Behind every bold decision to take a gap year, defer your college education, or take your studies on the road, are the familiar faces of our skeptical parents.
Depending on your age, financial status, parental situation, and a variety of other factors, the opinions and support from your parents may or may not have an impact on your decision. But for the sake of this blog post, we’re going to say it matters a LOT.
The most common questions we get regarding Edumadic programs tend to come from concerned parents. That’s not a bad thing either! Parents remember to ask the important questions you might overlook in the middle of all your excitement.
So we’ll address the benefits of studying abroad to help you convince them it's the right decision for you. If you’re confronted with overbearing parents who are on the fence about allowing you to participate in an experience like ours, this is your playbook for those difficult conversations.
This might be the biggest opportunity in their adult life to actually become a well-rounded, self-sufficient adult.
Over the course of a gap year (or any study abroad program), they will learn to budget their money, balance their coursework, and manage their time more efficiently than ever before.
Add in all of the sightseeing, excursions, and social opportunities, and you’ll realize that travelers are constantly learning how to establish effective routines in a busy environment. These types of management skills can lead to a dramatic improvement in these areas once they’ve returned home.
It doesn’t matter if your child identifies as an introvert or extrovert - world travel will push them out of their comfort zone and test their communication skills at every turn. Imagine learning how to use gestures to order food or direct a taxi, or picking up basic foreign language skills to better interact with the locals.
Not to mention the brand new social circle that will emerge with their fellow travelers. The ability to develop strong communication skills and build authentic relationships is an essential skill they’ll be able to use in every single career path.
Once the inevitable culture shock wears off, learning how to navigate a new environment while observing cultural customs becomes part of their everyday life. There’s an invaluable amount of patience and tolerance (and a sense of humor) to practice as they adapt to new experiences and societal norms.
We often don’t have all of our first-world comforts, and yet we manage to thrive. And when faced with failure, we go into troubleshooting mode to make the best decision under any circumstances. It builds the kind of character and confidence that will carry incredible weight in a post-study abroad world and workplace.
We always say that travel builds better humans. Once a student has gained a global perspective from personal experience and immersion, it naturally breaks down any pre-existing barriers built by ignorance and prejudice.
Don’t underestimate the power of challenging your opinions and world views - that knowledge can be used as a force for good, even if that’s just better educating your friends and families from firsthand experience. We’re living in a time where breaking down barriers is directly impacting social change and politics on a national and global level.
Those are the intangible, immeasurable effects of world travel. But we can quantify the benefits too!
There are hundreds of study abroad programs and thousands of universities to choose from, each with their own unique costs. But the college experience and the option to study abroad don’t have to be as expensive as you think!
Consider all of the general education courses and prerequisite classes they’ll need to take for their intended degree. There are alternative online education platforms designed to assist with finding cheaper accredited courses that will transfer to the university of their choice.
Studying abroad will give them more time to make decisions about their higher education. They can still move their degree forward, at a lower cost, while discovering if it’s the right choice for them (while they discover the world around them).
Learn more about the course credits offered through our partners - they will save you a ton in tuition money. The savings alone can easily offset the cost of an Edumadic program - and you really won’t find a cheaper, established travel company that focuses on the authenticity of traveling with a small community alongside educational and personal growth.
If your child hasn’t studied online before, this is a great opportunity for them to prepare for remote work. Studying online is very similar to working online, and the routines and study habits they will establish while traveling is excellent preparation for the future.
Many jobs in the future will be done remotely and having experience in this area will be a huge advantage when it’s time to look for jobs. They’ll already have an impressive list of skills and strategies in place to thrive in a remote work environment.
All of these positive attributes, plus many many more, will become major contributors to the quality of your child’s character. World travel is referred to as life-changing experiences because these aren’t short-term effects - they will last a lifetime.
Read all of the reviews from past Edumads here to gain even more insight!
And if your main concern is safety while your child travels the world, we completely understand. It’s hard to ignore the negative headlines in the media without firsthand knowledge of these foreign countries. But we promise the world is a kinder place than you can imagine, and studying abroad will help eliminate those biases too.
Let us point out that in 2019, the United States of America ranked 128th out of 163 countries listed in the Global Peace Index. Contrary to what you might think, it’s very likely your child will be traveling to countries safer than your own.
As always, we’re happy to address specific questions and concerns in regard to our Edumadic programs and travel in general to ease your mind.
We even created an entire 200+ page playbook to learn all of our personal travel tips and tricks to make sure you get the most out of your travel experience.
Until next time...✌️
