A quick survey of the dreary Vestal hills surrounding Binghamton University is enough to make any Bearcat long for a chance to study in another country.

To enroll in a study abroad program, students should be starting to look at their options and the suitable applications soon. Whether it be for the summer or fall 2006 sessions, or even for spring 2007, a trip to the Office of International Programs is advisable.

According to Margarita Poutouridou, the study abroad advisor, the deadlines for most programs are in early to late March.

“If you were a student and you wanted to go study abroad in the fall, then you probably would have wanted to start working on your application in the fall semester that just ended because most of our deadlines, at least for the Binghamton programs, are 1 1/2 months into the fall semester,” she said.

Many students spend the early part of the semester acclimating to being back on campus, but now is the time to focus on choosing a program and starting the application process.

To successfully obtain a spot in the the program of your choice, Poutouridou recommends knowing what you’re getting yourself into. She suggests gathering information about costs, housing and courses as quickly as possible. Many students who have been accepted, she said, are unable to go because they did not anticipate the price of studying abroad.

Most programs (organized through the SUNY system) are $2,000 – $5,000 more than tuition at Binghamton because of the added costs of flights and living. It is cheaper, Poutouridou noted, to study in another country through an exchange program, which involves switching places with a student at another university. While scholarships are available, they are typically awarded for the purpose of studying another language or culture.

Students who have studied abroad say that immersion in another culture is one of the greatest benefits of the experience.

In addition to filling out the basic uniform “biographical” forms that are required for studying abroad, there may be additional forms that are specific to the program that you are interested in. Whether you are applying to a Binghamton program or one organized by another SUNY, Poutouridou recommends that “you should stay in contact with that office continually while applying.”

Besides these forms, an essay, your transcript and professor recommendations (typically two for a full semester and one for summer programs) are required. If you’re a transfer student, you’ll need to contact your previous university to get your transcript as well.

These steps may all seem pretty standard to anyone who has ever applied to college, but the extra step for study abroad requires time. According to Poutouridou, thinking ahead about study abroad means that “the academic advisor has enough time to look at the course descriptions overseas and tell you what kind of requirements those courses would fulfill if you were to transfer them.”

Derrik Fox, who has studied in London at Huron University and is now in the stages of applying to Bosphorous University’s summer program in Turkey, is interested in studying overseas to “improve” himself.

Fox, a junior history major, said that the application is “complicated, and there are a lot of parts to it,” but he was looking forward to going to Istanbul, “one of the cultural crossroads on the face of the earth.”

The program at Bosphorous University is one of several in Turkey and Morocco that Poutouridou said are popular because students can study in English while still being in a foreign country. Programs in the United Kingdom and Australia are also popular because American students are less comfortable with studying in foreign languages.

“The London program is always very popular because it’s a very, very good program in one of the most interesting capitals in Europe. It’s an English language program, and it’s closely related to the University,” she said.

Poutouridou said that students should visit www.studyabroad.com/suny, or the Office of International Programs as soon as possible for more information on study abroad.