How to Write About Your High School Study Abroad Experience on College Applications
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High school study abroad is a truly transformative experience. Students return home with broadened world perspectives, demonstratable language progress, and, often, new or reinvigorated passions for their future academic or career path.
As a high school summer abroad alumni, your study abroad experience offers unique content for your college application that can set you apart from other applicants. Here are some tips to enhance your college admissions essay and land your application in the "acceptance" pile!
What Do Colleges Look for?
First, let's talk about what college admissions officers look for when diving into stacks of applications. While the process isn't totally transparent and can differ from university to university, here are the general qualities of a good candidate:
- Academic excellence
- Personal growth
- Unique experiences
- Maturity
- Adaptability
- Cultural awareness
- Defined goals
Add to that one singular question of significant importance—What makes you a particularly good fit for their specific university?
When crafting your college admissions essay, these are the points you want to hit. Think about it differently than a question/answer format; rather, weave these qualities into an exciting and personal narrative. That doesn't sound easy, but rest assured that your study abroad experience will likely encompass all these points and will surely be interesting.
That's what makes it the perfect college admissions essay topic!
Does Study Abroad Look Good in College Applications?
Absolutely! Let's take another look at the points above and how the program outcomes of a study abroad experience meets them.
Academic Excellence
CIEE high school summer abroad has its own competitive admissions process that includes personal essays, teacher recommendations, and accepts only students in good academic standing. Each cohort comprises top-performing high schoolers from around the country.
Personal Growth
It is rare that a person will live abroad in their lifetime, and even rarer to have done it as a teenager! Living in another country leads to tremendous personal growth that can be defined in measurable results such as language learning and "soft" skills like independence, confidence, cultural awareness, or a global perspective. Living abroad is also associated with a clearer sense of self, which has all kinds of benefits, including career success and enhanced ability to deal with stress.
Unique Experiences
Again, the simple fact that you lived in another country is a unique experience. So is being proficient in a second language, having a host family abroad, going to classes in another country, volunteering and serving a foreign population, making friends with people from a totally different culture, navigating culture shock, and all the other amazing things you accomplished while studying abroad.
| What are the stories you tell repeatedly when people ask you about your high school study abroad experience? Is it taking the high-speed train to take language classes in the center of Tokyo or riding horses in the Costa Rican forest? Is it playing soccer with children in Ghana or surveying wildlife along Sydney’s coastline? These stories are incredible and absolutely set you apart! |
Maturity
Even though you might not think of yourself as a child, you lived abroad on your own while under 18! That requires a tremendous level of maturity. Tie that fact to the challenges you navigated, and you will demonstrate your maturity quickly.
Adaptability
Living abroad requires navigating new environments, overcoming language barriers, and adjusting to different cultural norms. These experiences enhance your flexibility, problem-solving skills, and ability to thrive in diverse situations.
Cultural Awareness
Colleges love diversity; it makes for a rich campus life, promotes inclusive thinking, prepares students for a globalized world, and reflects our diverse American population. Diversity is connected directly to cultural awareness. When you studied abroad in high school, you built cultural awareness by immersing yourself in new cultural practices, perspectives, and social norms, helping you to become more empathetic, open-minded, and globally conscious.
Defined Goals
High school study abroad exposes students to new fields of interest, global issues, and potential career paths they may not have considered. This experience also enhances critical thinking and self-awareness, which allows you to better understand your passions and strengths.
11 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Your Unique Story
Now it's time to get the creative juices flowing. A helpful writing tip is to brainstorm on some reflective questions.
To craft a compelling essay about your study abroad experience, start with these:
- What motivated you to study abroad during high school?
- How did your experience abroad change your perspective on the world and your role in it?
- What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
- How did the experience impact your academic interests and career goals?
- What cultural differences did you encounter, and how did you adapt?
- What stories do you tell over and over when people ask you about your time abroad?
- What was the peak moment of your experience?
- What was the most challenging moment?
- Who did you meet that made the most significant impact?
- What connections do you maintain?
- How does your high school study abroad story connect to this particular university?
By answering these questions, you can identify the unique aspects of your experience that will make your essay engaging and memorable.
To help you get more ideas about how to write about your experience, tune in to our Out of Your Comfort Zone podcast and hear from other CIEE high school study abroad alumni!
Connect Your Study Abroad Story to Your University
To make your essay even more impactful, tie your study abroad experience to the specific university you are applying to. Research the university's programs, values, and opportunities, and explain how your experience aligns with them:
- Does the university have an outstanding language program?
- Do they have a partner university in the country where you studied abroad?
- Do they have a research lab in the field you want to focus on due to passions you discovered or strengthened during your study abroad?
- Do they have faculty or a large student population from the country where you studied abroad?
Some Final College Application Essay Tips
Be Authentic
Write honestly about your experiences and emotions. Authenticity resonates more with admissions officers than a polished but impersonal essay.
Show, Don't Tell
Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points rather than making general statements.
Seek Feedback
Have teachers, mentors, or friends review your essay to provide constructive feedback. Have a friend from your high school study abroad experience read your story too!
Stay Within the Word Limit
Adhere to the essay length requirements set by the college to demonstrate your ability to follow instructions.
Studying abroad in high school demonstrates to colleges that you are proactive, open-minded, and capable of thriving in diverse environments. This experience will be the key to enhancing your college application and shaping your future in profound ways.
Good luck!
Thinking about studying abroad again after your senior year? Check out our study abroad options for high school graduates.