Pros and cons for the year abroad

Year abroad - this is how it can be designed

There are several ways you can get one year abroad can spend. These can be important for the pros and cons of decision making:

• Students can often take part in programs where they live with a host family and attend the foreign school there. In general, you should only take this path if you have the language Mastering the host country at least a little and thus having a chance of being there classes to follow.
• Even a year as a student at a foreign university only makes sense if you at least understand the language of instruction there. Otherwise you will only spend a boring year abroad, the benefit is rather limited.
• Without language skills you can get by if you commit yourself to work in the host country as an au pair or within the framework of other programs. You gain experience and learn the language.
• Years abroad as a development worker or as part of a voluntary social year give you more experience, but it does not necessarily improve your language skills.
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Doing a year abroad in Japan - that's how it works

Would you like to give your child a year abroad? Did your child choose Japan ...

So it really depends on how the year abroad will go, the pros and cons clearly depend on it.

Weigh up the pros and cons of staying abroad

• What speaks against a year abroad in any case is that you will lose time. If you are already quite old in relation to your level of training, you should perhaps do without the year abroad. Anyone who only has middle school leaving certificate at 20 or that High School who can manage at the age of 25 should think twice about investing time in a year abroad. A clear contra to staying here.
• In general, the experience you will gain in the year abroad speaks for this. For later applications, you will always have an advantage if you can score points with a year abroad, as you will become more mature as well. Generally a clear pro for the year.
• This pro turns out to be even more pronounced if you can also acquire a foreign school diploma or obtain verifiable degrees from foreign universities. But that usually cannot be done in a year. Even so, schools and universities that you attend abroad are clearly a plus for the rest of your life.

Overall, you have to weigh the financial aspects (the stays are usually expensive) and the "lost" time against the benefits that the year abroad can bring you. In many academic professions, it is almost a must to complete part of your studies abroad.