While a French dormitory sprinkled with familiar faces and Tufts Nalgenes may sound inviting to some, the majority of Jumbos who opt to study in another country enlist the assistance of external programs to test the waters abroad.
According to Sally O'Leary, the foreign study advisor for non-Tufts programs, approximately 45 percent of juniors study abroad for at least one semester. Of them, only around one-third choose to go through Tufts programs.
Since Tufts does not sponsor any options in Ecuador, junior Emily Wier decided on the School for International Training's "Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation" program in order to meld her fondness of the country with her interest in ecology.
"I looked into other programs, but realized that I could do the most with this program," Wier said. "I [will] spend the last month of the program doing my own research project, whatever I want to do, which is awesome. Hopefully, I can do something that will build on research that I've already done or research that I will do in the future."
Other students face limitations stemming from foreign-language requirements. Junior Brenna Heintz, who was accepted to study in Paris through Tufts, had a last-minute change of heart and applied to the Institute for the International Education of Students' (IES) Buenos Aires program.
"I was sick of French and I wanted to learn Spanish. IES in Buenos Aires was really the only program where I could go to a Spanish-speaking country and take classes in English, since I don't have any Spanish experience," Heintz said. "There's really no way to go on a Tufts program unless you have around six semesters of Spanish, so IES was really my only option."
Feedback from returning abroad students has also proven to aim the spotlight at a handful of external programs, and some students have come to rely on friends' recommendations.
Junior Rosa Spaeth plans to study in Melbourne, Australia this spring through Butler University's Institute for Study Abroad.
"I didn't actually look at very many programs other than the University of Melbourne program. I had a friend who had gone through Butler and really liked it, so I was just pumped about it and just applied to this one," Spaeth said.
While in pursuit of a good match, many students find that certain options have a reputation for being "party programs," a stereotype that program heads try to battle. The rigor of the application process, or lack thereof, can aid in fostering such assumptions.
Senior Lauren Taylor, who traveled to Barcelona through IES last spring, admitted that the application process was fairly easy.
"It was pretty straightforward. As long as you had a GPA of 3.0 or higher, you didn't need to have any teacher recommendations or write out answers to short questions," Taylor said.
While some programs carry the reputation for demanding a similar course load to their counterparts in the States, others, like IES, according to Taylor, make their students clock fewer hours in the library.
"The course load was definitely less rigorous than a normal workload at Tufts. I definitely had midterms, finals and group projects, but the overall workload was drastically different from Tufts," Taylor said. "But that's really important when you're abroad. It's important to go out and see things and travel through the city and not be overly stressed about work."
Senior Elyse Weissman, who studied last spring in London through IES, said that the class variety made up for the lighter expectations.
"It was much less demanding. However, I took really interesting classes, so despite the fact that my teachers weren't asking as much as a Tufts professor probably would, I still felt inclined to try just as hard as I would at Tufts. Partying was far from a priority," Weissman said.
Still, Taylor argued that study-abroad programs may commonly attract those in pursuit of late nights and frequent inebriation.
"There were a few kids there who just wanted to go out to Barcelona and party every night, but that's going to happen with every program. I don't think that reflects on the IES program in general," Taylor said.
"Students choose IES abroad programs because they see a high value in them in both the short- and long-term and because our member institutions have carefully vetted the quality of our programs and participated in the academic governance to assure that the credit bestowed is representative of their own high standards," Nancy Volino Castagnet, director of media relations and internal communications at IES, said in an e-mail to the Daily.
Those tempted by the prospect of a semester-long party session, beware: The university takes steps to ensure that students will not spend their study-abroad experiences irresponsibly, even if they choose a non-Tufts program.
According to O'Leary, the Subcommittee on Foreign Programs, comprised of faculty members, meets at the end of every year to discuss whether certain programs should be added or deleted from the list that Tufts approves for credit.
"There are programs that are less selective than others, but they are on this list for a reason," she said.
O'Leary also visits sites, either by herself or as part of a board, in order to evaluate whether a particular program is suitable for Tufts students.
"I go to stay updated on program and immersion opportunities and to evaluate the caliber of academics and the appropriateness for Tufts students," O'Leary said.
Still, some students are drawn to the fact that a less-strenuous curriculum will provide them with the time to explore foreign countries on their own.
"I kind of knew that IES had the reputation of being a party program. I was told that I would probably be the smartest person there, and it might not challenge me as much academically as other programs. But I looked at it as that I am taking a risk in that I'm going to another country where I don't speak the language, and that's going to be taxing enough for me," Heintz said. "I really wanted to go to South America and try something new, something very different. I'm really excited about that. So I feel that you can make the most of any abroad experience just through the culture aspect."
Weissman agreed that the more lenient structure of the learning environment allowed for a different use of time.
"We went on many field trips -- even when you're not in class, you're learning. The time that wasn't spent doing lots of work was still spent learning," she said.
"The program was less about doing tons of reading and studying for quizzes, and more about class discussion and hands-on experience," Taylor said.
Additionally, students choosing not to travel through Tufts programs cite the desire to meet new people as a driving force.
"I didn't want to be around Tufts people, straight up. I applied to Tufts in Paris and was going to go, and then I was like, 'Wait, I don't want my abroad experience to be just like Tufts, except in another country ... literally Tufts in Paris," Heintz said. "I just want to be completely away from Tufts. I love it, but I think it's important to go off and take risks, and I want to do that -- experience something completely new."
Spaeth feels similarly. "Talking with people who are in Tufts programs now, it really is just about hanging around with the same 20 people, especially when you are in a country where you don't speak the language well; it's just comfortable. It tends to be cliquey, and I definitely wanted to do something different," she said.
