Colleges and universities should require their students to spend at least one semester studying in a foreign country.
January 2, 2014Colleges and universities should require their students to spend at least one semester studying in a foreign country.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
Traveling and exploring has always been one of the most mind-opening experiences, why shouldn't it be so for the students as well? Visiting and meeting places and people around the world is beneficial for people of all ages, but it can above all benefit those who seek to advance their knowledge and personality. One semester studying abroad should be obligatory for all students during their second or third year of studies, even though it may cause some financial burden to their families or make them change course in life.
The mere experience of leaving home for a while is liberating and extremely useful for a person's life afterwards. For a young adult, who is just beginning to acquaint with the world and explore the opportunities that lie ahead, a semester abroad would be the best gift from his college or university. Knowledge is endless and so are people thoughts, ideas, beliefs and emotions. A student who gets in touch with students - and citizens in general - from another country is more likely to develop the sense of participation and teamwork. He receives stimuli that are beyond what he would imagine inside the protective "walls" of his family, hometown, school. Discussions and books, culture and customs, new friends and everyday life experiences, they all help the student broaden his mind and make him want to explore further possibilities and his own potential.
Contact with other cultures and foreign countries can help a student shape a personality with traits like tolerance, acceptance and solidarity. This is probably the most important consequence when we open our minds and let emotions and experiences form our personality and behavior. A good student should be more than a useful citizen in the society. What makes a good doctor is his compassion and understanding of the patient's pain; what makes an excellent teacher is they way she teaches children to work together in harmony and stand for each other. It is obvious, therefore, that gaining knowledge in the usual context of a college or a university is not enough, as students should additionaly gain broad experiences from visiting and studying in other countries.
A semester of study in a foreign country can also be beneficial for the students future career, if he aims at exploring possibilities and developing networks. For some professions, such as certain medical or paramedical ones, young people find more opportunities for work abroad than in their own country. Thus, spending a semester studying abroad can help them develop a network of acquaintances and a pool of experiences that may lead in their future workplace.
There are however some drawbacks in studying abroad for six months, especially if it's in a country far away or in an expensive city. This might present a financial issue to the student's family, which is the case most of the time, when there is no state or university support. Furthermore, some students work concurrently with their studies and they may lose their jobs or be forced to leave or postpone their studies.
Summing up, in any case, a student should seek to study abroad at least for six months and the colleges and universities should institute such obligation for their students. The benefits are far more important than the drawbacks and, after all, students are the future citizens of their country and the world and they should acquire the principles of acceptance and togetherness early in their life and become open-minded people.
Posted by Maria. Posted In : GRE Analytical Writing
