Semester Abroad?

[Karen in CO]

Anyone have a child that has done a semester abroad? This seems quite ironic to me since my ds is at a university in Japan, but he is looking at semester abroad programs in Nepal and India. Anyone with experience to help me feel better about this? How do you pay for it? Do student loans typically cover it? He is majoring in International Business or something like that so I don't think it will hurt his major. But then there is the visa issues and shots and insurance questions and safety and I was just starting to get comfortable with him living in the biggest city in the world... :blink:

 

Yeah - a wise, experienced voice would be great. Help - what do I do???? Other than smile and send him to his academic advisor .

[Mrs. H]

I'm usually just a lurker here, but didn't want to pass up the chance to help you out a bit. My dh is director of international programs at a college here in the states, and he's sitting next to me, so I asked him a few questions for you.

 

Here's the scoop:

 

Generally, all financial aid and scholarships can be applied toward semester abroad programs, though some schools have a list of approved and affiliate programs, so he'll want to check that out. At many schools, the student pays regular tuition to his home institution even when studying abroad, so paying for his semester abroad won't be too different than any other semester, and in your case, it will likely be cheaper, considering the cost of living in Nepal and India. Policies differ from institution to institution, of course, so he'll want to visit the office of international studies.

 

The international studies office will likely connect your son with all of the relevant contacts concerning his visa, immunizations etc. You can check the CDC website for info on the required and recommended immunizations for specific countries. Getting a visa will involve a similar process to what your son had to go through to obtain his Japanese student visa.

 

Insurance is the one tricky piece of the equation. Your insurance for him will likely not cover medical evacuations, and if they do, the deductible is probably huge (which you probably already know, since he is already overseas). If his program is through a 3rd party provider, it may include insurance. Otherwise, his school in Japan may have a plan that he can use, or as a last resort, you may have to look around for supplementary insurance coverage.

 

I think that covers your questions, though feel free ask any others that come to mind.

 

Sarah

Edited January 5, 2010 by Mrs. H

[TravelingChris]

In terms of insurance, I have no clue what kind of insurances are available in Japan. However, I do know that in Europe, the insurance was available from the bank. We got very affordable travel and medical evacuation insurance which cost something like $150 a year for our entire family and any vacations we took or any kind of travel. It also covered our car breaking down, evacuation costs if you are on a trip and a disaster or political event happens, etc. I thought it was much more reasonable than various policies I had in the US. You might chekc to see if they have something similar in Japan.

[Kareni]

One additional thing to be aware of is that federal work study funds will not be available overseas. So, for example, if your child is accustomed to getting $2,000 through work study they will need to come up with that money using some other method.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Karen in CO]

Ya'll are awesome. Thank you. I'm going to need to find something more about the insurance options since he's on the Japanese national insurance (for a lovely $17 per month) and still covered under my insurance, but I don't know about evacuations form other countries (except his school's evacuation policy and plans). I also don't know if he would still be covered under the Japanese insurance if he were traveling abroad - strange thought. He's going back to school in Japan this weekend so I'll make sure he finds the international programs office right after he goes to his advisor and the bursar. I hadn't thought about the discounted cost - it is expensive compared to the states but a nice discount off the cost of living in Tokyo. At least he is looking at fall 2010 for this and not anything sooner - we've already learned that the visa process is much slower than you would ever expect.