Dispelling the Myths of Going Abroad

  1. In the U.S. jobs are better and I can make more money here than elsewhere, so going abroad while in college is not worth it.

While focus is often placed on the "romantic" experience of visiting another culture in discussions about the benefits of study abroad, there has been some research that shows that study abroad experience has a quantitatively positive net effect on students. A study conducted from 2006-2010 showed that--during a period when only 49% of the average population of college graduates found a job within one year of graduation--98% of students with study abroad experience had found employment within one year. Students with study abroad experience reported starting salaries 25% higher than the general student population.[31]

World Bank (2005–2012)[3][hide]

Rank / Country / Intl. $ / Year
1 / Luxembourg / 91,388 / 2012
— / Macau / 87,765 / 2012
2 / Qatar / 83,460 / 2012
3 / Norway / 65,640 / 2012
4 / Singapore / 61,803 / 2012
5 / Switzerland / 53,367 / 2012
6 / Brunei / 53,348 / 2012
— / Hong Kong / 51,946 / 2012
7 / United States / 49,965 / 2012
8 / Kuwait / 45,455 / 2011
9 / Australia / 44,598 / 2012
10 / Austria / 44,208 / 2012
11 / Ireland / 43,592 / 2012
12 / Netherlands / 43,198 / 2012
13 / Sweden / 43,180 / 2012
14 / Canada / 42,533 / 2012
15 / Denmark / 42,086 / 2012
16 / United Arab Emirates / 42,080 / 2012
17 / Germany / 40,901 / 2012
18 / Belgium / 39,788 / 2012
19 / Finland / 38,655 / 2012
20 / Iceland / 37,852 / 2012
  1. It’s not safe to go abroad. (Data from nationmaster.com)

Crime Statistics > Total crime victims (most recent) by country

DEFINITION:People victimized by crime (as a % of the total population). Data refer to people victimized by one or more of 11 crimes recorded in the survey: robbery, burglary, attempted burglary, car theft, car vandalism, bicycle theft, sexual assault, theft from car, theft of personal property, assault and threats. Crime statistics are often better indicators of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than actual prevalence.

VIEW DATA: / Totals
/ DefinitionSourcePrintable version
Bar Graph / Map / Correlations

Showing latest available data.

Rank / Countries / Amount
# 1 / Australia: / 30.1%
Crime in Australia
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# 2 / New Zealand: / 29.4%
Crime in New Zealand
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# 3 / United Kingdom: / 26.4%
Crime in United Kingdom
Top of Form
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# 4 / Netherlands: / 25.2%
Crime in Netherlands
Top of Form
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# 5 / Sweden: / 24.7%
Crime in Sweden
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 6 / Italy: / 24.6%
Crime in Italy
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 7 / Canada: / 23.8%
Crime in Canada
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 8 / Saint Kitts and Nevis: / 23.2%
Crime in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 9 / Malta: / 23.1%
Crime in Malta
Top of Form
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# 10 / Denmark: / 23%
Crime in Denmark
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 11 / Poland: / 22.7%
Crime in Poland
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
= 12 / Belgium: / 21.4%
Crime in Belgium
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
= 12 / France: / 21.4%
Crime in France
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 14 / Slovenia: / 21.2%
Crime in Slovenia
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 15 / United States: / 21.1%
Crime in United States
Top of Form
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# 16 / Finland: / 19.1%
Crime in Finland
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 17 / Austria: / 18.8%
Crime in Austria
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 18 / Switzerland: / 18.2%
Crime in Switzerland
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 19 / Portugal: / 15.5%
Crime in Portugal
Top of Form
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# 20 / Japan: / 15.2%
Crime in Japan
Top of Form
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Weighted average: / 22.4%

Crime Statistics > Prisoners > Per capita (most recent) by country

DEFINITION: Data for 2003. Number of prisoners held per 100,000 population.

VIEW DATA: / Totals
/ DefinitionSourcePrintable version
Bar Graph / Map / Correlations

Showing latest available data.

Rank / Countries / Amount
# 1 / United States: / 715 per 100,000 people
Crime in United States
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Bottom of Form
# 2 / Russia: / 584 per 100,000 people
Crime in Russia
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 3 / Belarus: / 554 per 100,000 people
Crime in Belarus
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Bottom of Form
# 4 / Palau: / 523 per 100,000 people
Crime in Palau
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 5 / Belize: / 459 per 100,000 people
Crime in Belize
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
# 6 / Suriname: / 437 per 100,000 people
Crime in Suriname
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# 7 / Dominica: / 420 per 100,000 people
Crime in Dominica
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# 8 / Ukraine: / 416 per 100,000 people
Crime in Ukraine
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# 9 / Bahamas, The: / 410 per 100,000 people
Crime in Bahamas, The
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# 10 / South Africa: / 402 per 100,000 people
Crime in South Africa
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# 11 / Kyrgyzstan: / 390 per 100,000 people
Crime in Kyrgyzstan
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# 12 / Singapore: / 388 per 100,000 people
Crime in Singapore
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Bottom of Form
# 13 / Kazakhstan: / 386 per 100,000 people
Crime in Kazakhstan
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Bottom of Form
# 14 / Barbados: / 367 per 100,000 people
Crime in Barbados
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# 15 / Panama: / 354 per 100,000 people
Crime in Panama
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# 16 / Trinidad and Tobago: / 351 per 100,000 people
Crime in Trinidad and Tobago
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# 17 / Thailand: / 340 per 100,000 people
Crime in Thailand
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= 18 / Latvia: / 339 per 100,000 people
Crime in Latvia
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
= 18 / Estonia: / 339 per 100,000 people
Crime in Estonia
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
  1. It costs too much to go abroad while in school. SEMESTER ABROAD OPTION

(Click on semester abroad grid)

Sample TOTAL costs above the cost of staying at BSU for one semester abroad at various locations where we have agreements for exchanges:

($551.00)($579.00)($551.00)($226.00)($226.00)($4,437.00) ($3,996.00) ($1,204.00) ($858.00) ($690.00) ($3,709.00) ($4,107.00) ($4,302.00)

  1. Must take one prep course to go abroad offered in international studies
  2. Must take two ‘face courses’ at site…for BSU general education credit
  3. Must take at least 6 credits (your choice) online from BSU while there
  4. When on semester abroad, you are a full-time BSU student/financial aid eligible

  1. It costs too much to go abroad while in school. WORK ABROAD OPTION
  1. One semester
  2. Air, visa, apartment, utilities paid
  3. Must have own insurance
  4. $500 U.S./month stipend
  5. Teach English for CIBT
  6. May take two courses each semester on site or via online at BSU while teaching (half time BSU student status is possible)
  1. It’s too complicated

Contact: Sanjeev Phukan, (professor of business) for semester abroad information; Amna Al-Arfaj (international recruiter) for study abroad and international program center assistance/information.