The 3 Reasons Why I Chose CIMBA
Written by Mikaela January 14, 2016
CIMBA Campus
The Many Study Abroad Pamphlets
Passport to Italy
U.S.A to Italy
To say “yes” to study abroad is exciting and for the most part easy. But when I needed to pick an actual study abroad program out of a handful of program pamphlets, the choice become overwhelming! Especially when I wanted to travel while already abroad, graduate on time, and maintain focus on coursework and personal development while abroad. With those three goals in mind, I spent many “study breaks” researching the numerous program options to understand what each program offered and how they were structured. After all of my research, I have been increasingly eager to fly to Italy! So this is why I choose to study with CIMBA:
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Travel Encouraged
The CIMBA staff realizes students are not in Italy to only bury their noses in text books, but also to explore the history and culture of Italy and the many neighboring countries. The staff not only helps encourage weekend travel for students, but gives they students two extended weekends and a spring break to travel. And yes moms and dads, the professors and their courses are still set up to be rigorous and teach students everything that is on our syllabi. The great part about CIMBA is that they will combine teaching intellectually stimulating courses and support cultural development through travel.
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U.S. College but Placed in Italy
I feel I can speak for many college students when I say graduating on time (meaning not racking up more tuition debt) is important when choosing a studying abroad program. What’s nice about CIMBA is that it is run through the University of Iowa and is placed right in the mountain of Italy. For students, this means not only are all of the classes taught in English, but they meet U.S. academic standards and have a higher probability of being transferable back to students’ home universities as major/minor classes and not as just elective credits. Another benefit of CIMBA being a U.S. program is the semesters abroad aligns with semesters in the U.S. This means that students can be back to the U.S. before their next home university semester or their new summer internship starts.
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Support through It All
What would you want to focus on while preparing to study abroad and while you are finally in the foreign country that you will live and travel through? Transportation to your host college? How you will get your books across seas? Or, how you will reflect on your experiences in a way that will benefit you most? For me, I didn’t want to focus on these kind of details. I wanted to focus my energy and time on my new courses, weekend travel plans, and interacting with the local community. CIMBA has a great support system for all of their students so they don’t have to completely focus on technical details. As just a couple of examples, CIMBA sets up free transportation from the airport to campus and has all textbooks waiting for students on campus. Then once at CIMBA, there are leadership development courses. These courses are called LEAP and LIFE and they are in place to help students learn more about themselves and reflect efficiently on what they are learning and experiencing during their time living in a new country.
There are many other factors when choosing a study abroad program. Traveling while already in Europe, graduating on time, and being able to focus more on personal development are the priorities most important to me. As my departure to historic Italy draws close, I look forward to experiencing the other great aspects CIMBA has to offer while on and off campus.
What is most important to you when choosing a study abroad program? I hope my research into CIMBA can help you start your search for the perfect study abroad program!
– Mikaela
Blogger: Mikaela, University of Minnesota
