Talking to Family About Studying Abroad
Estimated 5 minute read
So, you’ve decided that you want to study abroad. Congratulations! Study abroad is such a valuable opportunity as it rapidly shifts your world view as well as opens the door to career opportunities that you may not have otherwise had available to you. The only problem? How do you convince your parents? Here are our top 5 tips to consider when opening the conversation about study abroad with loved ones.
Consider their perspective: Your parents may not have had the opportunity to travel abroad themselves. This can make it more difficult for them to understand why you want to. Open the conversation by explain your interest to them.
Emphasize academics: While you are explaining your interest, be sure to emphasize the academic and career benefits early on. For example, if you are applying for a Speech Train program, highlight the clinical internship, language immersion, on time graduation, great resume builder, international networking opportunities and mentorship.
Demonstrate your personal priority for safety: You will always be their baby. For this reason, the topic of safety is likely to be one of their first concerns. Make it known that you are also prioritizing your own personal safety. Share program safety rules as well as rules that you have decided upon for yourself. Preferred safety strategies vary from person to person. Take time to think through this for yourself before you open the conversation with your loved ones. Common examples are as follows: I plan to pack modest clothing in an effort to better assimilate to the culture, share my location with xxx people, travel via Uber only + share my rides with you, store cash if different areas of my luggage, refrain from going anywhere alone, etc.
Build your safety plan together: In our experience, this conversation always goes better if it is more of a dialogue than a debate. To achieve this, ask to hear their thoughts and concerns about the study abroad program you have in mind and actively listen to their responses. Invite them to create a safety plan with you. Share your ideas around prioritizing your own safety from step 3 to get the conversation started. Some common family safety plans include: share your location with select family and friends while abroad, identify a code word you will use when texting so they know it’s you, have a quick phone call every night, provide select family/friends with the contact information of the program and university directors, etc.
Highlight program supports: One of the main benefits of participating in an exchange program while traveling abroad is the built in safety support structure. For example, Speech Train programs include continual support while you are in country by connecting you with a community, orienting you to your host country, as needed supports related to sickness, etc.
Summarize + determine next steps: After talking through all of the above topics, recap the long term benefits of the opportunity, the safety plan, and then determine the next steps (i.e. reaching out to the program or university head for an informational welcome packet, researching the city, checking flights, etc).
There are many different ways to have this conversation. Whichever you choose we encourage you to remain open and understanding of the concerns that your family members raise, while respectfully sharing your motivations with them. You’ll notice that the first few suggested tips focus on your rationale and the academic/career benefits of participating in a study abroad program (good), the next focus on your parents concerns and problem solving together (hard), and the last step recaps the benefits and keeps the ball moving forward by determining some action steps (good). The therapeutic “good-hard-good” conversational sandwich style is a great structure to try when speaking with hesitant family members about a study abroad opportunity.
Self advocacy is a difficult skill that requires practice. You’ve got this! We’re rooting for you.
