Mentor Advice
Question
Why is it important to study abroad?
25 Replies from Mentors
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Carol LarsonDirector of Management, Study Abroad OfficeUniversity of PittsburghAnswer: Studying abroad allows students to develop skills in problem solving and potentially foreign languages; they gain geographical and historical knowledge; they're exposed to people who process information differently than they do. Students can make professional contacts and gain a sense of direction for their future career. Students gain an appreciation of what we have in the U.S.; they develop confidence, a strengthened sense of personal identity, flexibility, and creativity. Students learn to rely on themselves and become more independent. Students increase their interest in other cultures, become less ethnocentric, as they become more aware of cultural differences, develop language skills within a cultural context, and become more culturally sensitive and accepting.