Preparing to Apply to Grad School When Abroad

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Thinking of applying to graduate programs soon? Yeah, me too. While I am still organizing things for myself, I can offer a word of advice for those who wonder how a semester abroad can fit into their college career.

Being a Pre-Health Student in a Language Program

It is not every day that somebody combines a Neuroscience and German degree with an Occupational Therapy (OT) concentration. Believe me, I know it’s strange, but I’ve also seen crazier combinations. I have studied the German language since my freshman year of high school, seven years! Studying in Germany has been a dream of mine for many years, but I never expected to also be getting a degree for it. Being a German major was very much unexpected, but if I wanted to spend a whole semester abroad, which covers almost all the required credits… might as well!

Coming into the IES Abroad Area and Language Studies program (LAS), I was nervous to spend a semester completely free of any of my major topics. Many students decide to take only gen ed requirements, which was my intention. Unfortunately, at the last second, my program decided to not offer a lot of classes that I got approved to count for my major; however, I still completely covered my German major and the remaining gen eds I needed.

Coming to college allows you to focus on a subject you really love, and naturally, I love social and natural sciences. I was scared to only focus on history, language, culture, and political policy, especially when taught in a foreign language. It was nerve-wracking to completely halt my pre-health studies for a whole semester. I felt like I would fall behind on my degree content-wise, and that I wasn’t making the right decision.

That said, I have really enjoyed the LAS program and do not regret it at all. It has been difficult but refreshing to focus on other subjects and learn about culture and history outside of America. I have so much respect for those who major in arts and humanities, since it is often a theme of topics I struggle to fully grasp. LAS has been a great mixture of immersing myself in the language and also enhancing my knowledge in diverse subjects.

Preparing to Apply

Currently, I am registered for IDS 329 back at Hope, a class to help me prepare application materials for graduate school in the US. While I plan to still apply to US MOT and Neuroscience Master’s programs, I cannot be sure about what my plan will be moving forward, given our current political climate. Graduate school costs are climbing for “non-professional” degrees due to the bills introducing loan limits, and it is hard to determine what will be the best option for my career goals.

On the one hand, German education is very affordable, even if international students face larger fees. There are incredible opportunities in Germany to get another degree for a low cost, some even for free. Uni Freiburg offers a 1,500 Euro per semester fee to attend full-time, numbers the US could only dream of; however, if I get my Master’s here, then I have to practice OT in Germany. It would not be valid in the US. On the other hand, a neuroscience Master’s would be valid in other countries, but wouldn’t allow me to explicitly practice healthcare, my dream career.

The Looming Question: Will I study in Germany for my Master’s?

Well… I don’t know.

Naturally, I plan to research more, and I believe being here on exchange has helped me better conceptualize my options. I always worried prior to departure that I wouldn’t like Germany at all, and my excitement was for null. Not-so-shockingly, I really enjoyed learning the culture and observing the student life in Freiburg. There are educational aspects that I like in the US and Germany. I can see myself living abroad, but I can also see myself missing the US as much as I do right now. My answer is ever-changing, and I hope to better discern during this coming spring.

Closing Thoughts

My biggest advice for anyone considering studying outside the US: study abroad! Obviously, it heavily depends on your academic plan. Especially my pre-health friends: if you’re willing to take summer classes, have transfer credits, or want to take a gap year, studying abroad is very possible. For many other academic tracks, you do not even need to meet those criteria; however, in general, you have to make an effort to cover all your bases. Talk to your advisors and professors; you can often cover gen ed requirements as well as a few major requirements.

I encourage anyone to take advantage of the opportunity to “test-drive” another country’s education system. For me, it has been eye-opening and has changed the trajectory of my future plans. If you decide it is not for you, then the US is always your home… but who knows, maybe there is a city out there on a different continent that will speak to you!

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