by Nune Gazdhyan
Staff Writer
At the University of La Verne, students are not bound to traditional forms of education alone. Through the Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA) program and the University’s own study abroad program, students can spend a semester or year learning alongside students in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
This fall there are 15 students abroad, and three of them will be staying for spring as well. In the spring there will be a total of 11 students studying abroad.
“This is the largest number of students we have studying abroad in five to six years,” said Dr. Al Clark, director of the study abroad program.
The application deadline for the fall or entire year was April 10 and was Oct. 25 for spring. The process itself is a fairly simple one. There is a one-page application form, a short essay, four letters of recommendation, transcripts and a certificate of health required.
A committee is called together to determine and evaluate the candidates. This spring five students were denied. One failed to complete the application, two had low grade point averages (GPA) and two were sophomores. Due to lack of space, priority was given to upperclassmen.
“We prefer juniors and seniors because we know they have adjusted to college and are more likely to adjust to a different country,” said Dr. Clark.
The criteria to study abroad includes a minimum GPA of 2.5, which is increased to 3.0 for BCA participants. Also, certified proficiency in certain languages is required for some countries.
“I went abroad to Spain last year. I thought that since I know Spanish it was going to be easier for me to adjust, but I was wrong. It was a very challenging experience, because where I was people spoke a different dialect,” said junior Liz Rodarte.
Students can apply their financial aid toward the study abroad program. Total fees are similar to the cost of education on campus and includes expenses for orientations prior to the trip, as well as historical and cultural site-seeing trips abroad.
Every program, except the one in Mexico, has a BCA or ULV director/professor on site so students always have someone they can connect with.
“Our students usually want to go to places where they can speak English. Seventy-five percent go to either Greece or England,” said Dr. Clark.
