Have an itinerary when you travel. Copies of boarding passes, payments, destinations will help. If you don’t speak Portuguese but have the address of your host family’s residence, in Portuguese, then I’m confident you’ll be able to find help easier. Also, do yourself a little favor and learn some key words like ‘left’ and ‘right.’ Maybe even know of some major landmarks in the area just in case it gets serious. Preparing beforehand will always help so do your research before you land in China. It’s like G.I. Joe always said, “Knowing is half the battle.”

#3 The Airport

This place will either make or break your ability to nap happily on the long flight to Australia. I’m talking about the Airport. These structures are notorious for their confusing nature; just ask my mother who was practically ready to build a fort in the Cincinnati airport after a debilitating change to the whole airline’s flight schedule.

I’m usually fine with any car travel but there’s something about flashing my ID every nine feet, belt-less, shoe less, and patience-less that makes me hate waddling through airport security. Once again clothed I make my way through to the different terminals while simultaneously dodging every bewildered individual with their head captivated by the majestic flight board. Not so majestic when you realize the gate number keeps changing. Or the terminal. Which one is which again? This is my point exactly.

Airports are meant to be both easy to navigate and over stimulated which causes you to forget which direction you’re moving. It’s like a Vegas casino that actually wants you to leave but there is no clear way out. For example, an airline once changed my flight’s terminal and gate number seven or eight times within 15 minutes at Chicago-O’Hare. Not only that, but how am I supposed to keep track of where the flight is when there is a perfectly good airport T.G.I. Fridays that needs my patronage? My solution? Twitter. The flight was changing so much that I decided that I would ask via tweet to the airline when I finished my meal. It worked famously!

If your itinerary, Twitter, and patience fail you, and you decided that you could just carry on the industrial strength hair drier, your last resort is to ask for help. This surprisingly is very difficult for some folks. Good news, in an airport even the janitor can help you. The staff are navigation experts, especially airport security, and even the various restaurant staff. Plus as a bonus, if you try and look desperate enough they might even take you right to the flight deck. I once had a kindly man whisk me away on a golf cart across Philadelphia International just because I looked lost.

These tips will not guarantee a hassle free travel experience but most certainly will help in a time of stress. The best thing you can do is embrace the spirit of going abroad and meet the stress of traveling with a good attitude…and maybe a few directions too.

– Mark Melchior

image of mark melchiorMark Melchior is a recent graduate of the Park school of Communications, Ithaca College. 

Connect with Mark through LinkedIn.