England France Germany Mexico Tasmania
Monterrey
Rahul Rao, Senior, Mechanical Engineering
Hopefully you will decide to study abroad, and hopefully my testimony will
help alleviate some of your doubts. It’s definitely an awesome experience and if
you have even the slightest desire to do it, you owe it to yourself to go. I
traveled to Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico. I wanted to take classes
that would count toward my major, but at the same time I wanted to focus on
learning Spanish and the culture. I took five classes: Machine Elements Design
and Matrices (in English), and Spanish for Business, Culture of Mexico, and
Spanish Language (in Spanish). This way, I still had some classes that would
count towards engineering and I would have enough free time to travel and learn
the language. You can take a full engineering load abroad, although I would
strongly advise against it. In my opinion it takes away from being able to make
friends, chill, and learn another culture. Monterrey Tech is, in fact, a member
of GE-3, but also has a direct agreement with our school. I applied for GE-3
with the hope of winning some of their scholarships, but if you aren’t looking
for the money, you can apply directly and save yourself from having to do the GE3
application too, and you will still be attending a GE3 school.
I lived with a host family.
It worked out well for me for two reasons: It was the
cheapest option, and it aided my goal of practicing my Spanish. Other options
were to get an apartment or live in the dorms. My favorite experience was
traveling. The bus system here in Mexico is stellar and you can go anywhere for
pretty low fares. Hostels are plentiful and you can eat and sleep for
dirt-cheap. The only bad thing is that Monterrey is far from the popular
destinations, but you can hop on an overnight bus, sleep, and be in some port of
call or fast paced city in the morning. For the most part the people are very
friendly. The international students come from around the world and are really
cool.
If you are worried about the cost, there are lots of scholarships. UT has the International Education Scholarship. Plus, I would recommend applying for the Rotary Club and even governmental scholarships. But you have to start this process one year in advance. Also, your current scholarships should still work and you can apply for financial aid.
Make sure you get all your questions answered and feel free to contact me for more info: raor@mail.utexas.edu. Good luck abroad!
Are you an Engineering student who has studied abroad? Would you like to share your experiences here? Let us know! Contact Audra Sneed or Elizabeth Vondran in the Office of Student Affairs, ECJ 2.200, (512) 471-4321.