William McHale ’26
Staff Writer
Info sessions have begun for students interested in studying abroad in the 2024-2025 school year. The sessions will continue throughout the month, and have already seen large turnouts to learn about the programs as well as the application process.
So far there have been sessions for the programs in France, Ireland, England, Spain, South America, and some sites in Italy. The info session for Ireland and England on September 12th saw every desk filled, with many students standing and sitting on the floor wherever they could find room. During the session, students were able to hear from upperclassmen who had returned from a year abroad at Trinity College in Dublin. Their comments were very positive and confirmed to the large crowd that studying abroad can be a wonderful way to enhance the Holy Cross education.
“It was a huge turnout, especially for a room that wasn’t fit for that many people. But it was really cool to see such great interest in the program, and it made me want to go even more,” said Owen Cox, a sophomore who hopes to study abroad in Cork.
Beyond the sizable turnout, Tuesday’s presentation was notable for the introduction of some new study abroad sites for next year. Students are now able to apply to study at sites including Maynooth University in Kildare or Queen’s University in Belfast.
Sophomore Andrew O’Connor plans to attend an info-session for Italy, with intentions of studying in Florence or Rome. A study abroad experience pairs especially well with O’Connor’s International Studies major, although students of all academic programs may see benefits from the opportunity.
“As an international studies major studying Italian, I am looking forward to hopefully studying abroad in either Florence or Rome. I hope to improve my Italian in real world scenarios as well as exploring Europe,” said O’Connor.
Holy Cross is well-known for its study abroad program, with its long-term study abroad programs ranked first in the nation. Additionally, student interest at Holy Cross in studying abroad has been rising significantly. The Office of Study Abroad reported a 30% surge in study abroad applications for the 2023-2024 year, compared with data from the year before. The school offers a variety of study abroad programs, ranging in length from a semester to a full academic year. Many of the programs, which are intended to immerse students in the culture of another country, teach their classes in that country’s language, although there are plenty of English-speaking sites as well.
There is a busy lineup of study abroad info sessions throughout the rest of this month, with opportunities to learn about programs in Germany, Japan, China, Russia, Italy, Spain, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia, and more.
In order to apply for a study abroad program, students need to meet with a study abroad director, meet with their academic advisor, renew their passport, ask for a recommendation from a professor, and must complete an online application. The application for the 2024-2025 year is open and the deadline is Sunday, November 19th. The schedule of the info-sessions can be found on the Holy Cross Study Abroad Instagram, as well as the study abroad website.
Featured image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
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