National Student Exchange: broaden horizons without leaving the country
Most students want to spend a part of their undergraduate career studying in and learning about a different culture. They may be unaware that learning abroad is not their only option.
From today's Daily:
Communications senior Katie Barten spent last semester living on a tropical island and relaxing on the beach between her classes at the University of the Virgin Islands at St. Thomas.For Barten, a New Prague, Minn. native, the National Student Exchange program was her opportunity to broaden her "horizons" and spend some time away.
The program, which offers students who have completed 20 college credits and have a minimum 2.5 grade point average the opportunity to study at one of 200 participating colleges in the United States and several of its territories, including Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
I just have to point out here that Canada is not a territory of the U.S.
National Student Exchange coordinator David Holliday said many students may not realize they can experience language and culture immersion without ever leaving the U.S."NSE is the domestic equivalent to study abroad," he said. "Many students go to a different climate or bioregion to be exposed to something that's not here in Minnesota."
Family social science junior Sinying Lee studied at the University of Hawaii at Hilo last fall because she was tired of school, bored with the environment and wanted to live away from her home in St. Paul.
"Being able to live there, versus vacation, you really do see a different side of the local people," she said. "You understand the culture and why the Hawaiians are so connected to the earth."
The 5 most popular destinations for NSE students are:
1. Hawaii
2. California
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Arizona