Semester Abroad

Every year 100,000’s of college students study abroad. While below is a list of the many benefits of a study abroad experience, the greatest benefit we see is that with Engage students can study abroad with a purpose. Imagine reaping all of the benefits listed below, along with the adventure of traveling abroad, while connecting intimately with the mission of God in the world and impacting lives for eternity. It’s possible, in fact, Engage students are living it out every day, all around the world.

  • 97% of study abroad students found employment within 12 months of graduation, when only 49% of college graduates found employment in the same period. That means they were twice as likely to find a job.
  • 25% higher starting salaries: that’s how much more study abroad students earn than those college graduates who do not study abroad.
  • 90% of study abroad alumni who applied got into their 1st or 2nd choice grad school.
  • 84% of study abroad alumni felt their studies abroad helped them build valuable skills for the job market.
  • 80% of study abroad students reported that study abroad allowed them to better adapt better to diverse work environments.
  • 70% of study abroad alumni claimed that because of study abroad they were more satisfied with their jobs.
  • 59% of employers said study abroad would be valuable in an individual’s career later on with their organization.
  • 34% of study abroad alumni claimed that study abroad helped them choose their career field.
  • 100% greater improvement in GPA post-study abroad. Student GPAs tend to rise as they approach the completion of their undergraduate degree. Students who studied abroad saw their GPAs rise twice as quickly as a result of going abroad compared to students who stayed in town according to a Georgia study.
  • Study on personality development found that students who studied abroad showed improvements in five core traits compared to their peers who did not study abroad: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability.

 

University of California, Merced. (n.d.). What Statistics Show about Study Abroad Students. Retrieved from http://studyabroad.ucmerced.edu: http://studyabroad.ucmerced.edu/study-abroad-statistics/statistics-study-abroad