The Study Abroad Journal: Your Roadmap to an Epic Experience Abroad

Having an epic experience abroad begins with focusing on what you most want to achieve, how you want to impress professors and future employers, and outlining action items that will get you there.

This Journal helps you go beyond the superficial tasks and basic country-hopping that make many study abroad experiences less than impressive to professors, grad school committees, parents, and future employers.

Built from proven goal-setting, action planning, and productivity principles and strategies, the Study Abroad Journal is designed to help you transform your experience beyond “it was awesome” to create a study abroad experience that is both meaningful for your personal and academic development and game-changing for your career and life.

COLLECT YOUR MEMORIES: When you study abroad, you might be sharing elements of your experience across multiple platforms, social media channels, and with different audiences. The Study Abroad Journal is for you to capture all your thoughts, goals, reflections, and experiences in one place. You’ll walk away with a beautiful keepsake that you can return to again and again.

MEASURE THE VALUE OF YOUR STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE: Study abroad ain't cheap. This Journal gives you the power to design a powerful study abroad experience that will pay out huge dividends (this is called ROI or Return on Investment). If you follow our plan, you’ll have tangible, measurable knowledge, skills, and experience to leverage in your future career.

TRACK PROGRESS TOWARD YOUR GOALS: Study abroad is about having a great time, learning a lot, and evolving as a global citizen. But it’s hard to see how far you’ve come if you don’t track as you go. The Journal will help you understand where you want to go, how to get there, and keep you on track.

DO MORE THAN (JUST) PARTY: Hey, we know you’re going to have a fun time. You absolutely should! But students often struggle to show that they did much more than “have a good time.” The Study Abroad Journal will help you dive deeper into your experience and walk away with some fun memories and some tangible, super impressive learning outcomes as well.

OWN YOUR EXPERIENCE: While your program may have been planned by someone else, you have the power to make your experience meaningful. Your Journal will help you explain what you learned, how you grew, and what skills you will carry to your next adventure and your future career. All designed by you.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU REALLY WANT: What do you want to say you did/accomplished when you return? How will you impress future employers, grad school admissions officers, or even mom and dad? We’re all about reverse-engineering your study abroad program so you can stay focused on what is important to you. First, you’ll zero in on your end goals, then you’ll make a plan for how to get there.

GO FROM AWESOME TO EPIC: Most study abroad students come home and say “it was awesome!” and they can’t seem to tease out why. Your Journal will help you tease out the value of your experience and articulate it in a meaningful way to your parents, professors, friends, future employers, and perhaps some future dates.