TOP PICKS CAPA London and Florence Program CAPA programs are designed to be fully inclusive and therefore affordable to all types of students.  The University of Minnesota provides transfer credit for both courses and internships. Our special blend of academic and experiential education gives you the best possible in-class and out-of-class learning experience.  Enrolment open for Spring and Summer 2008! Low cost study abroad. Earn college credit. Europe, Asia, Latin America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Wales. Review program details on our website. Register online. No registration fee required. Discover the world with Center for Study Abroad info@centerforstudyabroad.org - Join us! CIEE provides over 100 study abroad programs in 35 countries and 40 subject areas. Earn credit for courses in business, science, humanities -- and everything in between. Go for a semester, a year, or a summer.       www.ciee.org      studyinfo@ciee.org     1.800.40.STUDY USAC offers summer, semester and yearlong programs in 25 countries, 39 program locations! Earn university credit in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Chinese languages and other courses including culture, art history, business, political science, anthropology, ecology and more. www.usac.unr.edu or usac@unr.edu Featured Content Study Abroad in Italy is more than study abroad Italian in Pisa. We took our standard leaning with the tower, holding the tower up and being squished by the tower while taking pictures. All just before the area was closed for the day. While tourists from every country filtered off the government-cut green lawns and in to the government-subsidized yellow buses, we had only been in Pisa for an hour, and we weren't about to leave. To the right of this monolithic thing everyone makes a fuss about is a cleared area just big enough for it to fall with not so much as a thud. Well, maybe a little thud. Nonetheless, we detoured away from the touring sheep and headed to the right. There we found ourselves in a Pisa most of the world has never seen for our study abroad in Italy opportunity. More than finding the Europe we expected, it was the Europe we wanted to see. There is a river that goes straight through the city and it's clear; it actually reflects the buildings it surrounds and the people who live there actually sing by it- for fun. I was in Pisa for a day. I was in studying abroad in Italy for a year. I will be traveling for a lifetime. So you're thinking about study abroad in Italy . You may have your doubts because you've heard crazy rumors about people not taking showers, only wearing colored socks and one-armed bandits who mug you in broad daylight, and their gypsy friends who take what is left. Well, they are all true. But seriously, myths about finding study abroad programs in Italy are 99% false. Don't let stereotypes stop you from spending a semester or year in another country learning a new language, meeting people you would never have met. If you are in college, you won't be behind a year if you spend a year studying abroad in Italy , you will find the classes that needed to transfer, and you will like the food - eventually. I changed majors in my sophomore year in college, spent a year in Spain taking almost identical classes as those at UCIrvine, and still graduated in four years. I even took classes I didn't have to take which added coals to the fire when applying for jobs. Now graduated, I have a good job, partly because of the year abroad, and my fluency in Spanish I acquired overseas. If you are seriously considering a year studying abroad or have already made plans to do so, there are probably hundreds of questions spinning in your head. It would take a couple of pages to answer them all, but visiting key informational resources will help. First, visit your campus' center for international education and ask them about their opportunities for studying in other countries. Then make an appointment with an international counselor or international peer advisor, who have studied or worked abroad. They can give valuable information on applying for a study abroad program. Be forewarned: Studying abroad will be the best decision you make, but meeting deadlines and a willingness to study abroad are imperative. Remember that you represent your school overseas. Aside from campus offices, there are numerous other colleges, university, and well-established private organizations that offer study abroad programs, most of which transfer to UC and CSU schools. This information is available in your campus' international center or see the book review section for other directories. Following is a short preparation breakdown. Keep in mind that not all places operate the same, so for more country specific questions, go to the travel bookstore and buy a good travel guide (see book review) to help the process. VISAS: work/study You should go to your country's consulate in your city to get your visa. There are documents to be filled out and they can take up to 8 weeks to process. All countries will issue you a 3 month tourist visa. Yeah, you are going for longer than that, but after you are in your host country for about 3 months, your study program will provide the proper paperwork to extend for the year. Your TOURIST visa will become a STUDENT visa. Generally you cannot be a student and get paying work in a foreign country at the same time. Talk to your consulate if you feel you are a special case, but they often don't budge on this one. There are plenty of ways to get a job once you arrive: being creative will take you furthest. There are plenty of books that can help, in the United States, and wherever you end up. HOUSING Many study abroad programs will help you arrange your housing for that first month. After that, it's all you. Don't get worried. Looking for a place will be one of the most interesting experiencing you will have all year and you will probably have stories to last a lifetime. Many apartment buildings outside of the United States are very welcoming to Americans. They want to learn just as much about you as you do about them. Your program will probably lead you in the right direction to find your own housing, but with all the friends you make in such a short time you will find that you can do much more on you own than you think. A great way to find a place is to pick up the classified ads or look for special publications that only list available apartments in the area. When you call, let the owner know you are studying for the year so he/she doesn't think you are just some crazy foreigner. When you finally look at the place, ask questions you think you would never have to ask. Is there a curfew for the building? How many people can I have over at one time? Is there a washing machine? A phone? Can I dial out? Some of these questions may not even pertain to your place, but it doesn't hurt to ask.