Whether planning to study abroad for a year or going to four years of college in another country, many seniors at DePaul Prep have plans to travel the world after graduation in May. So far, around 6 students will be attending university in a foreign country.
Deciding where to attend college can be a life-changing decision, just like how choosing to leave the country can be. Combined, the two can have massive appeals, depending on the student.
From Croatia to Ireland to Spain to Italy, DePaul Prep students are furthering their education abroad for a variety of reasons.
Senior Eva Grbavac will be attending Rochester Institute of Technology in Croatia in the fall, located in the nation’s capital of Zagreb, where she will major in Global Business Management. Grbavac decided to attend RIT Croatia this past October.
Although Grbavac always knew she wanted to go to school overseas, Croatia was always very special to her. “I chose to go to college internationally, specifically to Croatia, because that is where I was born and used to live before I moved to the States,” Grbavac says.
She is looking forward to starting fresh in the place that she grew up in. Her homecoming will not be too shocking, as she is already familiar with the culture and language of her home country. To her, “college seemed like the perfect opportunity” to return to Croatia and embrace her culture there.
Grbavac was so intent on returning to Europe that she applied to a few schools in the United States only as backups. Despite her love for Europe, Grabavac specifically chose RIT Croatia due to its connection to RIT in New York.
“The school follows an American curriculum, and I will be getting both an American and Croatian degree,” Grbavac explains. RIT Croatia has plenty of international students, with most students coming in from many different countries around the globe.
Senior Luna Favaro will also be moving to Europe to continue her studies. Favaro will be attending Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, while majoring in International Pre-Law. Since both of her parents are from Italy, it was expected that she would continue her education in Europe after high school.
“I always wanted to go to Bocconi. It’s been my dream school for the past two years so when I got in in March it was a given and a relief that I decided to go,” Favaro says.
Although studying in Europe was a given for Favaro, Italy in particular held a special place in her heart. She chose to move to Italy specifically over other countries in Europe due to the culture, including the way that people connect, the food, and the social scene. “It’s just much healthier,” Favaro says. While being drawn to the life she could live in the vibrant city of Milan, she is also excited about the fact that technology is not as much of a dominant aspect in Italian culture. “In Italy, everyone lives more in the moment and it’s almost like they are stuck in the past, which I love.”
Favaro admits that she is a bit nervous about missing home and the general culture of America, as well as the friends that she grew up with, but she is still very excited to move to Italy. She is already quite familiar with the culture and language of the country, as she spends most of her summers there as well as having extended family in the area. Favaro will be living in her own apartment with other students her age and is looking forward to adopting more freedom and independence into her lifestyle.
She specifically chose to attend Bocconi University due to its rigorous and widely renowned academics.
“Bocconi’s competitive and challenging environment, situated in a cultural hub, aligns with my aspirations for what a university can offer me,” Favaro says. As one of the top universities in Italy, schoolwork is known to be far more rigorous and heavy than in American universities.
Bocconi is far different from colleges in the US in many ways outside of just academics. The university is about 40% international students, with about 5% being Americans. Additionally, many oral exams are taken at Bocconi that determine your entire grade in the class, and then the scores for those exams are posted publicly.
In Italy, it takes a student three years to earn a bachelor’s degree and two to earn a master’s degree. Favaro plans to utilize this to her advantage. She will study in Milan for her first two years, and then hopes to study abroad in the United States to get a feel for the American college experience. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Bocconi, she then plans to take a gap year and travel the world while her friends back at home are still finishing up their studies. Following her gap year of travel, Favaro hopes to attend law school in London.
Senior Brynn Wilson will also be studying internationally, and not in the typical four-year manner. Wilson will be attending the University of Guelph in Canada, located a few hours outside of Toronto. She visited campus last year and fell in love with the school and its abundant opportunities and programs. At Guelph, Wilson will major in Accounting Co-Op, a five year program that alternates between work and school semesters, allowing her to get job experience in established accounting firms in the city of Toronto. She is looking forward to graduating college with two full years of work experience in her field.
But Wilson didn’t just choose Canada out of the blue. “I’ve always moved around a bit but my extended family has always lived in Canada and we’ve always visited three to four times a year so Canada always felt like home to me,” Wilson says. In addition to her extended family, all three of her sisters currently live in Canada. Education in Canada also comes at a much cheaper price tag, which was another part of the school’s appeal to Wilson.
With Guelph being her dream school, “it was an easy decision,” asserts Wilson. She was excited about the idea of living on a campus in a beautiful small town in Canada. Outside of academics, she’s also impressed by the school’s social climate and overall happiness. “It’s a really good school that’s also known for being fun and having a very happy student body,” Wilson said. At Guelph, Wilson was provided with a great balance with both social life and academics.
Although she is a bit concerned about being away from her parents back home in Chicago, Wilson is looking forward to enjoying a fresh start and exploring her newfound independence, while still being close to extended family.
Wilson is also considering studying abroad for a semester or potentially living abroad after college. “Being an accountant lets you travel all over the world so I hope to really utilize that privilege,” Wilson says.
With a few other members of the class of 2024 at DePaul Prep preparing to leave the country for the next few years, it is clear that experiencing a new culture or immersing yourself into your own culture can be a very impactful experience in one’s life. It takes a lot of courage to combine exploration, education, and major life changes together to create a unique few years of fun.
