Returning Students - Education Abroad Alumni
Welcome back! We hope you had a wonderful study abroad experience and are happy to be home. We know it can be difficult to adjust to life back in the U.S and you may have mixed feelings about the upcoming months. Binghamton, or whichever town you have returned to, might seem boring or strange (or cold) after your time abroad, or you may feel pressure about returning to school or planning for your next steps after college. You may find it difficult to get used to being home, and you may even need to adjust to things that should seem familiar, including family, friends, and/or food. You might feel nostalgic about aspects of your adopted culture abroad, and you may miss friends you made during your program. If you are feeling any or all of these things, don’t worry—this experience is so common there’s a name for it: Reverse Culture Shock!
When you return to campus, feel free to call on us to help you settle back in. We're eager to hear about your experiences and are happy to assist you during this period of adjustment. We've provided some more information below on what it's like to come back home, how to remain connected to international groups and activities, how to use the learning during your experience abroad to support your next career steps, and some additional resources in the handbook pieces below. There is also some useful notes about returning below the handbooks.
If you are student at another school, contact your institution's study abroad office regarding any additional resources for their returning study abroad students.
Transcripts, Grades and Credits
- the different academic schedules and processing times of partner universities abroad
- any delinquencies or debts owed by the student to the foreign university
- processing times and policies at other SUNY schools (for Binghamton University students on other-SUNY programs; and SUNY students on Binghamton's programs)
Review Binghamton University's education abroad Academic Policies. Make sure your understand the policies regarding the transfer of grades and credits from abroad--the policies are different for different types of programs. Make sure you have talked to the appropriate offices and advisors and have done the necessary legwork to make your grades count! If you are a student at a school other than Binghamton, make sure you understand the academic policies at your home campus. If you have reviewed the information online and still have questions about how grades or credits work: contact our office by phone at 607-777-2336 or by email.
We encourage you to complete and submit an online program evaluation form; the link is available in your online application account once your program ends. Your evaluation is very important and helps us provide the highest quality experiences for students. We review the evaluations closely and use them to adjust program advising and design. Students planning to study abroad use your evaluations to help them make decisions.
Options Available to Binghamton University students:
Conversation Pairs Program
Remember how eager you were to meet students in the country where you studied? Binghamton's international students are just as eager to meet Americans who will be interested in learning more about them. The conversation pairs program is one way to help. You can be paired with an international student to help improve his/her English speaking skills while you get to expand your own international horizons -visit their website to learn more!
Education Abroad Ambassador Program
Are you interested in helping other students find out about education abroad? Consider becoming an ambassador -- visit our webpage here for more information.
Education Abroad Fairs
We hold an Education Abroad Fair at the beginning of each semester, and we always depend on our student volunteers! Whether you attended a Binghamton, SUNY or non-SUNY program, come help staff a table, share your experiences and provide insight and advice to other students! Email iegi@binghamton.edu if you are interested in volunteering for this event.