Studying abroad offers many unexpected opportunities. It gives students the chance to explore a new culture and part of the world that may never have been accessible before. However, it can be a challenge to balance school projects and responsibilities with time exploring the local and nearby cities. Study abroad classes offered during the summer are usually on some sort of fast track. The professors need to cram a semester’s worth of material into a month or two. That creates more pressure for the student to meet every assignment deadline. This blog includes some tips that helped me while studying abroad for a month in Ireland.
The first thing I do when I receive my course schedules is add all the assignments to my google calendar and planner. This helps me to see everything together with chronological deadlines. After putting it in my planner, I also schedule at least one workday per week. The workday is a day set aside to grind out any projects that are due that week. It can also help alleviate any stress that might follow you on your excursions.
If an entire day is not something that will work, you could also try separating your classes and working in the time between them. I took two classes this past summer and had an hour and a half break in between them where I ate my lunch and worked on the most immediate projects.
Another thing I did to spread out my workload was work while traveling. If we had a two-hour train, plane, ferry or bus ride, I brought my computer and Dramamine so I could complete a few assignments each way.
It is important to remember that, although you are abroad in an exciting new place, you are still there to receive class credit. Talk with your teachers immediately if something is unmanageable or due too soon. Professors for these classes are flexible and will work with students to create deadlines that are attainable. In fact, a few of my assignments were set to be due after I arrived back in the United States to give us time to create well-researched work.