UVM Students must follow UVM's Study Abroad Process to study abroad. To support your UVM student, you can help keep them on track with researching programs thoughtfully, application deadlines, pre-departure preparations, etc. You can support your UVM student at all stages of this process (though, importantly, without doing it for them). 

As students are researching programs, there are several key considerations we encourage students to consider. These are also reflected in our study abroad process, and offered here with a lens for what parents might want to explore with their UVM student. 

One of the early steps of UVM's study abroad process, after understanding eligibility requirements and deadlines is selecting a program to apply to. Selecting the right program is critical to beginning the UVM study abroad experience. Students should only select an approved program (one that appears in our GoAbroad system) and make their selections based on:

• Academic Considerations: Study abroad is an academic experience, and it is critical that students start the conversation of program selection with their academic advisor, both in selecting appropriate programs and deciding when to go abroad. Our GoAbroad system lists all of UVM's approved programs, UVM students cannot study abroad on a program not found in GoAbroad. As a parent to a UVM student, ask them about the academic experience they are seeking - do they want classes at a local university? with other international students? in a foreign language? are they seeking to fulfill major or minor or elective credits? These types of questions will help keep an academic lens at the forefront. You might also discuss timing of study abroad - while students often think of the spring semester of Junior year as the "normal" time to study abroad, there might be other semesters that are better suited. Academics can drive this, but students might also have a better chance of placement in their selected program if they look at study abroad in a fall semester. 
   
• Financial Considerations: Different programs come with different financial considerations, and family members who are funding studies hold a critical role in helping their UVM learner understand their financial capacity for study abroad. For example: some programs allow portability of UVM scholarships (including tuition remission), but many don't. Some programs support use of a 529 college savings plan or a GI bill and others do not. And of course destinations abroad may have higher or lower costs of living. Your student may not have the full picture of their financial resources and thus not factor this in until it is too late to switch programs. Read more about program finances. 
   
• Expectations for Support and type of experience: Does your student want to be with other UVM students or have a more independent experience? Are they seeking to be in a major city or off-the-beaten-path? What kind of on-the-ground support do they expect they might need? Are they seeking a semester abroad or a short-term program? Our "Study Abroad 101" meetings review the types of experiences with students, and you can read more about types of programs to begin those conversations. Importantly: no experience abroad will be the same as a semester at UVM and students must prepare themselves for different rules, support, living conditions, and cultural norms. As a parent, you can support your child by helping them reflect on their needs. 

Besides supporting your UVM student through the program research process, parents can have a role during the application stage in:

• Reminding them to apply on time - we cannot accept late applications and students who begin their application late may find they run out of time to gather documents on time.
• Reminding them to read carefully - students sometimes miss critical information by signing forms without slowing down to read their obligations in the study abroad process. We want students to feel empowered and informed, which requires slowing down, at times.
• Applying for a passport - students need to have a valid passport to apply for study abroad. Many of our partners abroad require a passport copy immediately upon placement for immigration and other official purposes. Students have missed study abroad opportunities because they plan ahead. Study abroad preparation requires students to plan ahead and read carefully. 

Once a student has applied through GoAbroad and after our application deadlines, students will receive instructions for next steps. For some programs, this will include placement decisions and deposit payment. Some students may be offered placement in a second or third choice program, depending on competitiveness.

All students will have forms to complete in GoAbroad to receive final approval to study abroad. We encourage having conversations with your UVM student about what they are working on. All students also are required to attend one or more pre-departure orientations (requirements vary by program) and as a parent you are invited to attend one piece of it. 

After students have completed all steps in GoAbroad and attended Pre-departure Orientation, they will be enrolled in a placeholder course as their formal final approval to study abroad. This will be concurrent with being charged the study abroad fee. 

You can help them with the fun things too, of course: research their new host city, pack bags (don't take too much!), perhaps plan a visit of your own. But by keeping them on track with the required steps in the process, you will be helping to reduce stress overall. 

Once your UVM student arrives abroad, we hope you will remain in regular communication with them. They will need you to celebrate their successes and support them when they have moments of frustration that are inherent in living in a new environment. A few tips for supporting them as they (and you) adjust:

• Give them time to settle and remind them of why they are doing this: just like it takes many first-year students some time to settle into their first semester at UVM, it may take your student time to settle into their host community abroad. Remind them that cultural adjustment is a process. Remember that we often decompress most overtly to the people we know best, and you might be on the receiving end of them processing something that feels big in the moment, though their reaction might not be indicative of their overall well-being. It is easy to get overwhelmed in a new place. Everyone started the study abroad process for a reason, and sometimes remembering the goals of that can be helpful in creating a bit of a "reset" for students.
• Suspend your own judgments: Parents and family members can have a huge influence on how a student interprets their new surroundings. And often, it is hard to have a good understanding of the lay of the land abroad without being there. Remember that things will look different from being at UVM. For example, while we expect all of the housing in our study abroad programs to be safe, it might not have some of the same amenities that students are used to in Vermont. Listening with curiosity and an open mind can help you learn about their experience while also supporting them.
• Listen to your gut: We want students to help themselves, but we also know that sometimes outside eyes can make the difference for a student to get the support and help they need. When the moment calls for it, be directive with your UVM student on what steps they should take which could be reaching out to the host institution abroad for support, connecting with someone back at UVM, or reaching out to UVM's emergency response provider for help.

When your UVM student returns to the US and to Vermont, you still have a role in their readjustment. Ask lots of questions: often the return home can be harder than the arrival abroad because of a lack of "new" to discover. Getting to tell stories to curious listeners goes a long way in supporting students to reacclimatize to Vermont. And then, encourage them to continue to engage in their global learning back on campus through a class, studying a language, connecting with UVM's international student community, etc. There are ample opportunities to get involved on campus.