By Matt Dooley Staff writer
Susquehanna’s Global Opportunities trips are amazing experiences, but I was wondering why they are mandatory to graduate.
Don’t get me wrong; I loved my GO experience. The trip allowed me to see the world from a different perspective. Sure, it was a GO Short, but those weeks in South Africa allowed me to be immersed in a different way of life for which I will forever be grateful. And who else can say, other than those with me, “I was chased by a rhino.”
I’m not trying to discourage people from going on GO trips. These abroad experiences were actually an incentive for me to choose Susquehanna as a college. It was one of the few schools that advertised the trips as experiences rather than just a list of possible abroad destinations in a pamphlet.
As a high school student, I didn’t even know if I wanted to go abroad. Checking out colleges, I would disregard the abroad flyers listing the destinations in 12-point Times New Roman.
However, Susquehanna changed my mind about wanting to go abroad. Susquehanna’s abroad marketing strategies were much more eye-catching than the bland showing at the other schools. It is no wonder students have to go abroad at least once to graduate.
However, the situation still feels a bit strange to me. The biggest difference between the other colleges I visited and Susquehanna was that the abroad trips were optional there. Students didn’t need to go abroad to graduate at other colleges.
Studying abroad can be expensive, sometimes leaving students in a financial bind. But what happens to the students who aren’t able to pay? Is there still a way for them to graduate?
Going to a university where studying abroad is mandatory might be a deal breaker for incoming students.
It’s not as if the school doesn’t set up cheaper options in the form of GO Shorts, which only takes the student abroad for a few weeks. And with the number of GO Shorts available, it is highly probable the students would be able to find a trip that is as immersive as it is affordable. There is also the Go Your Own Way option, which I presume only would be as expensive as the student planned it to be.
I’m just wondering why it was made mandatory for everyone in the first place. Why not have the GO Trips linked to certain majors instead of having it mandatory for each student? This wouldn’t stop the output of students going on abroad trips that much.
Again, I’m not trying to say to change the GO system. I think everyone should have the chance to go abroad. I just wanted to play devil’s advocate and discuss the thought of it being optional.
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