Colleges 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

The opportunity to go to another country to spend at least one semester studying can be one of the most important experiences any person could have. However, there are several points to take into account before making that decision. On the next paragraphs, I will discuss the factors that could affect this program.

First, the universities should consider the students position in this subject. The most important factor in this area is the student’s willingness to travel to a foreign country to spend at least one semester of his life away from his country. If the student do not wish to go to another part of the world to study in a new college, with new classmates and in some cases, he should not be obliged. Furthermore, the economic burden of this kind of situation for the student and his family can be big. The costs of plane tickets, housing, food, books, transporting, insurance, medical bills, among others, should be well analyzed to see if there is a way for the student to take care of these expenses. And while there are some organizations and companies that provide financial support for studying abroad, the requirements must be fulfilled. Moreover, traveling into a new country where the student would probably be alone implicitly contains a security risk, which should be taken care of to ensure the student’s safety.

But, opposed to the stated before, there are also several benefits that a students can get from this experience, such as the opportunity to explore a new culture. Getting to know the traditions and roots of a different country can be a very fulfilling experience. If the country’s official language is different than the one where the student comes, it can be a way to learn or improve their language skills and new ways to communicate, but it is necessary that the student know the basics of the idiom before arriving, since this would ease his stay. Also, spending a semester in other place can reinforce the student’s social relationships, because it’s possible to make new friends or acquire new contacts in the same field the student is planning to specialize.

Finally, there are another less important factors that should also be examined in the planning of these type of programs. In example, the quality of the school in which the student will spend the semester, or the living quality of the city in which he will stay. Nonetheless, the experience of traveling to another country to study can be an excellent and very satisfying experience, in which the student would surely learn a new ways to see things, even with all the issues that need to be taken care of before sending any student.

In conclusion, there are several factors to consider, good and bad ones. The universities should have a program to send students to another country to study, but there should not force them to do it. The final decision should be taken by the student and his family, the ones most affected and benefited from it.