While abroad with Stanford, I found myself often discontent with program. The course list I was initially given to choose panned out to be much smaller than what I had initially hoped for, and the living experience felt decaffeinated and unnatural.

I had chosen the wrong program.

Let me be clear – the country I was in had nothing to do with it. The standard of living was not the issue, nor was the culture, the people I encountered, or the city itself.

Rather, the issue was the BOSP-style of studying abroad.

Without any doubt, Stanford, through BOSP, offers an impressively diverse choice of countries in which we can study, and this was a crucial factor in choosing this school. I knew where I wanted to study abroad even before coming to Stanford, and was very excited when beginning my studies knowing I could fulfill this desire.

And yet I messed up. How could that be?

It seems that studying abroad is largely a “must-do” at Stanford, as it is, of course, a valuable experience that we can and should take advantage of. This leads to many students scanning BOSP’s list of countries like the choices on a menu, weighing the requirements, the prices, the expected “fun”, the courses (sometimes), and the expected difficulty of studies and of adapting to the culture.

However, BOSP is not always the best choice for many.

The listed courses before applying are often not the actuality of course offerings, as I had to learn. Non of the courses I had wanted were in the end offered, nor were they with many foreign students, and I was left with little choice besides alternatives such as academic internships, courses offered at other institutions, and an independent study.

After arriving in the program, I felt duped and regretted my decision.

BOSP is a great option of studying abroad briefly and securely. By this I mean that it is a great way of transferring the feel of Stanford across the ocean in order to taste a new culture.

But it is strictly that – a transfer of the Stanford bubble, if you will, to another setting. BOSP does everything it can to facilitate the process and make students “comfortable”, or, in other words, isolate you from a fuller cultural immersion, choosing instead to baby-feed it in small increments or excursions.

In fact, BOSP rarely actually involves full collaboration with local universities, other than the new Istanbul’s Koç  University pairing now offered, and instead places students in isolated studying, living, and socializing environments.

Describing the new Istanbul program, BOSP stated that despite (as if to correct a fault) being at a Turkish university, Stanford students could expect 90% of the professors receiving the PhD’s from the States.

The idea is that they will get you abroad, but fear not, for it will be just like America.

This is not cultural immersion. Even in homestays, the living experience is propagated through families who are being paid and who are quite accustomed to foreign students on a quarterly basis such that what one is experiencing is actual a bizarre form of a bed and breakfast.

Sure, this can be enriching in itself, and largely suited to many who wish to learn a language. Yet, as many have discovered, this method of living also isolated them from meeting other locals.

BOSP compensates by providing young students/guides throughout the program who accompany you, but again, these students are being paid to do so and the experience is far from local.

What many students, myself included, fail to realize is that BOSP is not necessarily the desired abroad experience.

When asked how their time abroad was, students often reply “Amazing!” and yet often admit they didn’t make many friends there, or that they merely made new Stanford friends.

Take a look at Facebook – almost all the photos are just of other Stanford students at bars, museums, or monuments.

And yet you want to go abroad? Then by all means, go!

But know that there are many other options available besides BOSP; the magic word is “Non-Stanford” study abroad. Many prestigious schools, both from the US and the local universities, offer programs for students that are more immersive, housing you in university dorms and offering local courses, while many also maintain the excursions and cultural activities.

Choose your experience like you would choose your meal without looking at the menu in a restaurant. What do you want? If BOSP doesn’t have it, look elsewhere, don’t just satisfice.

Sure, BOSP is often the only option when considering unit-requirements or financial issues. But other programs offer a multitude of scholarships, even in full, and you can have these units transferred back to Stanford.

Think carefully if BOSP is right for you (which it really is for many, especially those who can’t spare much deviation from their studies, and those with little time or prior language knowledge).

If it isn’t, look elsewhere.

Contact Kevin Rouff at [email protected]