Home Travelogue Travel Blog Directory Travel Photos Travel Q and A
Global College, LIU is Priceless, response to question:
Hello Dalena,
To start out, I suppose I have to say that the study abroad education which I received in
Global College is priceless. The skills that I learned in that school and the
experiences that I had are incomparable with any other educational institution
in the world . It is this special knowledge and experience that I feel sets
Global College students apart from the fray of other graduates after graduation.
Global College is not just about the "formal" education that you receive in the
classroom but also the subsequent personal skills that come from living in
foreign lands, learning other languages, and doing fieldwork projects that teach
you HOW to set out and achieve a goal on your own. I believe that it was the
more subtle, environmentally learned education that I received in Global College
that made it worth the price tag. I am currently over $60,000 in debt, but I
believe that what I received for this money makes it worth it.
It was very difficult for me to finance my education through Global College. I
was a financially independent student and did not receive any support from my
family, so it was a continuous battle to come up with the funds to pay for my
education each year. But I did manage to do it. I won a rather large Freeman
Asia scholarship one semester and a Gilman scholarship for another. I also put a
lot of pressure on LIU financial aid as well as Global College to always give me
the maximum amount of financial aid and grant support each year. Honestly, it
was a lot of work obtaining the monetary resources to be educated at Global
College, but I feel that the effort which I put into this subtly taught me a lot
of good life skills that I will always take with me. Namely, I learn
determination and the drive to not give up or to take no for an answer; I
learned that anything is possible if I work hard enough. It is more these
environmentally learned personal skills that will enable me to pay back my loans
(although the formal classroom instruction is also high quality).
In my years in Global College I learned how to put together and conduct a large
research project in Japan, how to care for myself through studying Chinese
Medicine in China, how to speak Chinese, the process of doing a journalism
project in India, how to work with a publisher through the Cafe Abroad
internship in Morocco, Portugal, and Central America, as well as a dozen other
real life skills that I can utilize throughout everything that I intend to do in
my future work and study. I was also able to make contacts and to gain real work
experience that has opened a whole world of opportunity to me that I would not
have had otherwise. I did well in Global College in large part because I went
into each semester knowing what I wanted to achieve and I did not need to be
lead through every step of my education.
Global College is not a conventional university by any means, and if you want to
take control of your studies and use the resources of the school to the fullest,
then you will do really well. Global College provides students with an
educational base in anthropology, language, and writing skills, and then the
student is expected to consolidate their learning and expand from it. There is
absolutely no limit on what you can do in this school. The world is your
classroom, and what you do everyday, all day long, is a part of your education.
My experiences in convention university (I have been to 7 of them haha) is that
the educational exchange is give and take: the professor gives you information
and the student takes it, and that is the end of the intercourse. In global
college it is the responsibility of the student to take the lessons that they
are given to fruition- the student is expected to go out of the classroom and
test the theories for themselves and to come up with their own conclusions. The
advisors and professors are extremely knowledgeable and support you fully every
step of the way, so all roads are open for the student to really make something
of their education. Global College graduates either go on to great things -
interesting jobs, good grad schools, or work that they really enjoy - or they
work in chocolate factories or become landscapers. The school not for everyone,
but I believe this is the case with all liberal arts programs. My Global College
education has shaped my life greatly, and I know that I would not be standing in
the same shoes that I am today without it (for better or worse haha).
From where I stand now, I highly recommend Global College. It is ridiculously
expensive and I will probably be in debt for a long time, but given the fact
that I am doing what I want to do each day - due in large part to the education
that I received in Global College - I feel that it is worth it. And if I keep
living as I do now, I believe that I will be financially OK. My mother has a
saying that goes, "You can't get blood from a stone," and I believe that this
fits the financial situation of the average Global College graduate perfectly.
As you wrote, "Life is too short."
(A lot of student loan programs also have pretty liberal payback options, and I
have not yet had any problems.)
So in all, if you want to actively jump into your education and have
experiences, gain knowledge, and equip yourself with skills and opportunities
that go far beyond the pale of the average university graduate, then I say jump
full steam into Global College without worry. But if you are extremely fearful
of mounds of debt, or if you are satisfied with conventional teaching methods
then you may want to think long and hard about if Global College is for you.
I will end this letter with a final little note: for students of journalism,
speaking from my own experience, the very nature of Global College provides an
entire world of special opportunities for truly in-depth study and a platform
upon which the art can really flourish (almost every project for every class,
can, essentially, be turned into journalism).
So, that is what I have to say about Global College. If you have any more
questions please to not hesitate to ask. I also forwarded your email address on
to Joanne Halpern, who is one of the main coordinators of Global College. She
can help you with anything that you may need.
Global College homepage
Thanks for writing.
Walk Slow,
Wade
Hi Wade,
My name is Dalena Hardy. First I must start off by saying, I really enjoy your
work! I remember I was in my study abroad advisors office and she had a copy of
Cafe Abroad on her desk, I asked her if I could take it... that was the first
time I read your work. Since, I have read all of your articles. You have
inspired me to make changes in my life.
I was hoping that you might answer a few questions regarding your experience at
LIU Global College....
1. Was it worth the high price tag?
2. How did you fund your degree?
I am currently a journalism student at University of Missouri. I have two years
left in my program. I grew up in Missouri and aside from my study abroad in
Ghana I feel that overall, I haven't had a rewarding experience at MU. I have
applied to LIU and I am hopeful that I will be accepted. I have been funding my
education and if I go to LIU I will be paying significantly more money. I am
concerned about the debt I am going to assume. I know that life is too short to
be worried about money or debt but I am worried.
I would appreciate any feedback you could give
Look forward to hearing from you
Dalena Hardy
Comment on this page by filling out the below form:
-------------------------------------------------
Copy and paste this form into an
email, fill it out with your comment, and then send it to
VagabondSong@gmail.com
URL of page for comment to go on:
Your name:
Your current location:
Link to your webpage (if you want):
Your comment or other information:
----------------------------------------------------