Even with temperatures expected to be in the 60s, The Center for International Studies: TCU Abroad has planned to take extra steps to encourage students to come out to Monday’s Study Abroad Fair.

Alexis Branaman, the coordinator for study abroad, said they ordered five gallons of hot chocolate to hand out to students at the fair. Marshmallows and whipped cream will be available too she said.

Branaman said she hoped for a good turn out, similar to last fall’s.

“We had close to 300 students come through, and that is exactly what we are looking for (this year), she said.”

The Study Abroad Fair is a more convenient way for students to come and get detailed information on any program they may have a question about, Branaman said.

“They can also meet other students and figure out who else might be looking at programs they are interested in,” she said.

Study abroad alumni are also going to attend the fair to help prospective students by answering any questions they might have, Branaman said.

Junior Ridge McLeod said he studied abroad in Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2010.

“I wanted to experience meeting a whole bunch of people who are from an entirely different walk of life,” McLeod said.

Although he said he did not attend a study abroad fair before his trip, he felt students interested in studying abroad should.

“It is the best decision they could possibly make,” he said.

Senior Taylor Midkiff also studied abroad in Australia and New Zealand last summer.

“I just feel like you have to take the opportunity while you can in college,” he said. “After college, it gets hard to just pick up and go at the drop of a hat,” he said.

After his experience, Midkiff said he would advise students to do a lot of planning before studying abroad.

“There are a lot of details that go into (a trip like this) and (those) can definitely sneak up on you,” he said.

Branaman said her main hope for students studying abroad is that they come back with a more rounded education, more flexibility and more confidence to pursue any goal they might have.

“What we tend to find with students when they come back, is the phrase you hear all the time, that studying abroad changed (their) life,” she said. “And that may sound like a line that you would just use for promotional material, but what it comes down to is it really is how our students feel.

“They come back with a totally different sense of self and a totally different sense of a ability for being able to pursue things that maybe they thought would have been impossible before,” she said.

Study Abroad Fair

Scharbauer Hall first floor lobby

Monday, Feb. 14

12 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Free hot chocolate will be provided.

Also Monday- Campus passport processing services

Date: Monday, Feb. 14

Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Reed Hall, Room 214

What is needed: Proof of United States citizenship, valid drivers license, two separate checks

Total cost: $155 ($35 district clerk fee, $110 application fee)

Additional questions: e-mail [email protected]