Off-Campus Studies Fever
Off-Campus Studies, or OCS, is one of those topics that’s always floating around at Carleton. Throughout my first term, I caught snippets of these experiences all the time. “I just got accepted into my Ecology program in South America!” I remember hearing one day in class. “One of my senior friends went on that program and had a blast,” someone responded. After my first winter break, I came back to campus and met many Carls who had been abroad in the Fall. Most of them were more than happy to talk about their adventures and memories. By the end of the term, I had made a decision: I wanted to go on OCS! With so many great options, I had to start thinking about which one was best for me.
Decisions, Decisions
By opting to go as a Sophomore, I wanted to use my time abroad as an extension of the liberal arts “exploration period.” While I was leaning towards a STEM major, I was open to trying out a program in a totally unrelated field. I knew for sure, though, that I wanted to study in a German-speaking area. My passion for the language was really amplified after taking GERM 267: Catastrophe! Natural Disaster in German Literature during my freshman fall. I used every chance I could to absorb the language, but felt I had reached a plateau.
Going to a German speaking country and getting an extra layer of immersion seemed like it should be my next move. My search process began at the OCS office, where I found pamphlets and other information for upcoming programs. I learned that Carleton offers a German Studies OCS in Vienna, but it wouldn’t be offered until the next spring. As a spring athlete, going in the fall would make more sense. The next step was to start looking at non-Carleton programs.
Ich bin ein Freiburger (“I am a Freiburger”)
After a week of exploring programs and weighing all my options, I landed on IES Abroad Environmental Studies in Freiburg, Germany. The Semester-long program included Environmental Science courses taught in English. In addition, it also had German language and culture modules taught at the Universität Freiburg. Learning about a new subject and studying my chosen language, all while getting to be immersed in the culture? Count me in!
After being accepted to the program, I filled out an OCS form for Carleton. This allowed me to transfer my Carleton financial aid to cover the program costs. Any student can do this once for a non-Carleton OCS, like I did, or as many times as they’d like for Carleton-lead programs. Once that was done, all that was left was to pack!
