When You Return

Returning to life at home can be an unexpectedly bumpy transition. A good way to cope with this is to keep your international experience alive and an active part of your daily life back home. You can use some of the resources below to help ease your transition.

Career Development Resources

Learning the basics of how to market your education abroad experience and capitalize on your new international skills is a crucial step in distinguishing yourself from other job seekers and graduate school applicants.

We've developed a Guide to Education Abroad & Career Development to help you process your experience and maximize its potential for career development.

You can also watch this helpful video on Communicating Study Abroad Experiences on a Career-Ready Résumé.

Continue Having International Experiences at Home

There are many opportunities to have international experiences at home. You can attend international events at Kent State, find restaurants where you can try food from different countries, or become a member of or volunteer with local community organizations with an international focus.

If you are eager to go abroad again and are looking for additional international experiences, you can also watch this helpful video on Rethinking Study Abroad.

Credit Transfer Process

In order to successfully transfer your study abroad credits to Kent State, you need to have completed the TCP Form (Transfer Course Planning Form) for each term you were abroad. For students participating in an academic year abroad, one TCP Form must be submitted for fall semester and a second TCP Form must be submitted for spring semester. It is critical that you correctly filled out your TCP Form; failure to have a properly completed form will cause delays and issues with the credit transfer process. 

If you enrolled in classes that were not listed on your approved TCP Form, you will need to fill out and submit an additional TCP Form with the correct courses. Please note that while it is possible to get courses approved upon return by filling out another TCP Form, there is no guarantee that those courses will be approved to transfer back. 

Ultimately, it is up to you, the student, to make sure the transfer process was completed, and all paperwork was filled out properly. 

Upon receipt of your international transcript(s), the Office of Global Education will process your transcript(s) and your TCP Form.  These documents are sent to your academic department for final review.  From there they are sent to the Registrar to get posted to your Kent State record. The credit transfer process can take 2-4 months, so please be patient during this process. 

Go Abroad Again

Now that you’re back, you might be wondering how you can go abroad again. There are opportunities that you can take advantage of as a current student, as well as options for after graduation.

Study Abroad Again

It is possible to study abroad multiple times. You can search for more programs on our program database

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers grants to study, do research abroad, or teach English Abroad to current undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates/young professionals. You can contact Kent State University's Fulbright Program Advisor Frank Congin at fcongin@kent.edu with any questions.  

Graduate School Abroad

Consider applying and enrolling directly to a graduate program abroad. Keep in mind the cost of tuition varies greatly by school and country and that you cannot use federal financial aid. You should also be sure to contact the institution you are applying to with any admissions or visa questions.

Work Abroad

English teachers are in high demand all around the world; and you often don’t need a teaching degree to be eligible.  Many governments are looking to hire native English speakers, so check the governmental website of any country you’re interested in.  Below are some programs to check out:

Many major companies have offices around the world, so if you have a company you’re interested in, be sure to check out their global offices.

Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse culture shock is the reality of readjusting to life back home and discovering feelings of tension or discomfort after being adjusted to your recent "home" abroad. The more acculturated you were to your host country, the stronger you may feel reverse culture shock. To learn more about this, you can watch this helpful video on Reverse Culture Shock.

To help cope with reverse culture shock, we recommend you:

  • Stay in contact with people you studied abroad with and people you met in your host country
  • Stay connected with the Education Abroad office by helping with events or connecting with future education abroad students
  • Make a photo album or video about your time abroad
  • Blog or journal about your experience
  • Find ways to continue having international experiences locally
  • Keep traveling
Stay Connected with Education Abroad

A great way to keep building on your international experience is to stay connected with the Office of Global Education and future education abroad students. If you would like to share more about your experience or let us know you are interested in participating in future events, please complete our Education Abroad Alumni Survey.