Thinking about studying abroad? Here are 31 insanely good reasons to study abroad in college!
If you’re on the fence about whether to study abroad, this post is for you. I’m sharing ALL OF THE REASONS studying abroad will genuinely change your life. I know firsthand how intimidating the decision can be – trust me, I almost didn’t go because I was scared of missing out on things back home, worried about money, nervous about being so far away. But looking back? Studying abroad was hands down one of the best decisions I ever made.
So if you need that final push to hit submit on your application, or if you’re trying to convince your parents it’s worth it, here are 31 very real, very good reasons to study abroad in college.
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Learning how to be independent is one of the top reasons to study abroad. You’ll gain a greater appreciation for yourself and all that you experience!
But let me tell you what this actually looks like in practice. It’s navigating a foreign train system when you don’t speak the language. It’s figuring out how to open a bank account in another country. It’s problem-solving when your debit card gets declined at 11pm and you need to get back to your apartment.
I remember my first week in Florence, I got completely lost trying to find my host university. My phone died, I had no idea where I was, and I couldn’t read the street signs properly. Eventually I figured it out by asking for help in broken Italian and using hand gestures. Old me would’ve had a panic attack. Study abroad me? I learned that getting lost is just part of the adventure and I can handle way more than I thought.
You’ll surprise yourself constantly. You’ll do things you never thought you could do. And when you come home, regular life problems feel so much more manageable because you’ve already proven to yourself that you can handle the hard stuff.
If you’ve ever taken a language class, then studying abroad is a good way to put your knowledge to the test. I loved practicing my Spanish while I was in Spain. And when I studied in Italy, I learned how to speak Italian!
Here’s the thing though – you don’t need to be fluent before you go. Actually, being terrible at the language is kind of the best way to learn because you have no choice but to try.
I took two years of Italian before studying in Florence and I still could barely string together a sentence when I arrived. But within a few weeks of actually living there, ordering food, asking for directions, chatting with my host family, I improved more than I had in two years of classroom learning.
There’s something about needing to communicate to survive that makes language learning click in a totally different way. Plus, locals are usually super patient and encouraging when they see you trying. Some of my favorite memories are the conversations I had in terrible broken Italian with shop owners and baristas who would gently correct me and teach me new words.
Even if you’re studying in an English-speaking country or a place where everyone speaks English, you’ll probably pick up some of the local language just by being immersed in it. And that’s a skill you’ll have forever.
The friendships you make while traveling are truly so special. You meet new people from all over the world and make countless unforgettable memories with people who were once strangers.
Study abroad friendships hit different because you’re all going through this intense, transformative experience together. You’re away from your normal support systems, everything is new and overwhelming, and you bond over that shared experience in a way that’s hard to replicate.
I met my closest friends during my semester abroad and we’re still super close years later. We lived together in a tiny apartment, traveled to like 10 countries together on weekends, stayed up until 3am talking about life, navigated culture shock together, celebrated birthdays in random European cities. These people saw me at my best and my worst – homesick, lost, frustrated, exhilarated, all of it.
Plus, you meet people from all over the world. My friend group during study abroad included people from California, Texas, Australia, Canada, and South Korea. We all had completely different perspectives and backgrounds and it made every conversation interesting.
The best part? You have built-in travel buddies all over the world now. I’ve visited friends in Sydney, Toronto, and Denver because of connections I made while studying abroad. It’s like having a global network of people you can visit and who will show you around their cities.
During a semester abroad, it is much easier to prioritize international travel during the semester.
This is huge and nobody talks about it enough. When you’re based in Europe for a semester, hopping over to Paris for a weekend costs like $50 round trip on a budget airline. Greece? $80. Prague? $40. You can visit multiple countries for less than what it would cost to fly there once from the US.
I went to 12 different countries during my semester abroad just by using long weekends and random days off. We’d finish class on Thursday, catch a cheap flight that night, spend Friday through Sunday exploring a new city, and fly back Sunday night or Monday morning. It became totally normal to be like “anyone want to go to Barcelona this weekend?” on a Tuesday.
The proximity makes travel so accessible. A 2-hour flight can take you to a completely different country with a different language, culture, and food. And because you’re already abroad, you don’t have that same pressure to see EVERYTHING because you might never come back. You can be more relaxed about it.
Also, you learn how to travel efficiently. You figure out which budget airlines are reliable, how to pack for a weekend in just a backpack, which hostels are good, how to navigate new cities quickly. These are skills that stick with you forever.
Trying new foods is one of my favorite activities of traveling. You’ll be able to taste the flavors of the world and bring them back home with you!
I’m not exaggerating when I say that studying abroad ruined me for certain foods. I can’t eat American pizza anymore without comparing it to the pizza I had in Naples. Grocery store pasta tastes like cardboard compared to fresh pasta in Italy. Don’t even get me started on the coffee situation.
But in the best way possible, your standards for food will completely change. You’ll discover flavors and dishes you never knew existed. You’ll learn that real French croissants are flaky and buttery in a way that nothing at home compares to. You’ll understand why people are obsessed with Spanish tapas. You’ll find your new favorite food that you can’t even get in the US.
I became obsessed with cacio e pepe while living in Rome. It’s literally just cheese, pepper, and pasta, but when it’s made right, it’s life-changing. I’ve tried to recreate it at home a million times and it’s never the same.
Food becomes part of your cultural education. You’ll learn about regional specialties, traditional cooking methods, the history behind certain dishes. You’ll eat things you never would’ve tried at home (I ate rabbit, snails, and organ meats for the first time while abroad). Your Instagram will be 90% food pics and you won’t even care.
Plus, you’ll bring recipes and cooking techniques back home. I learned how to make fresh pasta from scratch, proper paella, authentic Thai curry. These are things I still cook for friends and family and it always brings me back to where I learned them.
I talked about my study abroad experience in Italy at almost every single job interview I had. Recruiters love hearing about students who have a global mindset and greater understanding across cultures.
This isn’t just about having something to put on your resume (though that’s definitely a bonus). It’s about the stories and skills you gain that make you a more interesting and capable candidate.
When I interviewed for jobs after graduation, I constantly drew on my study abroad experiences. When they asked about problem-solving, I talked about navigating unexpected challenges in foreign countries. When they asked about adaptability, I had countless examples of adjusting to new environments and cultures. When they asked about communication skills, I talked about learning to communicate across language barriers.
Employers genuinely value international experience now. It shows independence, cultural awareness, adaptability, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. All of those are huge in the workplace.
Plus, it makes you more interesting to talk to in interviews. Instead of giving the same generic answers as every other candidate, you have unique stories about living in another country, navigating cultural differences, traveling independently. It makes you memorable.
And if you’re applying to jobs at international companies or companies that do business globally, having study abroad experience is sometimes almost required. It shows you understand how to work across cultures and time zones.
The random cancelled flights and things that are outside of your control are part of the experience. Along the way, you’ll gain a new sense of flexibility you’ve never had to experience before!
Before studying abroad, I was a planner. I needed everything mapped out, scheduled, confirmed. I did not do well with last-minute changes or things going wrong.
Study abroad broke me of that real quick. Trains get delayed. Flights get cancelled. You get lost. Plans fall through. Your debit card stops working. You miss your bus. You show up to an Airbnb and it doesn’t exist. Things go wrong constantly and you just have to roll with it.
I remember we booked a weekend trip to Greece and when we landed, we found out our Airbnb had cancelled on us without telling us. It was 11pm, we were exhausted, and we had nowhere to stay. Old me would’ve freaked out. But by that point in the semester, we just laughed about it, found a hostel with availability, and it ended up being way more fun because we met other travelers there.
You learn that most problems are solvable. That backup plans are just as good as original plans, sometimes better. That being flexible and going with the flow often leads to the best experiences.
This mindset shift carries over into regular life too. When things don’t go according to plan now, I don’t spiral. I adapt. I figure it out. I stay calm. Study abroad taught me that.
Discomfort becomes normal during study abroad. You’re uncomfortable a lot – language barriers, cultural confusion, logistical challenges, social situations where you don’t know the rules.
But you learn that discomfort isn’t something to avoid. It’s often where the best growth and experiences happen. You start seeking it out instead of running from it.
This is a superpower in life. People who can embrace discomfort accomplish so much more than people who stay in their comfort zones.
Gaining a global mindset is one of the best reasons to study abroad in college. You’ll have a greater appreciation for different cultures, languages, nationalities, food and so much more!
This is probably the most important thing on this list, honestly. Study abroad fundamentally changes how you see the world and your place in it.
Living in another country, not just visiting, forces you to confront your assumptions about how things “should” be. You realize that the American way isn’t the only way or even always the best way. Different cultures have different values, different priorities, different approaches to life – and they’re all equally valid.
I learned that Europeans prioritize work-life balance in a way Americans don’t. That meal times are sacred in some cultures and rushing through lunch is considered rude. That public transportation can actually work really well when cities are designed for it. That healthcare systems can function completely differently. That tipping culture isn’t universal.
You also gain perspective on your own country and culture. You start to see things about America that you never noticed before because you were too close to it. Some things you appreciate more, some things you question. Either way, you develop a more nuanced, complex understanding of the world.
And honestly? It makes you a more empathetic, open-minded person. You learn that people are fundamentally the same everywhere – we all want to be happy, take care of our families, enjoy good food, make connections. But the way we express those things can look very different depending on culture.
I know this sounds shallow but it’s true. Study abroad makes you a more interesting person to talk to.
You have experiences and perspectives that most people your age don’t have. You can contribute different viewpoints to conversations. You have stories that captivate people. You’ve done things that most people only dream about.
This isn’t about being better than anyone else. It’s just that you’ve expanded your world significantly and that makes you more engaging.
Study abroad is education in the fullest sense. You’re learning from everything – classes yes, but also from conversations, from navigating daily life, from travel, from mistakes, from observation.
You learn history by walking through ancient cities. You learn politics by talking to locals about their experiences. You learn economics by navigating different monetary systems. You learn sociology by observing different social norms. You learn language by using it in real contexts.
This kind of experiential learning sticks with you in a way that textbook learning doesn’t. You remember what you lived through.
Living in another culture isn’t just about visiting tourist sites or trying on traditional clothing for photos. It’s about the small, everyday moments that completely shift how you see the world. It’s watching how people interact on the metro, noticing that no one’s in a rush even though the train is packed. It’s realizing that dinner starts at 9pm and that’s just normal, not late. It’s understanding why people take two-hour lunch breaks and nobody thinks that’s lazy – it’s just how life works there.
You’ll pick up on things you can’t learn from a guidebook. Like how Italian grandmas will literally stop you on the street to tell you your coat isn’t warm enough. Or how Thai people use different hand gestures that mean completely different things than back home. Or how the French take their coffee culture so seriously that ordering a “coffee to go” is basically sacrilege.
The best part? These cultural differences stop feeling weird and start making total sense. You’ll catch yourself adopting little habits – kissing cheeks to say hello, taking your shoes off indoors without thinking, using hand gestures you never used before. You become a blend of where you’re from and where you’ve been, and that’s pretty cool.
Some of the best experiences during study abroad will be completely unplanned. The random conversations, the unexpected invitations, the spontaneous decisions, the wrong turns that lead to amazing discoveries.
You’ll learn to say yes to opportunities that sound crazy. To follow your gut. To be okay with uncertainty. To trust that things will work out.
This spontaneity makes life richer. It opens you up to experiences you never would’ve had if you stuck rigidly to your plans.
Being in places with thousands of years of history, surrounded by people living completely different lives, in a world that’s so much bigger than your little corner of it – it puts things in perspective.
Your problems feel smaller. Your stress feels less urgent. You realize that there are millions of ways to live a life and yours is just one of them.
This isn’t about feeling insignificant in a negative way. It’s about being part of something larger than yourself. It’s humbling and beautiful.
Study abroad isn’t always easy or fun. There will be hard days. Days when you’re homesick and overwhelmed and questioning why you even came. Days when everything feels difficult and you just want to go home.
But you push through. You deal with discomfort and uncertainty. You handle challenges without your normal support system. You keep going even when it’s hard.
That builds mental toughness that serves you forever. You learn that you can handle more than you think. That hard things are temporary. That discomfort doesn’t have to stop you.
When you’re living out of a suitcase or with limited space, you realize how little you actually need. You learn to prioritize experiences over possessions. You find out that happiness isn’t about having lots of stuff.
This mindset shift stays with you. You become less materialistic, more focused on what actually matters. You spend money on experiences instead of things.
Almost everyone who studies abroad says it was one of the best decisions they ever made. Almost no one regrets it. Can you say that about many things in life?
Even the hard parts, the mistakes, the uncomfortable moments – they all contribute to an experience you’ll value forever.
The only regret most people have is not studying abroad for longer or not doing it at all.
I’m not talking about just trying new restaurants here. I’m talking about having your entire understanding of food completely transformed. You’ll taste things that make you realize you’ve been eating mediocre versions of dishes your whole life.
Like, I thought I knew what good pasta was until I had cacio e pepe in a tiny Roman trattoria where the chef made it tableside and it was so simple but so perfect that I actually got emotional. Or the first time I had real Vietnamese pho at 7am from a street cart in Hanoi and understood why people obsess over it. Or trying fresh sea urchin at a market in Barcelona that tasted like the ocean in the best way possible.
You’ll discover ingredients you’ve never heard of. You’ll learn that different countries have completely different breakfast foods and some of them are wild (looking at you, natto in Japan). You’ll find your new favorite food that you literally cannot get at home and will crave forever.
And it’s not just fancy restaurant meals. Some of my best food memories are from random street carts, local markets, hole-in-the-wall places where no tourists go. You’ll learn to trust the spots with lines of locals, even if they look sketchy. Those are usually where the magic happens.
Plus, you’ll become that person who can’t stop talking about the food abroad. “This is good, but when I was in Italy…” Yeah, you’ll be annoying about it. Worth it.
People watching abroad is like people watching at home but on steroids. Everything is different and fascinating because you don’t have the cultural context that makes things fade into the background.
You’ll spend hours at cafés just watching how people interact. How they greet each other, how they dress, how they move through the world. You’ll notice patterns – like how Italian men always seem to be having the most dramatic conversations with wild hand gestures, or how Japanese people are so incredibly polite and formal with each other, or how Spanish families have three generations at dinner together like it’s the most normal thing.
Public transportation becomes prime people-watching territory. You’ll observe morning commutes, see how locals navigate the metro, watch people reading different newspapers in different languages, notice fashion differences, see different social dynamics play out.
Markets and public squares are gold mines too. You’ll watch vendors interact with regular customers who’ve probably been coming for years. You’ll see how people shop for food differently – like how Europeans buy fresh groceries almost daily instead of doing one big weekly shop. You’ll notice different approaches to personal space, different communication styles, different expressions of emotion.
People watching teaches you so much about culture without anyone having to explain it. You pick up on the unwritten rules, the social norms, the values that underpin daily life. And it’s endlessly entertaining.
The habits you pick up while studying abroad often stick with you long after you come home. Some of them are small, some are bigger, but they all become part of who you are.
Maybe you’ll adopt the European habit of walking everywhere instead of driving. Or the Mediterranean habit of taking your time with meals instead of eating at your desk. Or the Asian habit of taking your shoes off immediately when entering a home. Or the Italian habit of having an afternoon coffee at an actual café instead of grabbing it to-go.
I picked up so many habits during my time abroad that I still have. I automatically greet shopkeepers when I enter stores now (very European). I became way more comfortable with silence and stillness instead of needing constant entertainment. I started prioritizing experiences over possessions. I learned to drink my coffee slowly while sitting down instead of chugging it on the way to class.
Some habits are practical – like being better at navigating public transportation, packing lighter, or budgeting for travel. Some are more lifestyle-oriented – like valuing work-life balance more, taking time to enjoy meals, prioritizing relationships over productivity.
The cool thing is that these habits feel natural because you developed them organically while living abroad. They’re not forced changes, they’re just parts of other cultures that resonated with you and became part of your own approach to life.
When you’re studying abroad, the mundane becomes adventurous. Grocery shopping is an adventure when you can’t read half the labels. Taking the bus becomes an adventure when you’re not sure where you’re going. Ordering coffee is an adventure when you’re practicing a new language.
But beyond the everyday adventures, there’s also the fact that you’re in a place with so much to explore. Every neighborhood has something interesting. Every weekend there’s a new city within reach. Every conversation could lead to a recommendation for some hidden spot.
You’ll stumble into things constantly. A random street festival you had no idea was happening. A gorgeous viewpoint you found by getting lost. A tiny bookshop down an alley. A family-run restaurant with no menu where the owner just brings you whatever’s good that day.
The adventure isn’t something you have to seek out or plan extensively. It’s just built into the experience of being somewhere unfamiliar. Your curiosity is constantly engaged. Your sense of discovery is always activated. Everything feels a little bit exciting because it’s all so new.
And you develop this adventurous mindset that stays with you. You become someone who’s more open to trying new things, more willing to explore, more comfortable with uncertainty. You learn to trust that good things happen when you’re open to whatever comes your way.
The best adventures aren’t the ones you plan meticulously – they’re the ones you find by being present, saying yes, and staying curious about the world around you.
Here’s the coolest part – the lessons from study abroad keep unfolding long after you come home. You’ll realize things months or years later that you didn’t understand at the time. The experience keeps teaching you.
You’ll apply lessons from study abroad to jobs, relationships, life decisions. You’ll reference it constantly. It becomes part of your foundation as a person.
The growth doesn’t stop when your semester ends. It’s a gift that keeps giving.
If you’ve read this far, you probably already know the answer. Yes. Absolutely yes.
Is it scary? Yes. Will it be hard sometimes? Yes. Will it be expensive? Probably. Will there be challenges? Definitely.
But will it be worth it? 100%.
Study abroad is one of those rare opportunities in life where the timing is perfect. You’re young enough to be flexible, old enough to handle it, have few obligations, and might not get another chance like this for years or maybe ever.
Don’t let fear or logistics or uncertainty hold you back. You can figure out the details. You can make it work financially. You can handle being away from home.
The you on the other side of this experience will be so grateful you went. So just do it.
And when you’re ready to start preparing, check out my study abroad essentials packing list to make sure you have everything you need for the adventure of a lifetime.
Trust me on this one. Book that program. Say yes. Go.
