Studying abroad can be the trip of a lifetime for students by allowing them to experience a different country.

Waynesburg University is offering a wide range of study abroad options for the 2018-2019 school year, and the deadline to apply is approaching.

Although students can apply for the Study Abroad Program at any time during the year, March 1 is the deadline to apply for the next school year’s Fall or Spring semesters.

Sarah Bell, advisor of the Study Abroad Program, said Waynesburg University has partnerships with organizations and universities around the world.

Students who want to study abroad will have a wide variety of options to choose from, and they are always looking to give students more options.

“The opportunities are broken down by major or by location so that students can really try to gage which is the best fit for them,” said Bell.

The program includes possible locations such as Australia, England, Spain, New Zealand and others.

Although studying in another country is expensive, according to Bell, Waynesburg is doing its best to allow students the opportunity to study abroad, while alleviating some of the substantial expenses that come with traveling to and living in another country.

The university selects 10 students from those who have submitted their applications for the program.

Those students will be able to keep their institutional aid for wherever they choose to study.

“So, if they selected one of our partner universities, and they filled out the application on time, students would be eligible to take the institutional aid as well as their federal and state aid,” said Bell.

Bell added that Waynesburg University is somewhat unique in that aspect, as many other universities don’t allow students to take their institutional aid with them.

“I hope that [money] is not a deterrent to any student that wants to study abroad,” said Bell.

In order to apply, students must have a GPA of 3.0 or more and be in good standing with the university.

Senior psychology major Marla Holland is a Global Ambassador for her program,

International Studies Abroad. Holland works with Bell to get people aware of and interested in the study abroad program on campus.

As a student who studied abroad in Australia last summer, Holland said her goal is to help other students prepare to have their own unique experiences in different countries by helping them one-on-one with the application process and telling them about her experiences and what to expect.

For Holland, students must always be on their guard, and be ready to take advantage of the experience.

“Be on your toes at all times and just be open and willing to learn and just take in a whole new experience,” said

Holland.  “It’s not something you’re going to see all the time. It’s super exciting.”

A final study abroad interest meeting before the application deadline will take place Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m. in the student organization room on the second floor of Stover Campus Center.

The application for the program can be found in the Study Abroad tab in myConnect.