Deadlines approach for Overseas Study

Spring at the Office of Overseas Study isn’t just about providing potential Overseas Studies students with information – it’s about deadlines.

The deadline to apply to IU’s academic year programs is today, and the deadlines for summer programs are February 1 or 15, depending on the program.

For the fall programs, the deadlines vary widely between February and March but can be as early as today.

The application for study abroad programs differ, although all applications have multiple sections. These include an online component, a paper component, an essay and a reference.

To complete the application, students need to give themselves “definitely as much time as they can,” said Steve Rose, assistant director of the Office of Overseas Study.

Once a student has applied to a program, Rose said the office looks at the application to determine if the program and the student are a match. He also said the quality of the essay is important.

Students interested in going abroad during the summer can attend an upcoming presentation on Wednesday or Thursday.

The presentations will be panel-style, where interested students can ask questions of “returners,” or IU students who have already studied overseas, said Laura Rudolph, Overseas Study’s communications coordinator.

Another panel on Feb. 2 will focus on English-speaking programs, Rudolph said.
Students can also attend a weekly Study Abroad 101 session or consult an adviser or peer counselor at the study abroad office in Franklin Hall 303.

The office’s Web site will be featuring a new look by the end of January, due to collaboration between the IU Office of Creative Services and the Office of Overseas Study. However, the Web site’s address will remain the same.

The new look was “designed in a way that will draw students in,” said Kathleen Sideli, associate vice president for Overseas Study.   

It will feature student experiences and photos prominently to “capture more visually the positive aspects of study abroad,” she said.

“The navigational ease will be much enhanced,” Sideli added.

She said the Web site was last updated six or seven years ago, so the redesign was something the office had wanted to do for some time.

The information on the Web site will still provide the basics about IU programs and the financial aspects of those programs.

Despite the state of the economy, the Office of Overseas Study emphasizes the affordability of study abroad.

Sideli said the University allows students to apply most types of aid to a study abroad experience.

Despite the hard times, Rose said the office is still seeing “lots of applications and lots of interest.”